Composition Techniques II

Colour Modes and Values

Different colour models describe colour in different ways. Some are connected to a specific output, such as screens or print, while others are useful for selecting, adjusting, and communicating colour.

Remember: HSB and HSV describe the same basic model; some software uses the term Brightness, while other systems use Value.

Colour Schemes

A colour scheme is a structured relationship between colours on the colour wheel. For this activity, create one palette using each of the five schemes below.

Source: Wong, W. (1972). “Principles of Two Deimensional Design”. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.

Johannes Itten — Colour Relationships

Johannes Itten explored how colours change visually according to their relationships with surrounding colours. For this activity, consider contrast, perspective, and gradation when applying colour to your compositions.

Source: Itten, J. (1970). Itten. The Elements of Color. A Treatise on The Color System of Johannes Itten based on his book The Art of Color. Edited and with a foreword and evaluation by Faber Birren. Translated by Ernst Van Hagen. Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, USA.

Timothy Samara — Colour Proportioning

Colour proportioning considers how much visual space each colour occupies. Changing the relative amount of a colour changes its visual weight, hierarchy, emphasis, and relationship to the other colours in the composition.

For this activity, do not treat the six colours in a palette as equal. Establish a deliberate relationship between:

• Dominant colours — occupy the largest areas
• Secondary colours — support the dominant colour
• Accent colours — occupy smaller areas and create emphasis

Important: Colour proportioning is part of the composition. Two designs using exactly the same five colours can produce very different visual effects when the amount of each colour changes.

Source: Samara, T. (2007). “Color Fundamentals: Color Proportioning.” In Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual (pp. 106-107). Rockport Publishers.

Create the colour schemes

Use Adobe Color to create five palettes, each containing five colours.

Create one palette for each colour scheme:

1. Monochromatic
2. Complementary
3. Analogous
4. Triadic
5. Tetradic (Square)

Experiment with:

• Hue
• Saturation
• Brightness
• Value
• Relationships between dominant and secondary colours

Save the Hex codes for all six colours.

Open the “Adobe Colour Palette Generator” tutorial directly

Define the colour proportioning

For each palette, decide how much visual space each of the six colours should occupy.

The six colours do not need to appear in equal amounts.

Consider:

• Which colour will be dominant
• Which colours will occupy secondary areas
• Which colours will function as accents

Define a percentage for every colour. Together, the six proportions must equal 100%.

For example:

The percentages above are only an example. Design a different proportion according to the visual relationships within each palette.

Set up the Illustrator document

Create one Illustrator file containing five artboards, one for each palette.

Use:

• Units: Pixels
• Size: 1000 × 1000 px
• Aspect ratio: 1:1
• Colour mode: RGB
• Bleed: 10 px on all sides
• Raster effects: High, 300 PPI
• Artboards: 5
• Spacing: 30 px
• Filename: Lastname-Firstname-CompTech2-ColourPalettes.ai

Required tutorial: Follow the document setup tutorial step by step. It contains the required document settings, artboards, margins, bleed, and file organization.

Open the “Adobe Illustrator 8 Document Setup” tutorial directly

Design each palette sheet

Create **one palette per artboard**. Each artboard must include: - The **name of the colour scheme** - Five colour swatches with: - **RGB** values - **CMYK** values - **Hex code** - **HSB/HSV** values - A visual representation of the **colour proportioning with percentage values**.

This is only a basic design example. Use it only as a reference for the type of information that should be included in each palette sheet.

The palette sheet is itself a design composition. Consider:

• Placement: Position information intentionally within the artboard.
• Alignment: Establish clear alignments between swatches, values, titles, and labels.
• Spacing: Maintain consistent distances between related elements.
• Hierarchy: Make the palette name, colours, proportions, and technical information easy to distinguish.
• Typography: Use a readable font and appropriate font sizes.
• Legibility: Ensure text remains readable against its background.
• Consistency: Use the same visual system across all five palette sheets.
• Proportion: Make the relative amount of each colour visually understandable.

All five artboards should look like parts of the same designed set. Changes between pages should come primarily from the colour palettes and their proportions, not from unrelated layouts or typography.

Check the colour information

To check a colour in Adobe Illustrator: 1. Select the coloured shape. 2. Double-click the **Fill** tool. 3. Record the required RGB, CMYK, HEX, and HSB/HSV information in a side note. 4. Type all information in your document.

Overview:

• Select three of the five palettes.
• Then select three different compositions created for Composition Techniques I – Parts 1 and 2.
• Assign one selected palette (with the colour proportion) to each composition.
• Duplicate the original Illustrator files before editing. Do not overwrite your original Composition Techniques I files.

Plan the colour application

Before recolouring each composition, identify:

1. The dominant colour.
2. The secondary colours.
3. The accent colours.
4. The approximate percentage assigned to each colour.
5. Which parts of the existing composition will receive each colour.

The proportioning defined in the palette sheet must guide the final composition.

For example, if one colour represents approximately 40% of your palette and another represents 5%, those colours should not appear in approximately equal amounts in the final composition.

Apply the colour palettes

Apply one selected palette to each composition.

For each composition:

1. Use all five colours from the selected palette.
2. Apply the colour proportioning established on the palette sheet.
3. Preserve the main formal structure of the original Composition Techniques I work.
4. Use colour to strengthen hierarchy, contrast, depth, grouping, movement, or emphasis.
5. Maintain a consistent relationship between dominant, secondary, and accent colours.
6. Refine the distribution by eye while remaining recognizably connected to the planned proportions.

The percentages do not need to be measured pixel by pixel. They should function as a clear visual guide for the relative amount of each colour.

Gradients

Gradients may be used when they support the selected palette and colour proportions.

Open the “Adobe Illustrator Colour Gradients” tutorial directly

Coloured textures

When the selected Composition Techniques I work includes texture, you may colour the existing texture in Adobe Photoshop.

Open the “Adobe Photoshop Colour Filters” tutorial directly

Open the “Adobe Illustrator 6 Importing and Masking Images” tutorial directly

Embed all raster images before saving and exporting the Illustrator file.

Final review checklist

• Five colour schemes are included. Monochromatic, Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, and Tetradic palettes are present.
• Each palette contains five colours. Every colour includes the required RGB, CMYK, HEX, and HSB/HSV information.
• Each palette defines colour proportioning. The intended amount of each colour is identified and the complete palette equals 100%.
• The proportions are visually represented. Swatch sizes or an additional proportion diagram clearly communicate dominant, secondary, and accent colours.
• The palette sheets are carefully designed. Placement, alignment, spacing, hierarchy, typography, and legibility are intentional.
• The five palette sheets are consistent. They use the same underlying layout, typography, information structure, and visual system.
• Three different palettes are applied. Each final composition uses a different selected palette.
• The planned colour proportions are applied. The relative amount of each colour in the final compositions reflects the proportion developed in the corresponding palette sheet.
• The files remain technically complete. Required layers, guides, margins, editable vector elements, and embedded images remain available where applicable.