An optical structure includes a light transmissive substrate having a
surface relief pattern applied thereon, such as a hologram. One or more
layers can be patterned corresponding to materials playing the role of
absorbers or reflectors on a Fabry-Perot type of optical structure. These
materials are applied over portions of the surface relief pattern so as
to form alphanumeric characters, bars codes, or pictorial or graphical
designs. Additional layers may be applied to the patterned layer of the
reflective or absorber materials and exposed portions of the surface
relief pattern in order to provide desirable optical effects to the
exposed portions of the surface relief pattern. In some embodiments, the
optically active coating is a color shifting thin film, or contains color
shifting flakes based on Fabry Perot designs.