Assignment 1: Colour Wheel

Assignment 1: Colour Wheel

My first project for the Design 2 course was based on building my foundations and knowledge of color theory. This was extremely crucial as a first step into the course, as Design 1 consisted of applications of only black and white.

This project focused on creating a 12 - scale color wheel based on Itten's color model. The color star projected the basis of our future projects as it represented:

• Primary Colours: those hues from which all others can be mixed (red, yellow, blue)
• Secondary Colours: two primary colors mixed together resulting in an orange, green, or violet
• Tertiary Colours: one primary and one secondary color mixed together (e.g. yellow-green/blue-violet)
• Analogous Colours: Colours that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel (blue, blue-violet, violet). It is based on the idea of a color family, using two or three neighboring hues from the color wheel as a starting point.
• Complimentary Colours: Chromatic opposites directly opposite from each other on the color wheel (eg. blue to orange, yellow to violet, red to green).

The aim of this model was to create the above colors using a limited commencing palette of color sources. Once these 12 pure colors were established, I proceeded to tint and shade each color by a certain percentage to create the encompassing wheels. Tinting consisted of adding white to the hue in percentages of 50% and 90%. Shading consisted of adding black to the hue in percentages of 25%, 50% and 75%. The colour study of this process can be seen below:

I believe this assignment was the most effective way to start and prepare me for the course, as I had the chance to physically make and touch each color before applying them to my own designs and compositions. It allowed me gain a much greater understanding of the properties of value and color via color theory and color mixing. Although the formatting of the star was tedious, the paint mixing and color creating was a great experience as I previously was unaware of the control one can have with just a few necessary colors in hand. I believe my final piece portrays a consistent gradation, however some more than others. Nevertheless, it was a great introduction to Design 2.