The document discusses the physical qualities of color and how humans perceive color. It explains that light is detected by photoreceptors in the eye and translated into colors by the brain based on previous experiences. The visible spectrum of light contains different wavelengths that appear as different colors, with longer wavelengths appearing redder and warmer, and shorter wavelengths appearing more violet and cooler. Understanding the science behind color helps in making design choices.

1. An understanding of the science behind color will aid
you in making color choice within your designs.
The physical characteristics of color appeal to the sense
of touch and carries over into memory and sight. For
example you see the blue water, you feel the blue water,
you remember a time when you went swimming in a
cool pool.
Color
Fundamentals of Design
Unit 4: Color
Module 2: Physical Qualities of Color

2. To refresh your science lessons:
The eye, through the the photoreceptors located in the
retina (rods and cones) translate electromagnetic energy
into the colors we see.
This complex process may be simplistically explained as
'encoded impulses' being received by the sight center of
the brain. The brain then orders, abstracts and translates
this stimuli into meaning.
This, combined with previous experiences associations
with color make up how we percieve color.
Color
Fundamentals of Design
Unit 4: Color
Module 2: Physical Qualities of Color

3. The Visible Spectrum of Light
• Contains wavelengths of light.
• The long wavelengths are at the red end and appear to be closer visually.
• The short wavelengths are at the violet end and appear to be farther away visually.
• The longer the wavelength the “hotter” the color.
• The shorter the wavelength the “cooler” the color.
Color
Fundamentals of Design
Unit 4: Color
Module 2: Physical Qualities of Color

4. Fundamentals of Design
Unit 4: Color
Module 3: Fundamentals of Color Interaction
2. What color would you use for a background?
1. Identify where the longer wavelengths of light are on the spectrum.

5. The longer wavelengths are at the red
end of the spectrum, and longer wave
lengths appear to be closer, so reds
would be considered dominant colors.
You wouldn’t choose a dominant color
for an item meant to be in the
background.
In the image to the left, notice the
difference between the “R”s. Which
ones stand out more? Why?
Color
Fundamentals of Design
Unit 4: Color
Module 3: Fundamentals of Color Interaction

6. The shorter wavelengths are at the
violet end of the spectrum, and
shorter wavelengths appear to be
farther away. You wouldn’t choose a
receding color for an item that is
meant to be dominant or important.
The image to the left demonstrates the
effect of color in space. Notice how the
warm colors appear larger than their
cool counterparts.
Color
Fundamentals of Design
Unit 4: Color
Module 3: Fundamentals of Color Interaction