Sweater Design - Choosing Colors

Choosing Colors

The choice of colors is critical to the design of a sweater.

The simplest choice is to use multiple shades of a single color (e.g., various shades of blue), perhaps accented with a contrasting color (e.g. flecks of yellow). The arrangement of shades on the sweater can have a significant visual effect, due to the principle of chiaroscuro; dark shades tend to recede and be smaller, whereas light shades advance and seem larger. For example, vertical stripes with a light color in the middle and dark colors on the sides have a slimming effect. Psychologically, bright colors tend to be associated with straightforward, innocent or extroverted personalities, whereas darker shades are associated with more thoughtful, experienced and introverted personalities.

The "temperature" of a color also affects its perceived depth. Warm colors have red or yellow tones (including orange and yellow-green) and are associated psychologically with warmth and energy. Cool colors have more bluish undertones (including purples, aquas and greens) and are associated psychologically with serene, calm personalities. Warm colors tend to advance relative to cool colors, when both are presented simultaneously.

Contrasting colors may be chosen in various ways. A common choice is to take a complementary colors from one of the several color wheels (e.g., blue and orange, green and red), or to choose a pairing that occurs in nature, e.g., yellow and red.