Colour balance in posters

Correct answer: A. Use value, shape, and text cues instead of relying only on colour difference.

Explanation: The governing concept is accessible visual communication. Some viewers cannot reliably distinguish certain colour pairs, especially red and green, so information should also be supported by lightness or value contrast, different shapes, patterns, labels, or text. Therefore A is correct. B increases confusion, while C and D remove the clarity a poster needs rather than improving access.

Correct answer: A. Light-dark contrast needed for text readability may be ignored.

Explanation: Value means the lightness or darkness of a colour, whereas hue identifies its colour family, such as red, blue, or green. Two different hues may have nearly the same value, making text difficult to read even though the colours look different. A is correct. The other options do not follow from confusing hue with value and describe automatic or impossible results.

Correct answer: A. A meditation poster has uncontrolled neon, harsh colours

Explanation: The governing concept is thematic colour suitability: a palette should reinforce the message and expected mood of the design. Option A is correct because uncontrolled, harsh neon colours usually create agitation and visual noise, conflicting with meditation’s calm purpose. Bright warm accents suit celebration, green supports a nature theme, and red is an appropriate attention signal for a warning poster when used purposefully.

Correct answer: D. By adding a tiny amount of blue

Explanation: The governing concept is complementary colour neutralisation. Blue is opposite orange on the colour wheel, so adding a tiny amount of blue lowers orange’s saturation and produces a more muted, balanced tone. Thus option D is correct. Adding more yellow or red generally strengthens or shifts the orange, while a large amount of white mainly raises its value and makes it lighter rather than truly neutralising its intensity. Add blue gradually because excess can make the colour muddy.

Correct answer: A. Add a little neutral colour or bring their values closer

Explanation: The governing concept is contrast control in poster composition. Red and green are strong oppositional colours, so adding a small amount of neutral colour reduces saturation, while bringing their light-dark values closer reduces value contrast. Both adjustments can soften the relationship without destroying the colours’ identities. Increasing saturation intensifies the clash; a white divider may create another sharp edge; equal black can muddy both colours. Thus A is best.

Correct answer: B. Use controlled contrast at the focal point and limited colours elsewhere

Explanation: A focal point is strengthened by local contrast in value, hue, or intensity, but harmony is preserved when the overall palette remains limited and coordinated. Therefore option B is correct: concentrate stronger contrast at the important area and reduce competing contrasts elsewhere. Equal intensity gives no emphasis, complementary colours everywhere create visual competition, and matching the background hides the focal point.

Correct answer: A. The value contrast between lettering and background

Explanation: The governing design concept is readability through value contrast. Viewers must be able to separate the lettering from its background, so light and dark values should differ enough even when the hues are attractive. Option A is correct because improving this contrast directly restores legibility. Paper length, the number of containers, and table height do not solve the visual problem described.

Correct answer: B. The visual effect of surrounding colours, value, and area size

Explanation: Colour perception is contextual: the same red can look brighter, duller, warmer, or darker depending on neighbouring colours, their lightness or value, and the size and shape of the coloured area. Option B correctly identifies these visual influences. Changing the colour name does nothing, while brush price and container size do not alter the perceived colour relationship in the finished poster.

Correct answer: A. Give the dominant colour clear priority and use supporting colours in controlled amounts

Explanation: A limited palette works best when one dominant colour establishes the main mood and visual identity, while supporting colours reinforce contrast, grouping, or emphasis without competing equally for attention. Option A creates hierarchy and unity. Equal amounts can make the design restless, adding a new colour everywhere weakens coherence, and using only supporting colours removes the visual anchor of the poster.

Correct answer: A. The title size or visual weight being disproportionate

Explanation: The governing concept is visual balance: colour contrast is only one design factor. A complementary colour can improve emphasis, but an oversized title, excessive boldness, or poor placement may give that area too much visual weight and make the composition feel unstable. White paper and drying do not inherently create imbalance, and complementary colour use alone is not a fault. Thus A is the plausible cause.

Correct answer: C. Blue-biased red and red-biased blue

Explanation: The governing concept is pigment bias in secondary-colour mixing. A vivid violet is made from a red that leans toward blue and a blue that leans toward red, because these pigments contain less unwanted yellow or green influence. Therefore option C is correct. Yellow-biased red mixed with green-biased blue tends to neutralise and dull the violet. Red plus green is complementary mixing, while yellow plus black cannot produce a clean violet.