WEBVTT 00:00:07.604 --> 00:00:12.387 Let me introduce myself; my name is Joann Eckstut. 00:00:12.387 --> 00:00:20.318 I am the co-author of *What Is Color? 50 Questions and Answers on the Science of Color*. 00:00:20.684 --> 00:00:25.634 When I'm not writing, I spend my time working as an interior designer. 00:00:25.863 --> 00:00:31.756 Today, I would like to discuss with you the transitory nature of color. 00:00:32.231 --> 00:00:37.044 There are four primary ways in which colors appear to change or shift. 00:00:37.445 --> 00:00:42.100 Number 1: Daylight is constantly changing. 00:00:42.162 --> 00:00:46.033 So, the colors we see change constantly as well. 00:00:46.400 --> 00:00:51.959 Number 2: Changing a light source changes what colors we see. 00:00:52.518 --> 00:00:58.791 Number 3: Colors appear to change depending on what colors surround them. 00:00:58.993 --> 00:01:06.000 And Number 4: Colors that appear to match in one setting do not match in another. 00:01:06.412 --> 00:01:08.792 Let's start with number one. 00:01:08.795 --> 00:01:15.190 Daylight is constantly changing. So, the colors we see change constantly as well. 00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:22.882 Although we don't necessarily realize it, millions of changes in light happen all throughout the day. 00:01:23.293 --> 00:01:28.927 Here, it's beautifully illustrated in this time-lapse image of the Statue of Liberty, 00:01:28.979 --> 00:01:32.211 which takes place just as the Sun sets. 00:01:32.212 --> 00:01:37.755 You can see that even in this short period of time there are myriad changes. 00:01:38.010 --> 00:01:42.383 We could be overwhelmed by this information about constantly changing light, 00:01:42.383 --> 00:01:45.523 but our brains help us to hold steady. 00:01:45.523 --> 00:01:49.804 So, for example, when viewing the red house in this illustration, 00:01:49.804 --> 00:01:55.986 the human brain has no difficulty in seeing it as entirely one red, 00:01:56.006 --> 00:02:02.751 even though the side in the Sun looks coral and the side in the shade looks maroon. 00:02:02.751 --> 00:02:08.553 When you isolate the colors and place them side by side, as in the two swatches here, 00:02:08.553 --> 00:02:11.900 the coral and the maroon tell a different story. 00:02:11.921 --> 00:02:17.821 Number 2: Changing a light source changes the colors we see. 00:02:17.912 --> 00:02:22.951 When we change the light source illuminating a space, the elements in the space 00:02:22.951 --> 00:02:31.072 reflect *different* wavelengths of light, causing the space and the objects in it to change their color appearance. 00:02:31.072 --> 00:02:38.379 For example, daylight emits light evenly across the spectrum, so no particular color is emphasized, 00:02:38.379 --> 00:02:44.181 while incandescent light emphasizes reds, oranges and yellows, 00:02:44.181 --> 00:02:48.629 so objects lit in this way emphasize those tones. 00:02:48.765 --> 00:02:52.559 Fluorescents have an uneven pattern of emissions, 00:02:52.559 --> 00:02:57.723 giving objects a green or a yellow-green kind of a cast; 00:02:57.723 --> 00:03:03.509 whereas LEDs are weak in violet, blue-violet and red areas, 00:03:03.531 --> 00:03:07.721 but peak in the orange, yellow and green range. 00:03:07.722 --> 00:03:13.600 In the example that we see here, the pencils on the left, lit in incandescent light, 00:03:13.601 --> 00:03:18.521 show the red as enhanced and the natural wood as pinker. 00:03:18.522 --> 00:03:22.423 The penicils in the middle, that are lit with LEDs, 00:03:22.423 --> 00:03:27.934 slightly neutralize all the colored pencils and the wood appears beige. 00:03:28.028 --> 00:03:32.720 The pencils on the right, that are lit with fluorescent lights, 00:03:32.720 --> 00:03:38.111 are more muted generally and the natural wood appears a light brown. 00:03:38.344 --> 00:03:43.644 So, the source of the light determines the way colors are perceived. 00:03:43.928 --> 00:03:49.730 Number 3: Colors appear to change depending on what colors surround them. 00:03:50.213 --> 00:03:53.916 This phenomenon is known as *simultaneous contrast*. 00:03:53.990 --> 00:03:58.210 Simultaneous contrast reveals something of utmost importance: 00:03:58.211 --> 00:04:01.032 Color is not a fixed entity. 00:04:01.032 --> 00:04:06.000 Color isn't constructed solely via particular wavelengths of light, 00:04:06.030 --> 00:04:09.064 but by a larger visual field. 00:04:09.064 --> 00:04:13.558 Simultaneous contrast can make a color look more saturated, 00:04:13.600 --> 00:04:18.429 duller, darker, lighter, or some combination thereof, 00:04:18.627 --> 00:04:22.619 depending on what color it sits next to. 00:04:22.619 --> 00:04:28.816 In the example seen here, all of the X's are printed in the same color, 00:04:28.872 --> 00:04:33.944 although they appear to change color as they are paired with different backgrounds. 00:04:34.179 --> 00:04:38.855 In the second example, the turquoise-blue in the circle on the left 00:04:38.855 --> 00:04:42.100 and the bright lime-green in the circle on the right 00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:45.132 are actually the *same color*. 00:04:45.132 --> 00:04:50.775 I know this seems impossible at first glance, but I assure you this is true. 00:04:50.775 --> 00:04:53.931 They *appear* to be completely distinct colors 00:04:53.931 --> 00:04:58.707 only because the colors they sit next to are different. 00:04:58.867 --> 00:05:05.936 Number 4: Colors that appear to match in one setting do not in another. 00:05:06.086 --> 00:05:11.556 Two materials can appear to be the same matching color under particular lighting, 00:05:11.556 --> 00:05:15.715 but no longer match when moved to a different light source. 00:05:15.715 --> 00:05:18.864 This called *metamerism*. 00:05:18.865 --> 00:05:24.606 For example, a blue carpet and a blue fabric swatch, as seen in this illustration, 00:05:24.606 --> 00:05:28.035 may look the same when observed in a showroom 00:05:28.035 --> 00:05:32.194 that is lit with bulbs that are close to daylight in temperature. 00:05:32.194 --> 00:05:36.490 *However*, inside a room lit with *incandescent* bulbs, 00:05:36.490 --> 00:05:41.790 that reflect more red, the carpet may appear to have a more purple cast 00:05:41.863 --> 00:05:46.478 and no longer match the upholstery fabric as it did in the showroom. 00:05:46.575 --> 00:05:50.643 This is the bane of every designer's existence: 00:05:50.752 --> 00:05:56.599 color appearing one way in the showroom, another in the interior where it's going to be used. 00:05:56.736 --> 00:05:58.736 So, beware! 00:05:58.736 --> 00:06:05.321 This is due to the different molecular properties of the dyes – say, a vat dye versus a pigment dye – 00:06:05.321 --> 00:06:11.320 and the different molecular properties of the fibers – say, a wool versus a nylon. 00:06:11.724 --> 00:06:16.994 So, now that you are aware of how ephemeral color can be, 00:06:17.068 --> 00:06:20.680 you will be prepared to work with it.