Theory Interpretations

Vibrating boundaries

Another way that the publication of Pantone 15-5519 TPX Turquoise focuses on colour is through the use of found Turquoise in everyday life. The photographs of the found Turquoise throughout the publication are generated by numerous colour hunts in the city of Leeds. The photographs are shot from Turquoise that was found in streets, shops, decorations, furniture, banners, everyday objects, restaurants, garbage, museums etc. This is a successful method of exploring colour as it forces you to go out and search; physical research.

Each photograph of the found Turquoise consists of a wide amount of different shades and hues within it, this was in order show the colour theory of Light-Dark Contrast. The colours range from pale greens, to neon turquoise to dark blues with every other shade in between.

However, through this process, the idea moves from the colour theory of Light-Dark Contrast to the colour theory of Vibrating Boundaries. The colour theory of Vibrating Boundaries is explored through the publication of Pantone 15-5519 TPX Turquoise through the use of the colour orange. Vibrating boundaries is the theory that a colour is most intense when it is next to its contrasting colour, e.g. the most extreme but simplest example of a vibrating boundary is Black and White.

The Vibrating Boundary for the colour Turquoise is a warm shade of Orange. The original top ten photographs from the colour hunt were developed into colour splash photographs; the technique of converting them to black and white photographs, while keeping the chosen details in colour (the turquoise parts within each photograph). The colour splash photographs were then further developed so that the Turquoise was changed to its Vibrating Boundary shade of Orange. This technique works extremely well as it diverts all of the attention the singular colour.

The Vibrating Boundary also plays on the idea of temperature within colour. The colour Turquoise relates to the sea and the sky (cool tones) while the colour Orange relates to the idea of warmth and fire (warm tones). This is also another way Orange is works successfully as the Vibrating Boundary for the colour Turquoise as well as it being the most intense colour against it.

Simultaneous Contrast

For the publication of Pantone 15-5519 TPX Turquoise, the second colour theory focuses on Simultaneous Contrast. Simultaneous Contrast is the idea that for any colour, the eye simultaneously imagines the complementary colour. It depends on how the colour is seen by the eye of the beholder, which may also suggest that the simultaneous contrast of one colour may be seen different to how someone else sees it. 

Furthermore, the theory of simultaneous contrast is that a singular colour can alter the way we perceive the tone and hue of another when two different colours are arranged together as one. The original colours don't change, but the eye alters them; this could suggest that it can be seen as an illusion.

Simultaneous contrast is shown in the publication for Turquoise in an extremely playful and fun way, using the idea of sweets. Six different people all ate sweets that included shades of turquoise, blue and green in order to stain their mouths to see how the colour changes. All of the sweets were the same flavor; blue raspberry.

This experiment shows how the one colour can change and look different depending on the colour of each persons’ tongue/mouth as well as the shape. The photographs show the contrast between the cool tones of the turquoise and blue against the warm tones of pink and red from the tongue. If the photographs were flipped so that the tongue was turquoise and the sweets stains were red, the tones and hues would be perceived in a completely different way; the original photograph does not change.

A set of six different people were used for this experiment which achieves a clear range of different colour contrasts within the same shades; one person may have more colour in their tongue than someone else, or the colour of the sweets may stain one persons tongue brighter than someone else.  Also, certain people react to colour better than others.

The contrast between the reds with the turquoise shades created from the sweets work extremely well within the photographs, all the turquoise colours begin to pop. The selected five Pantone colours from each photograph show a wide range of different shades and hues; light, dark, bright, dull, opaque.

(1/6 of the Pantone colour developments for Simultaneous Contrast below)

Contrast of Saturation

For the publication of Pantone 15-5519 TPX Turquoise, a colour theory that is focused on throughout is Contrast of Saturation. Saturation describes how pure a singular colour is and as well as hue it is split into one of the three properties of colour. Saturation is an inter exchangeable term in the same way that Intensity and Brilliance are. Furthermore, Contrast of Saturation means the contrast between the purity, intensity and dullness of the colour.

The Contrast of Saturation depends on if the colour has higher pigments of black or white. A purer colour will be have higher pigments of white, where as a richer colour will have higher pigments of black. Saturated colours can be diluted by mixing with grey, however this makes the colour less pigmented; dull.

Contrast of Saturation is shown in the publication for Turquoise through the use of abstract collage making; using different shades of Turquoise found in a range of different paper medias which include acetate, colour paper, magazines, posters, postcards etc. Each paper is different shade of turquoise, whether that be from an image of a piece of clothing, an advertisement poster or purely coloured paper. The paper shapes were carefully arranged using layering, contrast and scale to show each colour with its highest contrasts.

(1/4 of the collage developments for Contrast of Saturation below)