UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS AND COLOUR TERMINOLOGY P16

right is a color spectrum that shows this range along with two hue groups (red and blue) known as "tonal families?" From the spectrum, any pure hue can be mixed with white, black or gray to yield a tonal family. Note that within the tonal family are colours of different lightness, chroma, and saturation. These plots are illustrated below within the context of a cube model and a 2D graph (mapping value vs. chroma, constant saturation)

CHROMA

Chroma refers to the purity of a colour. A hue with high chroma has no black, white, or gray added to it. Conversely, adding white, black, or gray reduces its chroma. It’s similar to saturation but not quite the same. Chroma can be thought of as the brightness of a colour in comparison to white. In design, avoid using hues that have a similar (but not identical) chroma. Opt instead for hues with chromas that are either exactly the same or at least a few steps away from each other.

Highly chromatic colours contain maximum hue with little or no impurities such as white, black or gray. The colours at the outer edge of the COLORCUBE model that do not touch white or black contain maximum chroma. The degree to which a colour is free from being mixed with other colours is a good indication of its chromaticity. Often referred to as "colourfulness," chroma is the amount of identifiable hue in a colour. A colour without hue is achromatic or monochromatic and will appear gray. For most colours, as the Note: The images show brighter hues as they move from left to right. This indicates increasing chromaticity or chroma.

brightness increases, the chroma of each increases as well, except with the very light colours. Perhaps the easiest way to grasp this difficult concept is to visualize a graph such as the ones below.

SATURATION

Also known as "intensity," saturation describes the strength of a colour with respect to its value or lightness. What that means is a colour’s saturation is the degree to which it is different than gray at a given lightness. For instance, colours near middle gray are relatively unsaturated compared to brighter, more vibrant colours like those found on the outer edges of the COLORCUBE.

While it is fair to say that the condition of being full or vivid is merely a color's freedom from dilution by gray or its complement, it is important to note that saturation is measured along the lines of equal value or lightness. Please see the diagrams above and below for illustrated graphs and cube drawings demonstrating saturation. Saturation refers to how a hue appears under particular lighting conditions. Think of saturation in terms of weak vs. strong or pale vs. pure hues. In design, colours with similar saturation levels make for more cohesive-looking designs. As with chroma, colours with similar but not identical saturations can have a jarring effect on customers. Note: Just as the above graphs show saturation increasing from left to right, the following graphs map increasing saturation within a cubic context.

VALUE

Value could also be called “lightness.” It refers to how light or dark a colour is. Lighter colours have higher values. For example, orange has a higher value than navy blue or dark purple. Black has the lowest value of any hue, and white the highest. When applying colour values to your designs, favour colours with different values, especially ones with high chroma. High contrast values generally result in more aesthetically pleasing designs. The value or brightness of a colour is based on the amount of light emanating from the colour. The easiest way to remember this dimension of colour is to visualize the "grayscale," which runs from black to white and contains all of the

possible monochromatic grays. The brighter the color is, the higher its value. So a royal purple has less value, emits less light, than a sky blue. We can equate this grayscale to a colour chart using the same equation as the televisions employ: Gray Color Value = 0.30 Red + 0.59 Green + 0.11 Blue

See the diagrams to the right for a comparison of these equivalent scales. The graphs below plot increasing value in two and three dimensions.

TONES

Tones are created when gray is added to a hue. Tones are generally duller or softer-looking than pure hues. Tones are sometimes easier to use in designs. More gray can lend a certain vintage feel to websites. Depending on the hues, they can also add a sophisticated or elegant look.

SHADES

A shade is created when black is added to a hue, making it darker. The word is often incorrectly used to describe tint or tone, but technically shade only applies to hues made darker by the addition of black. In design, very dark shades are sometimes used instead of black and can serve as neutrals. Combining shades with tints or lighter neutrals is best to avoid too dark and heavy a look.

TINTS

A tint is formed when white is added to a hue, lightening it. Very light tints are sometimes called pastels, but any pure hue with white added to it is technically a tint, even if the colour is still quite bright. Tints are often used to create feminine or lighter designs. Pastel tints are especially used to make designs more feminine, though there are plenty of instances of other pastel sites with a more masculine or gender-neutral look. They also work well in vintage designs and are popular on websites targeted at parents of babies and toddlers.

