Josef Albers — Interaction of Color

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Reds & Pinks

#6C4848

rgb(108, 72, 72)

#CC543C

rgb(204, 84, 60)

#F04824

rgb(240, 72, 36)

#D84878

rgb(216, 72, 120)

#F0789C

rgb(240, 120, 156)

#C0183C

rgb(192, 24, 60)

#F0B4C0

rgb(240, 180, 192)

#D8909C

rgb(216, 144, 156)

#E4243C

rgb(228, 36, 60)

#9C303C

rgb(156, 48, 60)

#F04854

rgb(240, 72, 84)

Oranges & Warm

#E4A884

rgb(228, 168, 132)

#B47854

rgb(180, 120, 84)

#F08430

rgb(240, 132, 48)

#D8C0A8

rgb(216, 192, 168)

Yellows & Chartreuse

#FCF0C0

rgb(252, 240, 192)

#847848

rgb(132, 120, 72)

#FCD800

rgb(252, 216, 0)

#F0E478

rgb(240, 228, 120)

#F0E43C

rgb(240, 228, 60)

#A8A86C

rgb(168, 168, 108)

#C0D824

rgb(192, 216, 36)

#C0D848

rgb(192, 216, 72)

Greens

#9CD890

rgb(156, 216, 144)

#84C090

rgb(132, 192, 144)

#30A86C

rgb(48, 168, 108)

Blues & Teals

#307884

rgb(48, 120, 132)

#48A8C0

rgb(72, 168, 192)

#6CB4CC

rgb(108, 180, 204)

#186084

rgb(24, 96, 132)

#606C78

rgb(96, 108, 120)

#24303C

rgb(36, 48, 60)

#183C84

rgb(24, 60, 132)

Purples & Violets

#846CB4

rgb(132, 108, 180)

#6C48A8

rgb(108, 72, 168)

#B49CD8

rgb(180, 156, 216)

#48306C

rgb(72, 48, 108)

#783C84

rgb(120, 60, 132)

#9C6078

rgb(156, 96, 120)

#F090B4

rgb(240, 144, 180)

Neutrals & Earth

#C0A8B4

rgb(192, 168, 180)

41 colors · extracted from 122 color study plates · Interaction of Color, 50th Anniversary Edition

Chapter 1

Visual Memory — Recalling Color

"If someone says 'red' and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds — and one can be sure that all these reds will be very different."

Albers begins with a humbling truth: our visual memory is far weaker than our auditory memory. We can recall a melody after hearing it once, but recalling a precise color? Nearly impossible. Only about 30 colors have commonly agreed-upon names, yet we encounter thousands of shades daily.

Exercise: Can you find the matching red?

Remember this red

→

Now find it below

Chapter 2

Reading Color — Context Is Everything

"In music, if we hear a single tone, we do not hear music. Music is hearing the relationship between tones."

Just as we read words rather than individual letters, we "read" colors through their relationships. A color in isolation tells us almost nothing — it only gains meaning next to other colors. Albers insists: it's not what we see, but how we see it.

The same color reads differently in context

Both inner squares are identical: #48B4CC — from Study IV-1

On deep blue (#243C90) it appears lighter and warmer · On orange (#F08430) it appears cooler and darker

Chapter 3

Why Colored Paper — Not Paint

"Collecting colored papers from magazines, packaging, and advertisements creates a rich yet inexpensive 'paper palette.'"

Albers chose colored paper over paint for precision. Paper gives you the same exact color every time — no mixing errors, no brush texture, no wet-to-dry shifts. This is why we can extract these palettes digitally: the colors are flat and repeatable, exactly as Albers intended.

A flat palette — no texture, pure color interaction

Flat swatches from the palette — no gradients, no texture. This is the Albers way.

Chapter 4

One Color — Many Faces

"We are able to hear a single tone. But we almost never see a single color unrelated to other colors. Colors present themselves in continuous flux, constantly related to changing neighbors."

The core exercise: place the same color on two different backgrounds. It will look like two different colors. This isn't a trick — it's how perception works. Background color shifts both the apparent lightness and the hue of the foreground.

Interactive: One color on two grounds

Both center squares: #B448A8

Albers' three-vessel analogy — for color

Warm

Same color

Cool

Like dipping both hands in water — one warm, one cold — then placing them in lukewarm water: the same temperature feels different to each hand. Color works the same way.

Chapters 1–4 · Interaction of Color · Josef Albers