"The Language of Color" with Jim Krause

Jim Krause takes us into the daunting world of color, showcasing the vocabulary, intricacies and the why artists and designers choose the colors they do.

Krause explains the 3 components of color: hue, saturation & value.  Hue essentially is a color, saturation is how bright or muted a color is, and value is how dark or light it may be.  All three of these components make up all the visible colors we experience in the real world.  He also stresses the importance of monitor calibration to accurately portray your design to the printer and/or client.  An important tidbit I extracted from the video was the importance of communication between client and printer. 

As a designer, one should question the client thoroughly to clarify the wants and needs, specifying the target audience, and knowing the competition in the client’s market.  In the end, being practical with the color and the design is preferred, but sometimes a unique, unexpected color may be beneficial. 

There are three options for computer color designs, RGB, CMYK, and spot.  RGB focuses on designs that will be perceived on the web, since the monitor displays utilize Reds, Greens, and Blues to create its color spectrum.  CMYK are for printed material, since printers use Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black to create its color spectrum.  The best for print is actually the third option, spot.  Spot colors are pre-mixed or pure that are printed using a single run.