LUMINANCE

This dimension of colour is related to value but is distinct in its mathematical definition. The luminance or lightness of a colour measures the intensity of

light per unit area of its source. We calculate it by taking the average of a series of achromatic colours. Suffice to say that luminance runs from very dim (dark) to very bright (dazzling) and can be best represented by a colour wheel, which shows all of the hues with equal luminance. If more light were added to a colour wheel, we would see the intensity of light increase and thus, the luminance would also increase.

The opposite would occur if light was reduced. Compare the planes of luminance, shown on the right, to the planes of value, above to get a clear understanding of this difficult concept.

Conclusion

While you don’t necessarily have to remember all of these technical terms, you should be familiar with the actual concepts. To that end, here’s a cheat sheet to jog your memory:  Hue is colour (blue, green, red, etc.).  Chroma is the purity of a colour (a high chroma has no added black, white or gray).  Saturation refers to how strong or weak a colour is (high saturation being strong).  Value refers to how light or dark a colour is (light having a high value).  Tones are created by adding gray to a colour, making it duller than the original.  Shades are created by adding black to a colour, making it darker than the original.  Tints are created by adding white to a colour, making it lighter than the original.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PRODUCT STAND OUT

If you’ve developed a new product in a popular category, it’s critical to find ways to make your product unique. You know your merchandise is precisely what your customers are looking for. The question is, how do you make sure they find it and recognize its superior value? As you prepare to introduce your offering to retailers, you must learn how to make your product stand out from competitors. It requires a careful blend of branding, communications and instore messaging. At Creative Print and Pack [CPP] now, we’ve been doing just that for nearly 15 years. Here are our best tips to help your product stand out from the crowd.

BE A HUMAN

Your product should solve a human need or problem. Even with number of coffee brands in the world, they can all share the marketplace because they solve people’s fundamental needs. Whether it’s a craving for a great-tasting hot beverage, a need for energy and focus or a desire for a luxurious experience, coffee can be the solution. The specific need a particular brand of coffee fulfils can lie in the branding. The same coffee beans can be dressed up as gourmet, organic, bold-flavoured, and smooth-tasting or any other number of things based on how they’re marketed and packaged. Another way your product can be human is by solving specific needs within a product category. Maybe you’ve developed a wireless mouse with a more comfortable, ergonomic design than others on the market. You might have a granola bar with a unique ingredient others aren’t using, such as a particular grain or super fruit. Perhaps you have a lotion formulated for a specific skin concern. Whatever you’ve done differently, highlight that in your branding. Consumers with the problem your product solves will see how yours stands out from the rest. Sometimes, we forget customers don’t buy from businesses. They buy from people. The difference between another product on the shelf and the one that

hits home with shoppers is how the offering and brand incorporate personality. Humanize your website and social media strategy. Create an “about product and firm” segment [in packaging design] that genuinely shows people who you are. Tell your brand’s story and inject the segment [in packaging design] with personality, not jargon. A fantastic formula for an “about product and firm” story begins with your founder discovering a problem and solving it with a unique product. Another way is digital…. Any customer interaction should feel personal. Write your social media messages and emails the way a person talks. Let your customer service reps use their names. Address emails to your customers’ first names and sign them with your own first name. Respond to comments on your social media channels, answer questions and create posts to inspire conversation.

Show your authenticity and trust through your product’s packaging or branding, too. One way to do this is by making your merchandise visible through the packaging. When customers see the product itself, they can trust it’s well made and will solve their needs. If you don’t want to expose the product through the packaging or use transparent materials, display a beautiful photo of the product on the box. Another option is to use a simplistic design that lets the offering and brand speak for themselves. Even in a competitive product category, you have something you do better than anyone else. Whatever your point of differentiation is, play to it. Identify what works for your product and build on it. What drives conversions and purchases? Is it your price point, ingredients list, quality performance or something else? Whatever it is that drives people to the checkout aisle is what you should focus on.

Have a Unique Culture and Mission

Most products on retail shelves aren’t much different from those around them. One area where you can make your product unique is in your brand culture and mission. It’s essential to have a clear mission and develop branding around it. For example, in the Consumer Packaging Goods industry, many brands envelop their products in a mission of giving back. Using recyclable packaging and sustainable ingredients makes that vision tangible. Consumers who believe in the mission will connect with your product when they see the package’s recycling symbol.