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Home , Color depth, HSL and HSV

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BSc (Hons) Design & Colour Applications for Industry

02/10/14 What is a Mandala?

Mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and

Buddhism, representing the Universe. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a centre point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often exhibit radial balance.

The term is of Sanskrit origin. It appears in the Rig Veda as the name of the sections of the work, but is also used in other particularly Buddhism.

In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction.

In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe. What is a golden rectangle?

In geometry, a golden rectangle is a rectangle whose side lengths are in the golden ratio, , which is (the Greek letter phi), where is approximately 1.618.

A golden rectangle can be constructed with only straightedge and compass by four simple steps:

1. Construct a simple square.

2. Draw a line from the midpoint of one side of the square to an opposite corner. 3. Use that line as the radius to draw an arc that defines

the height of the rectangle.

4. Complete the golden rectangle.

HOW MANY DIFFERENT COLOURS

CAN THE HUMAN EYE SEE AND

DISTINGUISH?

THERE ARE THREE PRIMARY COLOURS- ,

BLUE, AND - THAT MAKE THE MILLIONS OF COLOURS THAT ARE DISTINGUISHABLE BY THE "NORMAL" HUMAN EYE. THERE ARE 150 THE EYE CAN DISTINGUISH AND THEY INCLUDE THE COLOURS OF THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM.

COLOUR DEPTH what's accepted for a monitor's colours to look "true" to the human eye.

COLOR DEPTH DESCRIBES HOW MANY THAT CAN BE Of course you can have more than 24- colour, such as DISPLAYED ON A MONITOR'S SCREEN. DEPTH IS USUALLY TALKED ABOUT IN . A BIT IS AN ABBREVIATION 32-bit colour, which can represent even more colours and FOR "BINARY DIGIT". is better, but only experts can see the difference. You can COMPUTERS SPEAK A BINARY LANGUAGE OF BITS WHERE also have 16-bit, or "hi" colour, which represents thousands THERE ARE ONLY ONES AND ZEROS. SINCE THERE ARE ONLY of colours, and most of the time does not look too bad, TWO NUMBERS (1 AND 0) THE MATH IS CALLED "BINARY" (BI except in areas of subtle and tonal change, like MEANING TWO, LIKE TWO WHEELS ON ABICYCLE). in a large area of featureless sky such as in a photo. EACH OF THE THREE PRIMARY COLORS (RED, AND Then the lack of a deeper colour depth will show up as GREEN) HAS A NUMBER OF BITS THAT DESCRIBES ITS COLOR banding in the sky. "DEPTH", OR THE NUMBER OF SHADES OF THAT PARTICULAR COLOR THAT CAN BE DISPLAYED. You can also have less colours, such as 4 bit colour with The number of colours are usually talked about in only 16 total colours, or 8 bit colour with 256 total colours. exponential notation, such as the number 2 raised to the Continuous tone images, such a normal photographs of second power (two squared, 2x2=4), or two to the eighth daytime or astronomical subjects will usually look terrible power (2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2=256). The more bit depth a at these low colour depths because there are more real colour has, the more shades of that colour can be colours in the image than can be displayed. displayed. Resolution and colour depth are intimately tied together "True" colour is also called 24-bit colour. Here, each colour in a monitor's display. The amount you can have of each is 8 bits, for a total of 24 bits. Since each colour has 256 is dependent on the amount of memory that your shades, we can multiply 256 for red, times 256 for green, has. Note that video memory is different than times 256 for blue and get millions of colours, (256 x 256 x regular system ram memory or hard drive memory. 256 = 16,777,216). Millions of colours are pretty much Naturally, higher resolution and deeper colour depth require more video memory. If you have at least 2 megabytes of video memory on your video card, you should be able to run 24-bit true colour at 800 x 600 1-BIT COLOR (21 = 2 COLORS): , OFTEN resolution, if your monitor supports it. AND , COMPACT MACINTOSHES, ATARI ST. 2-BIT COLOR (2 2 = 4 COLORS): CGA, GRAY-SCALE The photos on this web site are 24-bit full colour images, EARLY NEXTSTATION, COLOR MACINTOSHES, ATARI ST. and should be viewed on a monitor being driven by a 3-BIT COLOR (2 3 = 8 COLORS): MANY EARLY HOME video card that supports 24-bit true colour. You can "get- COMPUTERS WITH TV DISPLAYS, INCLUDING THE ZX by" if you only have 16-bit "hi-colour", but they will look SPECTRUM AND BBC MICRO better in 24-bit colour. If your monitor is running at 4-BIT COLOR (2 4 = 16 COLORS): AS USED BY EGA AND BY THE anything less than 16-bit high colour (sometimes also LEAST COMMON DENOMINATOR VGA STANDARD AT HIGHER called thousands of colours), then the photos will RESOLUTION, COLOR MACINTOSHES, ATARI ST, COMMODORE probably not look good. If they look grainy, or pock- 64, AMSTRAD CPC. marked, weird, or just plain bad, it's probably because 5-BIT COLOR (2 5 = 32 COLORS): ORIGINAL CHIPSET your monitor is not set at a sufficient colour depth. 6-BIT COLOR (2 6 = 64 COLORS): ORIGINAL AMIGA CHIPSET

