Dynamics of Color
Ati Gropius Johansen*, Hal Shubin**
- *Box 156a RR2
- Stanfordville, NY 12581
- +1 914 868-7547
- **Hal Shubin
- Interaction Design
- 78 Chilton Design
- Belmont, MA USA 02178
- +1 508-489-7359
- hshubin@user.com
Abstract
This is a hands-on introduction to the interaction, potential and behavior of color based on the teaching of Josef Albers and the method of Bauhaus foundation courses. Personal discovery rather than theory is emphasized.
Keywords
Visual design, graphic design, color.
Introduction
This is a full-day tutorial providing an introduction to the interaction, potential and behavior of color based on the teaching of Josef Albers and the method of Bauhaus foundation courses. There will be no lectures, and theory will not be stressed. Rather, the tutorial emphasizes personal discovery. Working individually and in informal groups, participants will create collage studies to learn about concepts such as light intensity and color mixture.
Topics
The tutorial consists of a series of collage studies and a few demonstrations. Each study will take approximately an hour. During that time, participants will be given a description of the topic and some examples. Most of the time will be spent working with color samples: cutting them into appropriate sizes and shapes and arranging them to illustrate the topic under study. When the studies are complete, the instructors will hold a group critique of the work, as is standard in art classes. In this phase, students will see how their colleagues solved the same problems and get suggestions on improving their work.
An example will illustrate this technique. One of the studies is about the illusion of transparency. If two pieces of transparent, differently colored plastic were placed one over the other, the area of their intersection would be a third color. In the transparency study, students will simulate that with opaque pieces of colored paper.
Obviously, the intersection will not show the combination of the two colors because the paper is opaque. Instead, students will pick a third color to represent that intersection. The study will contain three pieces of colored paper arranged to look as if there were only two pieces with a light source from behind, creating the illusion of the third color. Doing this requires an understanding of how colors interact. That understanding is gained by individual exploration prefaced with a brief description of the interaction.
The tutorial will include the following topics:
- Light intensity: Create studies with advancing and receding colors, and the creation of space and depth. Demonstrations include the use of these techniques in designing windows in designing type for legibility and contrast.
- Color mixtures and relativity: Create studies using the illusion of transparency and color relationships. Further studies and demos will relate this to computer use.
The instructors will show examples of these topics to demonstrate how they are used in designing software user interfaces.
Summary
These notes are brief because the tutorial is not in a lecture format. Participants learn by working with color.
References
- Albers, Josef. Interaction of color. Yale University Press, 1971.
