My interpretation of Osgood’s color analogy
Intensity of light waves
1 White ----------- Grey ----------- Black 0
Wavelength is subjectively perceived as hue
0.00014 mm ---------------------------------- 0.00035 mm
violet blue green yellow orange red
Such pure colors are fully saturated. However, they are seldom encountered outside the laboratory.
Perception of colors
The human eye does not function like a machine for spectral analysis, thus a mixture of red and green light of the proper intensities appears exactly the same as spectral yellow, although it does not contain light of the wavelengths corresponding to yellow.
Primary colors
Any color sensation can be duplicated by mixing varying quantities of red, blue, and green. These colors, therefore, are known as the additive primary colors. If light of these primary colors is added together in equal intensities, the sensation of white light is produced.
Red + blue + green = white
Red + green =
yellow
For the Interested, test color mixing:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/mix_n_match/
Osgood analogy to meaning
Center, the meaningless origin
Length of the vector @ saturation
=> degree of meaningfulness
Direction of the vector => creates a three-dimensional space
up – down @ brightness (amount of light = lumen)
ð up: WHITE and GOOD down: BLACK and BAD
left – right @ hue
ð left: RED and Hate right: BLUE and LOVE