Category Archives: Kristina Diaz

Kristina Diaz, _Research Reports

Kristina Diaz_Research Reports

1. Printing Color

  • Offset printing uses CMYK and first its halftone then full tone
  • Another method is screen printing, similar to a stencil
  • Inkjet printer its a cheaper printer.

2. Color Management

  • Color needs to be consistent like companies use the same colors to identify their company
  • Pantone is the color system
  • Mostly seen in TV screens

3. Applied Color

  • People see the color first, words/shapes are seen second
  • Color is used in braiding and logos
  • Corporate websites use the same brand colors throughout the web
  • Contrast for readability is important

4. Color Biology

  • Rods are used to see light
  • There are 3 different kinds of color blindness: monochromatic, dichromatic, and trichromatic
  • The human eye can see over 10 million colors
  • Dogs are not color blind but they can only see in blue and violet

5.  Color Psychology

  • Each color can have a positive or negative meaning to people
  • Light red can mean sober, sentimental and quiet
  • Yellow usually means being optimistic, enlightening, and show happiness
  • The physical effect of blue is it has a cooling effect and calms the mind

6. Color Screen/Monitors

  • Larger the number of colors the better resolution
  • Computers have their own language when showing color
  • There are different ways to save pictures like .gif, .jpeg, .png
  • The number of pixels displayed on computer screen affect the way they are seen

7.  Modern Color Theory

  • Hue is measured around the horizontal circles
  • Chroma is measured outward from the vertical axis
  • Value is measured vertically
  • Munsell created a color system model to demonstrate hue, chroma, and value

 

Kristina Diaz, _Reading Assignments

Color Perception

Everyone has a different view on color and we don’t all see the same. This is because there are 3 cones in the human eye that help see color. The L-cone picks up long (red) wavelengths, the M-cone picks up medium green wavelengths, and the S-cone picks up short blue wavelengths. There are many color deficiencies where a person can’t see certain colors, for example color blindness affects mostly men. There is also protanopia and deutanopia where the red hue can not be distinguished.

Where cones are responsible during the day where there is light, rods are responsible at night where there is poor lighting. We can’t see color very well at night because the rods in our eyes don’t pick up wavelengths and we end up with seeing blue or gray images.

Kristina Diaz, _Reading Assignments

Color Contrasts and Optical Illusions

Just like Pablo Picasso stated, “Why do two colors put next to each other, sing? Can we really explain this? No.” I think no matter how many times we do experiments on color  and do different studies on different theories, color contrast and the optical illusion that color creates will always be a fascinating mystery.

Reading about color contrast and optical illusions made me question more on why certain colors put right next to one another create an illusion. For example a composition with color that demonstrates a simultaneous contrast, a certain color makes the other color pop or appear different.

Another thing I found fascinating was chromatic adaption which usually occurs in environment situations. This reminds me when theres is a lot of white snow on the ground and it’s a bright sunny day out. When your outside your eyes get accustomed to all the bright light out. But once you go back indoors, everything appears to be very dark and it takes a few minutes for your eyes to get used to the new environment.

Kristina Diaz, _Reading Assignments

Color Theory History and Psychology of Color

I really found this reading really interesting because I enjoy learning about history and psychology. I agree with Johannes Itten and Goethe on color having an effect on people’s psyche. Itten believed color could have a spiritual and psychological effect. I believe this is very true as well like for example I’ve heard painting a room green or yellow gives the room a more calming atmosphere. I think this is true because green reminds us of being out in nature and being outdoors can also relaxing. I also agree choosing the right color for a product is very important for designers and manufacturers because they want to attract consumers and convince them to buy the product.