Contrasts of Color
The structure and functions of our vision are such that we have strong perception of contrasts. This section will demonstrate and isolate contrasts of value, hue and saturation.
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The structure and functions of our vision are such that we have strong perception of contrasts. This section will demonstrate and isolate contrasts of value, hue and saturation.
Here we see that contrast of value is independent of hue and saturation. The first example consists of black, white, and two grays. The second shows the contrasts among four different values of a single hue, and the differences are still readily perceived.
The contrast of complementary hues, such as green and magenta, is exceptionally vivid. The pure hues of red and magenta produce a strong, but less imperative, contrast.
The second example shows that the effect is similar with tints but, because the colors are less saturated, the contrasts are less vivid. These muted colors provide muted contrasts.
We can still see the contrasts among shades of similar value but, like the tints, the contrasts are less striking than that of the pure hues. The lower values of these colors further reduce the perceived contrasts.
By eliminating the effect of hue contrast, and reducing the effect of value contrasts, we can more readily see the effect of saturation contrasts. The various saturations are patently clear between adjacent tiles of identical hue. In the polychromatic example, on the right, we see that saturation contrasts remain obvious even when the tiles are varied across the color spectrum.
Warm colors are those at the red/yellow end of the spectrum, and cool colors are at the blue/violet end. The two examples here vary in saturation, one high and one low. Both show the contrasts of warm and cool colors. The warm and cool colors are divided by an imaginary border between them. Even though the border is not outlined nor identical in the two examples, its position is clearly evident. Note that there is no similar demarcation in the any of the multicolored samples above.
Complementary colors are pairs that are opposite each other on the color wheel. When placed adjacent to each other, they generate maximum visual excitement at their border.
Colors which are similar may look the same when separated, but will more readily show their differences when adjacent to each other. In this example, the separated pair of tiles appear to be the same hue, saturation and value. When moved together, however, their differences are exaggerated and become more apparent.
