Koffka Ring
PERCEIVING COLOURS:
Colour Interactions
Explore the nature of contextual colour
Details:
All ages
Time: 10 minutes+
Learning Outcome: Recognize that the immediate surroundings of an area affect how you perceive a colour.
Colour Concepts: Colour is contextual. The surrounding colours affect how you perceive a colour. (And yes - grey is a colour!)
Materials:
Scissors
Instructions:
Cut out the rectangle. Describe the differences in the colours you see. Yes, grey is a colour!
Cut the rectangle in half vertically and separate the two halves by 1/2 inch. Describe any changes in the appearance of the greys.
Bring the two halves back together. What happens to the appearance of the greys?
Slide the left side down until the ring on the left lines up with the centre on the right. What happens to the appearance of the greys now?
Describe the variations in the perceived colour of the greys.
Vocabulary:
Questions & observations:
What happens when you separate the two halves of the rectangle?
Were the results as you expected? Why?
More to explore:
Try the same exercise with coloured variations of the Koffka ring
Create your own version of the Koffka ring
What’s going on?
Colour is a perceptual experience, and the coloured objects we see in the world are never viewed in isolation. In the Koffka ring, the arrangement of the colours of the neighbouring areas (and even a change in the focus of our attention) impact the colour we perceive from the half-ring when the paper is cut in half. (Although even more is going on - this is a complex illusion!)