8-BIT COLOR (28 = 256 COLORS): MOST EARLY COLOR UNIX WORKSTATIONS, VGA AT LOW RESOLUTION, SUPER VGA, COLOR MACINTOSHES, ATARI TT, AGA, FALCON030.

12-BIT COLOR (2 12 = 4096 COLORS): SOME SILICON GRAPHICS SYSTEMS, COLOR NEXTSTATION SYSTEMS, AND AMIGA SYSTEMS IN HAMMODE.

30-BIT COLOR (2 30 = 1,073,741,824 COLORS): DEEP COLOR, RADIUS THUNDERPOWER CARD FOR THE MACINTOSH

36-BIT COLOR (2 36 = 68,719,476,736 COLORS): DEEP COLOR

48-BIT COLOR (2 48 = 281,474,976,710,656 COLORS): DEEP COLOR

RGB COLOUR MODEL printers, on the other hand, are not RGB devices, but devices (typically CMYK ). The RGB color model is an model in which red, green, and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad This article discusses concepts common to all the different color spaces array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the that use the RGB color model, which are used in one implementation or three additive primary colors, red, green, and blue. another in -producing technology.

The main purpose of the RGB color model is for the sensing, representation, and display of images in electronic systems, such as televisions and computers, though it has also been used in RGB and displays conventional photography. Before the electronic age, the RGB color One common application of the RGB color model is the model already had a solid theory behind it, based in human perception of colors. display of colors on a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid

RGB is a device-dependent color model: different devices detect or crystal display (LCD), plasma display, or organic light reproduce a given RGB value differently, since the color elements (such emitting diode (OLED) display such as a television, a as phosphors or dyes) and their response to the individual R, G, and B computer’s monitor, or a large scale screen. Each levels vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, or even in the same on the screen is built by driving three small and very close device over time. Thus an RGB value does not define the but still separated RGB light sources. At common viewing same color across devices without some kind of . distance, the separate sources are indistinguishable, Typical RGB input devices are color TV and video cameras, image scanners, video games, and digital cameras. Typical RGB output which tricks the eye to see a given solid color. All the devices are TV sets of various technologies (CRT, LCD, plasma, together arranged in the rectangular screen surface etc.), computer and mobile phone displays, video projectors, conforms the color image. multicolor LEDdisplays, and large screens such as JumboTron. Color

During digital image processing each pixel can be Personal computers: represented in the computer memory or interface Early personal computers of the late 1970s and early hardware (for example, a graphics card) as binary values 1980s, such as those from Apple, Atari and Commodore, for the red, green, and blue color components. When did not use RGB as their main method to manage colors, but rather . IBM introduced a 16-color properly managed, these values are converted into scheme (one byte each for RGB and Intensity) with the intensities or voltages via to correct (CGA) for its first IBM PC (1981), the inherent nonlinearity of some devices, such that the later improved with the Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) in 1984. The first manufacturer of a truecolor intended intensities are reproduced on the display. graphic card for PCs (the TARGA) was True vision in 1987, but it was not until the arrival of the

