Adobe Illustrator I
Delaware College of Art and Design

color theory

the color wheel

the color wheel

primary colors

primary colors

secondary colors

secondary colors

tertiary colors

tertiary colors

color relationships

complimentary colors

complimentary colors

complimentary colors

complimentary colors

vibrate
complimentary colors

split complimentary colors

split complimentary colors

analogous colors

analogous colors

triads

triads

active and passive colors

active and passive colors

active and passive colors

active
passive
active and passive colors

color context

different readings of the same color

shades
tints

color models in
Illustrator

RGB color

RGB color

RGB color

RGB color

one pixel in a large-scale LED display

RGB = screen

CMYK color

CMYK Color

CMYK Color

CMYK Color

four color process

CMYK = print

other ways to
describe color

HSB (hue, saturation and brightness)

Hue

Hue
Color reflected from or transmitted through an
object. It is measured as a location on the
standard color wheel, expressed as a degree
between 0° and 360°. In common use, hue is
identified by the name of the color, such as red,
orange, or green.

Saturation

Saturation
Strength or purity of the color (sometimes
called chroma). Saturation represents the
amount of gray in proportion to the hue,
measured as a percentage from 0% (gray) to
100% (fully saturated).

Brightness

Brightness
Relative lightness or darkness of the color,
usually measured as a percentage from 0%
(black) to 100% (white).

Brightness
Relative lightness or darkness of the color,
usually measured as a percentage from 0%
(black) to 100% (white).

HSB

Pantone Matching System (PMS)

color gamuts

out-of-gamut warning

out-of-gamut warning

why use Pantone?
EXACT color, every time
Achieve colors unavailable in the standard
CMYK gamut

sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory
http://www.worqx.com/color/index.htm
http://colortheory.liquisoft.com/
http://www.colormatters.com/colortheory.html

further reading
Josef Albers Interaction of Color
Johannes Ittens The Elements of Color
Johannes Ittens The Art of Color: The Subjective
Experience and Objective Rationale of Color