Articles by Rune Madsen
A short history of color theoryColor theory has a long history with roots in both art and science. Early theories were based on observations and speculation, while later scientists like Newton and Goethe used experiments to understand the nature of light and color perception. Many artists created color models to represent color relationships, but they often failed to create perceptually uniform scales. Munsell created a more accurate system dividing color into hue, value, and chroma. The Bauhaus school produced influential works by Itten and Albers focusing on the subjective experience of color. There is no single theory of color harmony, as color perception is complex and subjective. Today, subtractive CMY and additive RGB color models are used in printing and displays respectively. While the science of color is well understood, designers still lack proper tools to visualize and work with color in a meaningful way.