(VGA) in 1987 that RGB became popular, mainly due to The released by Sharp uses RGB color and adds the analog signals in the connection between the adapter and the monitor which allowed a very wide as a sub-pixel, supposedly allowing an increase in range of RGB colors. Actually, it had to wait a few more the number of available colors. years because the original VGA cards were - driven just like EGA, although with more freedom than VGA, but because the VGA connectors were analogue, later variants of VGA (made by various manufacturers under the informal name Super VGA) eventually added truecolour. In 1992, magazines heavily advertised

truecolour Super VGA hardware.

CMYK COLOUR MODEL THE CMYK COLOR MODEL (PROCESS COLOR, FOUR IN ADDITIVE COLOR MODELS SUCH AS RGB, WHITE IS THE COLOR) IS A SUBTRACTIVE COLOR MODEL, USED IN "ADDITIVE" COMBINATION OF ALL PRIMARY COLORED , AND IS ALSO USED TO DESCRIBE THE , WHILE BLACK IS THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT. IN THE PRINTING PROCESS ITSELF. CMYK REFERS TO THE FOUR CMYK MODEL, IT IS THE OPPOSITE: WHITE IS THE NATURAL INKS USED IN SOME COLOR PRINTING: , , COLOR OF THE PAPER OR OTHER BACKGROUND, WHILE YELLOW, AND KEY (BLACK). THOUGH IT VARIES BY PRINT BLACK RESULTS FROM A FULL COMBINATION OF HOUSE, PRESS OPERATOR, PRESS MANUFACTURER, AND COLORED INKS. TO SAVE MONEY ON INK, AND TO PRESS RUN, INK IS TYPICALLY APPLIED IN THE ORDER OF PRODUCE DEEPER BLACK TONES, UNSATURATED AND THE ABBREVIATION. DARK COLORS ARE PRODUCED BY USING BLACK INK INSTEAD OF THE COMBINATION OF CYAN, MAGENTA

AND YELLOW. THE "K" IN CMYK STANDS FOR KEY BECAUSE IN FOUR-

COLOR PRINTING, CYAN, MAGENTA, AND YELLOW PRINTING PLATES ARE CAREFULLY KEYED, OR ALIGNED, WITH THE KEY OF THE BLACK KEY PLATE. SOME SOURCES

SUGGEST THAT THE "K" IN CMYK COMES FROM THE LAST LETTER IN "BLACK" AND WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE B ALREADY MEANS BLUE.[1][2] HOWEVER, THIS

EXPLANATION, ALTHOUGH USEFUL AS A MNEMONIC, IS INCORRECT.[3]

