The study of color and its role in art and design is known as color theory. Humans have obviously been thinking about colors for thousands of years, but modern color theory emerged in the 1800s, when it began to diverge from science and become purely an art form. Although some basic scientific principles about color and perception are required to understand this theory, much of modern color theory revolves around how people view, think about, and interact with colors, from those on their walls to the hues in a company logo. As much as science, this field incorporates psychology, history, and criticism.
The field of color theory is vast, with a number of well-known theorists and authors contributing to the discussion. It could be about a lot of things, but at its core, it’s about color, how color is created, how colors are arranged, and how they interact. Color theorists study how a color’s context affects it, as well as how different colors work together or against each other in compositions ranging from paintings to brochures.
Many people can confidently state that the colors clash, but they are unable to explain why. Someone who has studied color theory can examine the same object and discuss how the colors’ saturation, tones, placement, and context combine to cause them to clash. While “clashing” colors aren’t always a bad thing, a lack of color harmony can be quite unsettling, as you’ve probably noticed if you’ve ever tried to pair red shoes with a red sweater; small differences between the reds can completely ruin the look.
The study of color’s historical use is one aspect of color theory. Color theorists, for example, look at the shades that dominated particular eras in art for clues about the societies in which the art was created. For example, some artists believe that the dark, subdued tones that dominated Northern European art for much of the Middle Ages were related to the era’s “little ice age,” which made European life significantly darker and duller. Colors were also important historically because some of the ingredients required were quite expensive and difficult to come by.
Color theory students are also interested in the meanings of specific colors, such as the use of bold colors in company logos or the subtle messages that people may be sending with sage-green stationery, for example. These color theorists also consider how colors alter a space, making interior design recommendations based on the space and how it will be used.