Color Terminology

Question 1

Subtractive Color

Answer 1

An acetate envelope printed with transparent primary colors transforms the cover of publication and creates multiple triangles in varying hues and tones as it is removed.

Question 2

Additive Color

Answer 2

System used on monitors and televisions, based on RGB (red, green, blue). When combined, these form white light.

Question 3

Analogous Color

Answer 3

Colors that lie adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

Question 4

CMYK

Answer 4

Cyan, magenta, yellow, key (black): the four colors that make up the full-color printing process.

Question 5

Complementary Color

Answer 5

Colors that lie opposite each other on the color wheel.

Question 6

Gamut

Answer 6

The complete range of colors available within one system of reproduction- for example, CMYK or RGB gamut.

Question 7

Primary Color

Answer 7

Red, yellow or blue

Question 8

Secondary Color

Answer 8

A mix of any two primaries: orange, green, or violet.

Question 9

Spot Color

Answer 9

Any flat color, like Pantone or Toyo colors, printed as a solid, and not made up of CMYK.

Question 10

Subtractive Color

Answer 10

System used in printing, based on CMYK colors.

Question 11

Tertiary Color

Answer 11

The resulting color formed when an equal amount of a primary and a secondary color are mixed. The Primary and secondary colors must be beside each other on the color wheel.

Question 12

On- Screen Color

Answer 12

Additive primaries and RGB light are used to create colors on computers, televisions, and monitors. Combined, the additive primaries result in white light.

Question 13

Printing Primaries

Answer 13

Subtractive primaries and CMYK - cyan, magenta, yellow and key ( black) - are the primaries used in printing. When combined, subtractive colors make black.

Question 14

Advancing and Receding Color

Answer 14

Colors in the red spectrum appear to advance to the human eye, whereas those in the blue spectrum appear to recede.

Question 15

Color Modes

Answer 15

The expression of color in numerical values that enable us to mix them efficiently: CMYK, LAB, RGB.

Question 16

Simultaneous Contrast

Answer 16

The human eye tends to differentiate between two neighboring colors by emphasizing their differences rather than their similarities- background colors affect foreground colors ( the image).

Question 17

Vibration

Answer 17

Complementary colors of equal lightness and high saturation tend to make each other appear more brilliant, and cause the illusion of motion along the edges where they meet.

Question 18

Weight

Answer 18

Colors differ in perceived “weight”. For example, if a man were to move two large boxes equal in size, one pale green and the other dark brown, he would probably pick up the green one because it appeared lighter. It is generally assumed that blue-greens look lighter whereas reds appear stronger, and therefore heavier.

Question 19

Grayscale

Answer 19

Squares in tones of black and white create half tones and can define light and shadow in both an abstract and a representational way. Subtle variations in the value of each square will create gradients that blend seamlessly.

Question 20

Vibrating Edge

Answer 20

When compliments in red and green are adjacent, the eye perceives a faint white line along the edge. Vibrating edge can render typography unreadable.

Question 21

Anologous

Answer 21

Similar, comparable, alike, for example, two colors that are near to each other, such as grass green and leaf green, are analogous.

Question 22

Contrast

Answer 22

Differentiation between two or more elements of image color.

Question 23

Harmony

Answer 23

Image with a balance of two or more colors that work together. For example taupe and gray.

Question 24

Associations

Answer 24

Connections between colors and emotions, culture, experience, and memory.

Question 25

Connotations

Answer 25

A color’s broader associations, for example: green - jealousy, naivety, illness, environment, nature.

Question 26

Denotations

Answer 26

What the color literally means, or is; for example, a red rose is a green stem with red petals.

Question 27

Data

Answer 27

Facts or pieces of information of any kind.

Question 28

Diagram

Answer 28

Drawing or plan that explains the parts of something, or how something works.

Question 29

Quantitative

Answer 29

Related to quantities of things, or measurements ( numerical).

Question 30

Schematic

Answer 30

Simplified diagram or plan related to a larger scheme or structure.

Question 31

Statistical

Answer 31

Related to the collection, classification, and organization of ( often numerical) information.