THE CMYK MODEL WORKS BY PARTIALLY OR ENTIRELY

MASKING COLORS ON A LIGHTER, USUALLY WHITE, BACKGROUND. THE INK REDUCES THE LIGHT THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE REFLECTED. SUCH A MODEL IS CALLED SUBTRACTIVE BECAUSE INKS "SUBTRACT" FROM WHITE. HSL and HSV standardized, and the abbreviations are colloquially interchangeable for any of these three or several other related HSL (-saturation-) and HSV (hue-saturation-value) are the cylindrical models. Note also that while "hue" in HSL and HSV refers to two most common cylindrical-coordinate representations of points in the same attribute, their definitions of "saturation" differ dramatically. an RGB color model. Developed in the 1970s for (For technical definitions of these terms, see Color-making attributes.) applications, HSL and HSV are used today in color pickers, in software, and less commonly in and computer Both of these representations are used widely in computer graphics, vision. but both are also criticized for not adequately separating color- making attributes, and for their lack of perceptual uniformity. This The two representations rearrange the geometry of RGB in an means that the color displayed on one monitor for a given HSV value attempt to be more intuitive and perceptually relevant than the is unlikely to exactly match the color seen on another monitor unless cartesian (cube) representation, by mapping the values into a the two are precisely adjusted to absolute color spaces. cylinder loosely inspired by a traditional . The angle around the central vertical axis corresponds to "hue" and the Other, more computationally intensive models, such as CIELAB or distance from the axis corresponds to "saturation". These first two CIECAM02 are said to better achieve the goal of accurate and values give the two schemes the 'H' and 'S' in their names. The height uniform color display, but their adoption has been slow. HSL and HSV corresponds to a third value, the system's representation of the were widely adopted as a standard alternative to RGB in the early perceived in relation to the saturation. days of color computers due to their low processing time requirements, and their similarity to traditional artist's . Perceived luminance is a notoriously difficult aspect of color to Even in the case of digital artists, who generally come to recognize represent in a digital format (see disadvantages section), and this has the flaws of HSL/HSV systems fairly quickly, it is simpler to learn to work given rise to two systems attempting to solve this issue: HSL (L for around the flaws of a familiar system of color representation than to lightness) and HSV or HSB (V for value or B for brightness). A third relearn their entire way of thinking about color by adapting to the less model, HSI (I for intensity), common in applications, intuitive RGB system of . Thus, in spite of their flaws, HSL attempts to balance the advantages and disadvantages of the and HSV have proven difficult to replace. other two systems. While typically consistent, these definitions are not PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND COLOURS

COLOR IS A MEANINGFUL CONSTANT FOR SIGHTED PEOPLE AND IT'S A POWERFUL PSYCHOLOGICAL TOOL. BY USING , YOU CAN SEND A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE MESSAGE, ENCOURAGE SALES, CALM A CROWD, OR MAKE AN

ATHLETE PUMP IRON HARDER.

Psychology of Color: Black Black is the color of authority and

power, stability and strength. It is also the color associated with intelligence (doctorate in black robe; black horn rimmed glasses, etc.) Black clothes make people appear thinner. It's a somber color sometimes associated with evil (the cowboy in the black hat

was almost always the "bad guy"). In the western hemisphere black is associated with grieving. Black is a serious color that evokes strong

emotions; it is easy to overwhelm people with too much black.

Psychology of Color: White For most of the world this is the color associated with purity (wedding dresses); cleanliness (doctors in white coats) and the safety of bright light (things go bump in the night ... not the bright sunshine!). It is also used to project the absence of color, or neutrality. In some

eastern parts of the world, white is associated with mourning. White is also associated with creativity (white boards, blank slates). It is a compression of all the colors in the color spectrum.

Psychology of Color: Gray Gray is most associated with the practical, timeless, middle-of-the-road, solid things in life. Too much gray leads to feeling mostly nothing; but a bit of gray will add that rock solid feeling to your product. Some shades of

gray are associated with old age, death, taxes,

depression or a lost sense of direction. is an off- shoot of gray and often associated with giving a helping hand, strong character (sterling in-fact!).

Psychology of Color: Red If you want to draw attention, use red. It is often where the eye looks first. Red is the color of energy. It's associated with movement and excitement. People surrounded by red find their heart beating a little faster and often report feeling a bit out of breath. It's the absolute wrong color for a baby's room but perfect to get people excited. Wearing red clothes will make you appear a bit heavier and certainly more noticeable (some studies show red cars get more tickets but that may be because the red car owners drive faster or the ticket giver notices the movement of the red car more prominently). Red is not a good color to over use but using a spot of red in just the right place is smart in some cases (one red accent in an otherwise neutral room draws the eye; a red tie with a suit and a white shirt adds just the right amount of energy to draw the eye (no wonder it's the "uniform of the day" at the seats of government). Red is the symbol of life (red blooded life!) and, for this reason, it's the color worn by brides in China. Red is used at holidays that are about love and giving (red roses, Valentines hearts, Christmas, etc.) but the true color of love is . Pink is the most calming of all colors -- often our most dangerous criminals are housed in pink cells as studies show that the color drains energy and calms aggression. Think of pink as the color of romance, love, and gentle feelings, to be in the pink is to be soothed. Psychology of Color: Blue Ask people their favorite color and a clear majority will say blue. Much of the world is blue (skies, seas). Seeing the color blue actually causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming; but that isn't true of all . Some shades (or too much blue) can

