The Science of Colour: How Are Colours Defined and Organized?

Hey there, let's take a stroll through this colourful world and chat about how we make sense of all those vibrant hues! Scientists have done some pretty cool experiments to figure out if we all have a built-in system for sorting colours. And guess what? Turns out, we kinda do! (I love this - the Scientist in me!)

• Main Colour (Hue): Think of this as the star of the show – it's the colour that pops out at you first. You know, like cheerful yellows, calming blues, or bold reds. These are the colours we see on the colour wheel, neatly organized in a circle for easy reference.

• Colour Strength (Chroma): Now, this is where we talk about how intense a colour is. High chroma colours are like fireworks bursting in the sky, while low chroma colours are more gentle. You can spot chroma's intensity by where it sits on the colour wheel's radius.

• Brightness (Lightness): Imagine a scale from bright white to deep black – that's what we're talking about here. It's all about how light or dark a colour appears, regardless of its hue or chroma.

So, this three-dimensional way of looking at colours has led to all sorts of tools and systems that help us sort and understand colours better.

So in summary… Colours can be described in detail by their hue, saturation, and brightness.

• Hue: A fancy word for the actual colour itself, like red, orange, or green.

• Saturation: Think of this as how pure or vibrant a colour is. You can tone it down by mixing in some white or ramp it up for that extra pop!

• Brightness: It's all about how much light a colour reflects, no matter what hue or saturation it has. 

So there you have it! These three little descriptors help us understand colours a whole lot better. But stick around, because we've got plenty more to chat about in upcoming blog posts!

Happy Sewing

Jody