Color Continued

Lupton and Phillips argue that color is rhetorical because it is seen differently by people according to their personal knowledge and experiences. Color conveys information that can effect the mood or invoke feelings in the viewer. Color has cultural connotations that can cause a design to be perceived differently. Lupton and Phillips give the example of how the color white is seen as virginal and pure in Western culture but is the color of death in Eastern cultures. In this way color is subjective and unstable.

Hue is the placement of color withing the color spectrum. Lupton and Phillips give an example of red which looks brown with low saturation and pink at a pale value.

Lupton and Phillips give the definition of value as the light or dark character of the color. Shade is when black is added to the hue and tint is the addition of white to the hue. Elimnating the hue altogether converts the image to either black or white.

Changing the elements of hue and the value of a color can make an image stand out or disappear into the design. Knowing when to use contrasting or complementing colors will be essential to creating a successful design.