send a cold and uncaring message. Many bedrooms are blue because it's calm, restful color. Over the ages blue has become associated with steadfastness, dependability, wisdom and loyalty (note how many uniforms are blue). People tend to be more productive in a blue room because they are calm and focused on the task at hand. Some studies are showing that weight lifters can lift more weight in a blue gym - in fact, nearly all sports are enhanced in blue surroundings.

Psychology of Color: Green The color of growth, nature, and money. A calming color also that's very pleasing to the senses. Dark is associated with terms like conservative, masculine and wealth. Hospitals use light green rooms because they are found to be calming to patients. It is

also the color associated with envy, good luck,

generosity and fertility. It is the traditional color of peace, , comfortable nurturing, support and well paced energy.

Psychology of Color: Yellow Cheerful yellow is the color of the sun, associated with laughter, happiness and good times. A person surrounded by yellow feels optimistic because the brain actually releases more seratonin (the feel good chemical in the brain) when around this color. It is the color

associated with optimism but be careful with yellow; when intense, it is the color of flames and studies show babies cry more in (bright) yellow rooms and tempers flare more around that color too. It has the power to speed up our metabolism and bring out some creative thoughts (legal tablets are yellow for good reason!). Yellow can be quickly overpowering if over-used, but used sparingly in the just the right place it can be an effective tool in marketing to greater sales. Some are associated with cowardice; but the more golden shades with the promise of better times.

Psychology of Color:

The most flamboyant color on the planet! It's the color tied most this fun times, happy and energetic days, warmth and organic products. It is also associated with ambition. There is nothing even remotely calm associated with this color. Orange is associated with a

new dawn in attitude.

Psychology of Color: What color were the robes of kings and queens? Yes, they were purple, our most royal color that is associated with wealth, prosperity, rich sophistication. This color stimulates the brain activity used in problem solving. However, when overused in a common setting it is associated with putting on airs and being artificial. Use purple most carefully to lend an air of mystery, wisdom, and respect. Young adolescent girls are most likely to select nearly all as their favorite color.

Psychology of Color:

This color is most associated with reliability, stability, and friendship. More are likely to select this as their favorite color. It's the color of the earth itself "terra firma" and what could represent stability better. It too is associated with things being natural or organic. Caution

however, for in India it is the color of mourning.

BASICS ON HOW TO USE COLOR TOGETHER (SUCH AS PINK AND GREEN). THIS PUTS A WARM COLOR WITH A COOL COLOR AND COLOR PSYCHOLOGY IS COMPLICATED IS PLEASING TO THE EYE. FIELD OF STUDY AND GOES DEEP INTO THE MEANING OF COMBINING COLORS FOR A PARTICULAR DESIRED EFFECT. WE WILL TRIPLE THIS SCHEME USES BROAD BRUSH SOME BASICS THAT MAY WELL THREE COLORS EQUALLY SPACED FROM ENOUGH FOR YOU TO MAKE GOOD COLOR EACH OTHER AROUND A COLOR WHEEL. IT'S CHOICES FOR A WEB SITE WITH MARKETING POPULAR WITH WEB DESIGNERS AND IN MIND. ALLOWS FOR A HARMONIOUS COLOR SCHEME. SCHEME THIS IS THE USE OF A SINGLE COLOR IN VARYING SHADES. THIS CAN BE A CLEAN AND INTERESTING LOOK ON A WEB SITE. IT'S SOOTHING AND PLEASING TO THE EYE ESPECIALLY IN THE BLUE OR GREEN HUES.

COMPLIMENTARY COLOR SCHEME THIS IS USING HIGH CONTRAST OF COLOR BY SELECTING COLORS DIRECTLY OPPOSITE FROM ONE ANOTHER ON THE COLOR WHEEL