Applying Artistic Color Theories to Visualization

Abstract

We explore practical approaches to applying color theory to creating and examining visualizations and digital media. Our paper highlights general background on color theory as well as various color models and color spaces developed by painters, printers and scientists over the centuries. We review the color wheel as well as the hue, saturation and brightness (HSL) and hue, saturation and value (HSV) models targeted at addressing color display monitors and digital media. Finally, we discuss color schemes and show how these concepts can be applied to creating color maps for visualizations. We explore color analysis methods using online systems such as Adobe's Kuler and Color Scheme Designer tools.