Map Elements-L7.pdf

Importance of Color in Map design With colors you can set a mood, attract attention, or make a statement. You can use color to motivate, or to cool down. By selecting the right color scheme, you can create mood of elegance, warmth or calm, or you can convey an image of playful youthfulness. Color ca...

Importance of Color in Map design With colors you can set a mood, attract attention, or make a statement. You can use color to motivate, or to cool down. By selecting the right color scheme, you can create mood of elegance, warmth or calm, or you can convey an image of playful youthfulness. Color can be your most powerful design element if you learn to use it effectively. Color Relationships • Colors affect each other in our perception. Simply, the way to pick the best color is by assessing how it looks compared to other map colors you need to use. For example, which color will make your markers stand out against the basemap? Which color will differentiate secondary features from your basemap, but won’t distract from primary features? Which colors show that one of your map attributes is increasing/decreasing, when they’re put next to each other in a palette? A good starting point for learning how to compare colors is the color wheel. Dr. Dan Peak, UNT HOW TO PRESENT YOUR DRAFT MAP TO THE BOSS OR CLIENT The Color Wheel ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ The color wheel or color circle is the basic tool for combining colors. The first circular color diagram was designed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. The color wheel is designed so that virtually any colors you pick from it will look good together. Over the years, many variations of the basic design have been made, but the most common version is a wheel of 12 colors based on the RYB (or artistic) color model. Traditionally, there are a number of color combinations that are considered especially pleasing. These are called color harmonies and they consist of two or more colors with a fixed relation in the color wheel. Primary Color Model (artist’s or painter’s primaries): Red, Yellow, Blue • In the RYB (or subtractive) color model, the primary colors are red, yellow and blue. • The three secondary colors (green, orange and purple) are created by mixing two primary colors. But, Technology Uses other Color Models • Engineers developed the “Red, Green, Blue” (RGB) model for early color television screens • Printers developed the “Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, blacK” (CYMK) model for early color printing • These two models are still heavily used today …. Additive Color Model: Red, Green, Blue (RGB) A large percentage of the visible spectrum can be represented by mixing red, green, and blue (RGB) colored light in various proportions and intensities. Where the colors overlap, they create cyan, magenta, and yellow. Use of Color • Hue - quality that distinguishes one color from another, such as red from blue - is the perceptual dimension associated with color names. Typically, we use different hues to represent different categories of data. - different hues, different data • Value - lightness or darknesses of color, with darker “more important” • Chroma or Saturation - richness or brilliance of color; higher intensity “more important” - Intensity of the color Hue (Color) Navy Brown Gold Turquoise Color Value • Example Yellow (From %100 to %0) 100 80 60 40 20 0 Saturation • Example Green Low Saturation High Saturation Colors in Context When the same color is used in different contexts the perception of that color can change radically (the center of both squares are 60% gray) Color Context Guidelines or color harmonies Color associations: • Warm colors for energetic or bold themes • Cool colors for low-key or calming, calm themes • Analogous colors (3 colors side by side in a 12-part color wheel) for harmonious themes Color Context Guidelines Color associations • Complementary colors (opposite in a color wheel) for maximum contrast or stability Both shades of orange are exactly the same in this example. The one on the left, however, looks more energetic than the one on the right simply due to a change in the darkness of the background color.