Principles of Color: A Review of Past Traditions and Modern Theories of Color Harmony

by Faber Birren

An elementary work on color, dealing with traditional principles of harmony as well as advanced principles derived from modern studies of the psychology of human color perception. Mr. Birren tells a well-organized story of how to achieve harmony with color, beginning with a chapter on color circles and proceeding to a straightforward discussion of traditional principles of color harmony and how they were accepted in the past.

Genres: Art

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Faber Birren makes his living by prescribing color. He is a consultant on the use of color in industrial and other applications and has advised governments, schools and the armed forces as well as industry and commerce.

Reviews

[Tripleguess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was another victim of my shelf purge. I bought it years ago, never touched it, finally flipped through it while deciding whether or not it warranted the space it was taking up. Ridiculously, for a book on color, there's no color! There are a few color plates in the back. That's it. I don't understand how you can discuss color throughout the whole book and not have any examples for the reader to look at. That's like introducing Bach's works by showing the sheet music -- to someone who doesn't read notes. I'm getting rid of this.

[Deborah Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can get your hands on a copy of this book that contains color plates, you'll be able to understand Birren's point.He discusses the selection of oil paint colors by specific artists (Rembrandt, Turner) or specific periods (Impressionist). One of the things he most extols is the ability of an artist to create the illlusion that light emanates from the canvas itself, a talent he says Turner excelled in.

[Eelco den Heijer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The edition that I have contains a lot of illustrations in black & white, which renders this book rather pointless; the text illustrates an idea of colour, the accompanying figure is in black and white.... There are colour plates in the back, but most figures are in black & white.... Duh.... Two stars are rather forgiving imho...

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good information, but a little too concise for someone with as little knowledge as I have of the subject.

[KAYAL]

Color, form, and space
by Birren, Faber, 1900-1988

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a GREAT read, a good book as an introduction to Color Theory. Includes a basic overview of the history of Color Circles along with basics of color harmony and special effects.