Page 100 - DMGT552_VISUAL_MERCHANDISING

Unit 5: The Basics of Visual Merchandising

fashion merchandise. Much of the colour comes from the merchandise itself, which requires no Notes
additional expense. Research shows that the proper choice of colour in store windows and store
interiors has significant drawing power. Warm colours (reds, oranges, and yellows) physically
attract customers to shop. On the other hand, cool colours (blues, greens, and violets) are more
appropriate for areas where customers will be deliberating over a big-ticket purchase such as a
fur coat. Colour used properly can attract the eye of the potential customer, create the desired
mood, and stimulate the viewer to make a purchase decision.
Skilful use of colour begins with an understanding of its three dimensions-hue, value, and
intensity.

Value

Value is defined as the relative lightness or darkness of a colour. It is an important tool for the
designer/artist, in the way that it defines form and creates spatial illusions. Contrast of value
separates objects in space, while gradation of value suggests mass and contour of a contiguous
surface. In the drawing on the right, value contrast separates the artichoke from the background,
and the separate leaves from one another, while gradation suggests the curves of leave surfaces
and of the whole form.

Hue

Hue is the term for the pure spectrum colours commonly referred to by the “colour names” –
red, orange, yellow, blue, green violet – which appear in the hue circle or rainbow. Theoretically
all hues can be mixed from three basic hues, known as primaries. When pigment primaries are
all mixed together, the theoretical result is black. Therefore pigment mixture is sometimes
referred to as subtractive mixture.
If values are close, shapes will seem to flatten out, and seem closely connected in space; none
will stand out from the others. If values contrast, shapes will appear to separate in space and
some will stand out from the others. This works whether the colours are just black, white and
grey, or whether hues are involved.
The primary colours consist of three hues from which we can theoretically mix all other hues:
1. Painters Primaries – red, blue, yellow
2. Printers Primaries – magenta, cyan (turquoise), yellow: spectrum. It is used as the basis for
colour printing.
3. Light Primaries – red, blue, green.
This definition is active when coloured light is mixed, as on your computer screen, or when
theatrical spotlights overlap on a white wall. Its effects are less familiar than pigment mixture to
most people. If all three primaries are mixed, the theoretical result is white light. Therefore
Light mixture is sometimes referred to as additive mixture. Your computer screen mixes colour
as light, and therefore follows additive colour mixture rules. This means that the depiction of
subtractive mixture shown here is less than ideal, particularly for the cyan (turquoise) and
magenta of the printer primaries.

Intensity or Chroma

Refers to the brightness, purity, or saturation of colour. These intense colours catch the eye and
stop the customer long enough for her to notice the merchandise.
 High-intensity colours are active and stimulating.

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