COLOR TRANSFORMS- The Bezold Effect

            Color does more than just make something look livelier. Color has the ability to transform an entire design. It can accomplish this is many ways. One way is called the Bezold Effect.

            This is a special kind of optical mixture that is explained in the Albers reading assignments. The Bezold Effect was named after its discoverer. It states that certain strong colors, when evenly distributed, could change the entirety of the effect of a design. This just means that colors seem different when they are in different surroundings even thought they are the same pigments. A blue has a different effect when it is placed next to red, than when it is placed next to green. Because of this, one can say that color has a huge impact on the mood/atmosphere of a design.

            Everyone has already experienced the impact that different color palates can have on an image or design. A common example that everyone has dealt with is the white balance, or color effect of a photograph. When someone wants a serious photo, they most often go with black and white. When someone wants a whimsical photo, they most often go with sharper colors to intensify the picture.

            But going back to the Bezold Effect, it has been proven that changing just one color in a design can transform its entirety. That’s why your parents spent so much time deciding on what color to paint your house! That small detail made a big difference.


images found from:
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01121/bezold-effect_1121079i.jpg
http://web.missouri.edu/~hoarda/colortheory/Syllabus/Projects/Bezold_Effect/bezold.jpg