Color

The color of objects, including clothing, have a significance in our social world. For many cultures and contexts, colors in clothing and how they are arranged to create patterns matter for how they are produced and consumed (worn). There are specific techniques for producing colors in their varying intensities and different effects are had on experience. The relationship between between color and the value society places on a thing can be seen in many forms, here we focus on the concept of color and the ways in which color communicates meaning and emotion as it is displayed in various ways.

Measuring Color

In color science, the standard measurement for color is light which is measured in wavelengths. A wavelength is the distance between two consecutive points of a wave (from one peak or crest of a wave and the next peak or crest). In the image below you can see the visible light spectrum and the wavelengths of each color perceptible by the human eye. The colors we see are the result of wavelengths of light being reflected by an object to our eyes. Watch the video to the right to learn more about how we see color.

Mixing Color

Just like colored pigments in paint, light also has primary colors. The primary colors of light are red, green and blue. Lights can be “mixed” to create different colors. Our television and computer screens use these properties to create displays. Mixing green, red, and blue lights in different proportions can make all the colors of the light we see on screen.

If you look at your screen with a magnifying glass you will be able to see only three colours are being used. With the advances in technology, this is easier on some screens than others, so look at the diagram to the right. When coloured lights are mixed together, it is called additive mixing. Where green and red light overlap, yellow light is produced. Where red, green, and blue light overlap equally, there is white light. Red, green and blue are the primary colours for light and we call mixing these colors additive mixing.

Mixing pigment is quite different from mixing light, however. Take a look at the diagram on the bottom right. A traditional color wheel has 12 colors. The first three are the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow). The primary colors are mixed together to create the 3 secondary colors (green, violet, and orange). Finally, the secondary colors can be mixed with either a primary or secondary color to create the 6 tertiary colors (red- violet, red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, and blue-violet). This type of mixing is called subtractive mixing. If you mix all the primary colors together equally you will get a pure black color.