Mustavalkoinen

Mustavalkoinen is a Finnish adjective meaning "black and white." It describes colors, images, and media that use only black, white, and shades of gray. The term is written as one word in Finnish.

In photography and cinema, mustavalkoinen refers to images and films without color. Historically most early photographs and motion pictures were mustavalkoisia; color photography and color cinema emerged gradually in the 20th century, but mustavalkoinen style remains in use for artistic reasons, restoration, or archival work.

In art and design, mustavalkoinen emphasizes contrast, light, texture and form over color. It is favored for graphic design, journalism, posters, and album art when a stark or timeless mood is desired.

In modern technology, grayscale rendering is the digital equivalent of mustavalkoinen. Devices may offer grayscale or black-and-white display modes, often for accessibility, energy saving, or stylistic effect.

See also: grayscale, black-and-white film, monochrome photography.