Sävyteho

Sävyteho (literally “tone power”) is a concept in color theory used in Finnish-language design and art discourse to describe the perceptual strength or impact of a color's tone within a visual composition. It is not a fixed physical property but a perceptual attribute that emerges from the interaction of hue, saturation (chroma) and brightness, as well as from surrounding colors, lighting, and viewing conditions.

In practice sävyteho is often treated as related to how dominant a color appears. Higher sävyteho tends to attract attention and define a focal area, while lower sävyteho can recede into the background. Designers may estimate sävyteho by considering chroma and luminance in color models such as CIELAB or HSL, and by judging perceptual contrast with neighboring tones.

Applications include composition planning, branding, and visual communication, where sävyteho contributes to hierarchy, mood, and legibility. It interacts with other factors such as value contrast, temperature, and texture, and it is sensitive to context, including adjacent colors and viewing distance.

Limitations include its subjective nature and dependence on display or print conditions. Because sävyteho is a perceptual measure, different observers or devices may assign different strengths to the same color. It is best used as a qualitative guideline supported by perceptual testing and calibrated viewing environments.