DNA of color....

Of what?  COLOR...the DNA of color!  Use it to be sure your color scheme will harmonize.

After attending a class on color I got all excited and will write 3 different posts regarding this.  Think about how we perceive color...no 2 people see or react to the same color the same way!  Why, because of emotional and biological factors.  (Maybe your time-out sofa was mauve growing up and now you hate that color...almost get sick seeing it...enough of a visual?)

Before we get too far into this subject, consider harmony in color.  In order to do this, we must break down color into its "DNA form" or its most basic parts.  What colors make it up?  By that I mean, how much of the primary colors are present?  Blue, yellow and red. And, how much of each are in it- or it's undertone.  (We are not talking about whether the color is a warm or cool color here-we will save that for another time.)

Basic Color Chart

According to an article titled "Color Decoded", (published on www.kbbonline.com and written by Feras Irikat), before we get to far with the DNA of color or it's undertone we must first consider that a color can only have a blue or yellow undertone.  No red, but why not?  Our eye can recognize red as a full color, our rods and cones(inside our eyes) cannot recognize it as an undertone, therefore our eye moves to the next dominating primary DNA, blue or yellow.  If colors share alot of DNA strands they will work together harmoniously.  If they don't share these same DNA strands or undertones, will vibrate with each other.  With common DNA or undertones in the colors we are using together, the easier it is on our eyes to transition visually from color to color. 

The citrus colors and the purple are more lively here!

The article goes on to say that this does not mean you should never use "vibrating" colors, because some situations may require them.  They also quoted Michel Eugene Chevreul:  "In order to change a color, it is enough to change the color of its background." 



This room has a less jarring color scheme.

The next blog will go more in depth with color undertones and characteristics of people who prefer one undertone or the other.  Where will you fit in?