visual langauge: pantones and colour theory.

Pantones.

PMS: Pantome Matching System.

*The Pantone Matching System is a standardised, global, coded system of colour matching which helps to distinguish colours, therefore, it needn't be subjective- and thus able to produce exact colours. Around 30,000 possible colours can be matched.

*Percentages are used in CMYK printing.

*Solid colour on coated paper, uncoated: matt finish, coated: shiny, reflective.

*Colours are also determined by the stock you are printing onto (see above).

PANTONES ENSURE THAT YOU CAN MATCH YOUR COLOURS PERFECTLY WHEN PRINTING.

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In our design practice groups, we then went on to work on an exercise in colour theory, putting into practice all we had learnt in our afternoon session. In our designated "colour groups" we arranged the ten objects (each) that we had bought in with us around the table in a "colour wheel"- organising our colours by shades and tints, graduating into other colours- red into orange, orange in yellow, yellow into green, green into blue, blue into violet, and then back round of violet into red. Here are the results we achieved:

We then went onto practice using the pantone matching system, and matched our (red) objects to their exact colour, as if they were being specifically chosen for print.

We chose the most accurate pantone we thought possible, though the pictures do not necessarily show this, as light and shadows were present in the room, and therefore do not perhaps look entirely accurate.

I then went on to make colour swatches of these ten pantones in photoshop:

I found it fascinating just to see, in comparison, how much the shads and tones really varied within the colour red. From top-bottom, left column than right column my pantone samples are:

formula solid matte booklet

* Bisto lid : PANTONE DE 102-1 C

c 20 m 100 y 70 k 15

*Teabag box: PANTONE DE 91-1 C

c 0 m 100 y 80 k 10

*Craft Knife

PANTONE DE 73-1 C

c 0 m 100 y60 k 0

coated euro booklet

*Throat Lozenges Box

PANTONE DE 108-1 C

c 0 m 100 y 60 k 0

*Mount board frame

PANTONE DE 98-2 C

c 0 m 90 y 65 k 10

coated vol.1

*Graphic Design book front cover

PANTONE RED 032 C 80% (ratio of ink on stock)

solid matte

*Tesco Strawberry Lemonade packaging label

PANTONE 206M

14 pts PANTONE Rub.Red 87.5

2 pts PANTONE Yellow 12.5

*Cadmium Red Paint tube

PANTONE 185M

12 pts PANTONE WARM RED 75.0

4 pts PANTONE Rub.Red 25.0

*Tomato Ketchup Bottle

PANTONE 199M 

12 pts PANTONE Rub.Red 75.0

4 pts PANTONE YELLOW 25.0

*Cola-Cola Can

PANTONE 200M

12 pts PANTONE Rub.Red 73.9

4 pts PANTONE YELLOW 24.6

1/4 pt PANTOME BLACK 2.5

 

More information can be found at: www.pantone.com