Monochrome

A photograph of a sign rendered in shades of grey

The same photograph rendered in black and white

Monochrome comes from the two Greek words mono (μoνο, meaning "one"), and chroma (χρωμα, meaning "surface" or "the color of the skin"). A monochromatic object has a single color.

In physics, the word is used more generally to refer to electromagnetic radiation of a single wavelength. In the physical sense, no real source of electromagnetic radiation is purely monochromatic, since that would require a wave of infinite duration. Even sources such as lasers have some narrow range of wavelengths (known as the linewidth or bandwidth of the source) within which they operate.

For an image, the term monochrome is usually taken to mean the same as black-and-white or, more likely, grayscale, but may also be used to refer to other combinations containing only two colors, such as green-and-white or green-and-black. It may also refer to sepia or cyanotype images. In computing, monochrome has two meanings:

it may mean having only one color which is either on or off,
allowing shades of that color, although the latter is more correctly known as grayscale.

A monochrome computer display is able to display only a single color, often green, amber, red or white, and often also shades of that color.

The monochromatic scheme should be used with caution when designing a space. Certain monochromatic color concepts will appear rather monotonous, and some variety in the intensities, textures and forms should be used to give life to the interior.

See also