CHROMATIC ENERGY OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ___________ came from the Greek word “chromatikos” which means “______”. It is anythinf related to color or color phenomena. ___________ came from the Greek word “_________” which means “active”. It is the capacity of acting or being active. The chromatic energy of architectural design is ______________. It can also be a phenomenon of light and visual perception that may be described in terms of an individual’s perception of hue, saturation, and tonal value. ___________ is an attribute that most clearly distinguishes a form from its environment and it affects the visual weight of a form. Importance of Color in Architectural Design Colors have ____________ effects upon people. It also reflects people’s ________ or their other ________ in life. Color Theory Term Primary Colors 1. 2. 3. Secondary Colors 1. 2. 3. Tertiary Colors 1. 2. 3. • cannot be made by mixing other colors. • made by mixing primary colors. • located between primary colors • • combination of primary and secondary colors. • also known as intermediate colors due to their compound nature. Parts of Colors • • • • 4. 5. 6. Hue - The most basic of color terms - Basically, denotes an object’s color. - The property of light in which the color of an object is classified. Chroma - A degree by which a color differs from grey of the same lightness or brightness; corresponding to the saturation of the perceived color - A hue with high chroma has no black, white or gray in it. - Adding white, black or gray reduces its chroma. - Can be thought of as the brightness of a color in comparison to white. Saturation - Refers to the purity of color - Refers to how a hue appears under particular lighting conditions. Value - Could also be called “lightness.” - Color appears to reflect more or less of the incident light, varying from black to white. - Refers to how light or dark a color is. - Lighter colors have higher values. For example, orange has a higher value than navy blue or dark purple. Black has the lowest value of any hue, and white the highest. Hue, Tint, Tone, and Shade HUE o Pure color with no black or white. TINT o Pure color mixed with white o Formed when white is added to a hue, lightening it. o Very light tints are sometimes called pastels, but any pure hue with white added to it is a tint. SHADE o Pure color mixed with black o Created when black is added to a hue, making it darker. TONE o Pure color mixed with gray. o Created when gray is added to a hue. o Tones are generally duller or softer-looking than pure hues. o Intermediate value of color between a tint and a shade Achromatic – Having no saturation and therefore no hue. Gray – Achromatic color between white and black. Points to Consider As Good Architects… o Must always consider his/ her client’s preferred color of the structure because it will affect his/ her mood. o Must also know how to combine colors in order to give life to the structure. o Must consider questions: Is it too dark or too bright? Is the color too dull? Or too exaggerated? COLOR PSYCHOLOGY o The psychology of color is based on the mental and emotional effects colors have on sighted people in all facets of life. o There are also commonly noted psychological effects of colors as it relates to the two main categories: WARM (red, yellow, orange). Can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort to warmth to hostility and anger. COOL (green, blue, violet). Often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF COLOR RED: This color shows energy, excitement, impulse. Therefore, it is regularly used in commercial spaces, such as stores or fast-food outlets, as it portrays a certain compulsivity and consumer desire. Effect: exciting, stimulating Association: Positive: passionate ,fervid, active, strong, warm Negative: intense, aggressive, raging, fierce, bloody Character: It is the most dominant and dynamic color. The eye actually has to adjust/focus, since the natural focal point of red lies behind the retina. Consequently red appears closer than it is. Ceiling: intruding, disturbing, heavy Walls: aggressive, advancing Floor: conscious, alert YELLOW: Transmits the feeling of positivity, confidence, and security. It is often used in commercial and business spaces, such as banking agencies, offices and companies. Effect: cheering Association: Positive: sunny, cheerful, radiant vital Negative: egocentric, glaring Character: When pure, yellow is the happiest of all colors. It radiates warmth, cheerfulness, and inspiration and signifies enlightenment and communication. Ceiling: light (towards lemon), luminous, stimulating Walls: warm (towards orange), exciting to irritating (highly saturated) Floor: elevating, diverting ORANGE: The result of the combination of yellow and red, orange projects an idea of intensity, creativity, euphoria, and enthusiasm. It is often used in creative environments, such as offices, studios, and schools. If used together with blue, it conveys the idea of impulsivity and trust, and so is adopted by banking agencies and offices. Effect: exciting, stimulating, cheering Association: Positive: jovial, lively, energetic, extroverted Negative: intrusive, blustering Character: Orange is less masculine than red. It has very few negative associations. However, it may appear cheap or without vigor if low in saturation. Ceiling: stimulating, attention-seeking Walls: warm, luminous Floor: activating, motion-oriented GREEN: Evokes calm, tranquility, serenity and well-being. It is regularly used in spaces associated with health and well-being, such as hospitals and relaxation centers. Effect: retiring, relaxing Association: Positive: tranquil. Refreshing, quiet, natural Negative: common, tiresome, guilty Character: Contrary to red, when looking at green the eye focuses exactly on the retina, which makes green the most restful color to the eye. Green can symbolize nature but also mold and sickness. Ceiling: protective, reflection on the skin can be unattractive Walls: cool, secure, calm, reliable, passive, irritating if glaring (electric green) Floor: natural (if not too saturated), soft, relaxing, cold (if towards blue) BLUE: Transmits the feeling of positivity, confidence, and security. It is often used in commercial and business spaces, such as banking agencies, offices and companies. Effect: retiring, relaxing Association: Positive: calm, sober, secure, comfortable, noble Negative: frightening, depressing, melancholy, cold Character: Blue appears to be transparent, wet, cool, and relaxing. Opposite to red, blue will decrease a person's blood pressure and pulse rate. Ceiling: celestial, cool, receding (if light), heavy and oppressive (if dark) Walls: cool and distant (if light), encouraging and space deepening (if dark) Floor: inspiring feeling of effortless movement (if light), substantial (if dark) PURPLE: It transmits well-being, calmness, and softness. Effect: subduing Association: Positive: dignified, exclusive Negative: lonely, mournful, pompous, conceited Character: Purple is a mixture of red and blue (the two colors that are psychologically most opposed). Purple can appear delicate and rich, or unsettling and degenerate. Ceiling: disconcerting, subduing Walls: heavy, overpowering Floor: fleeting, magical WHITE Effect: disconcerning Association: Positive: clean, crisp, bright Negative: empty, sterile Character: There are a lot of psychological and physiological justifications for not using white as a dominant color. Ceiling: empty, no design objections-helps diffuse light sources and reduce shadows Walls: neutral to empty, sterile, without energy Floor: touch-inhibiting (not to be walked upon) BLACK Effect: ominous Association: Positive: deep, abstract Negative: dungeon-like, night, grief, death Character: Black is associated with oppressive power, darkness, and the unknown. In architecture it is often used to make something appear as receding, such as the HVAC in a ceiling. Ceiling: hollow to oppressive Walls: ominous, dungeon-like Floor: odd, abstract COLOR THEORY SCHEMES Monochromatic : The monochromatic color scheme uses variations in lightness and saturation of a single color. Analogous: Use two or three colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. One color is used as a dominant color while others are used to enrich the scheme. Split Complementary: Consists of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. Double Complementary: A variation of the standard complementary scheme. It uses four colors adjacent to its complementary. Triadic: Uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. This scheme is popular among artists because it offers strong visual contrast while retaining harmony and color richness. Tetradic: Combination of two analogous colors and their complementary colors on a color wheel. Square Tetradic: Similar to the triadic scheme in that it is composed of four colors equally spaced around the color.
