Language of Color Language of Color
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TechneGraphics INC 513.248.2121 Professional Printing Providers Fax: 513.248.5141 2002 Ford Circle, Suite D [email protected] Milford, Ohio 45150 tgiconnect.com Address Service Requested October 2015 TechneGraphics INC Professional Printing Providers Speaking the... Speaking the... Language of Color Language of Color olor is an essential element of communication. It can be used to shape Cperceptions, affect reactions, influence choices, and provoke responses. In marketing materials, it adds a dynamic to the structure TechneGraphics INC Professional Printing Providers – the general form and direction – of the words and image by highlighting and marking 2002 Ford Circle Suite D important content. The more you understand the Milford, Ohio 45150 language of color, the more effective you will be in speaking to your customers and prospects via 513.248.2121 your printed materials and web site. Fax: 513.248.5141 How We See Color [email protected] Science describes how humans perceive color. www.tgiconnect.com Specifically, color is light. In his 1704 book, Types of Color Wheels Opticks, the English natural philosopher Sir A color wheel is arranged according to the Interactive Print Experts Isaac Newton described the fundamental nature chromatic relationship of the colors. The relationships are primary, secondary, tertiary, Stock Photography • Launch a Website of light as color. The book was based on his complementary, and analogous. • Save Contact Info observation that when pure white light passes through a prism, it separates into a spectrum When you need a full color photograph Collections are also available for textures, finishes, • Make a Call • Primary: three hues (i.e., colors) that form the of seven hues (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, to illustrate a brochure or other printed and special effects. Often there is a choice of high • Send an Email basis of the color wheel. These colors cannot indigo, and violet) known as the visual spectrum. piece, consider using a stock photograph resolution (for use in printed materials) or lower • Display a Note be created by mixing others. – a photograph taken by a professional resolution (for use on a web site). • Create a Mobile Site In Opticks, Newton clearly stated that color is “Stock photo images photographer and licensed for use for a • Secondary: three hues created by mixing Here are a few popular stock photo publishers: not a property of objects observed nor of light. are readily available fee. Once the fee is paid, you can use the two primary colors. Secondary hues appear CorbisImages (www.corbisimages.com), Rather, it is a product of the mind. His proof was photograph repeatedly, usually without paying between primary hues on the wheel. for immediate Photo Disc (www.gettyimages.com/collections/ that he could create a color that was not part of royalties. download from the photodisc, istockphoto (www.istockphoto. the light spectrum (magenta) by overlapping two • Tertiary: six hues created by mixing a primary w e b .” Stock photo images are readily available for com), Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com), hues that were a part of it (red and violet). And and secondary hue that appear between them immediate download from the web. Most Adobe Stock (https://stock.adobe.com) , when he connected the red and violet ends of the on the wheel. tgiconnect.com are organized into collections on a specific 123RF (www.123rf.com), and Bigstock (www. spectrum, he created the first color wheel, thus • Complementary: hues located opposite each topic like holidays or nature or landscapes. bigstockphoto.com). showing the relationship between the colors in the visible spectrum. other on the wheel. Speaking the... Language of Color (cont.) Speaking the... Language of Color (cont.) • Analogous: hues located close together on the both the RGB and CMYK color gamuts, it may Depot, and Harley-Davidson. Blue and red are the most popular logo colors wheel. look identical. But if an RGB color is outside the for the world’s top brands – a fact that has CMYK gamut, it may be quite different. Please • Red: excitement, youthful, bold, warm, exciting, A color wheel based on the primary colors of red, remained true over the years. In 2003, Wired keep this in mind if you are creating the artwork sexy, urgent. Used by Nintendo, K Mart, Coca green, and blue (RGB) and secondary colors of magazine reported that two-thirds of corporate “Color is a language “Televisions, for the printed piece yourself. (When we are Cola, Target, Lego, Kellogg’s, and Netflix. cyan (blue), magenta, and yellow describes an American logos were either blue or red (with designing, we automatically work in the CMYK that appeals to computer monitors, additive color system. Additive color is created • Purple: creative, imaginative, wise. Suggests blue logos slightly ahead of red). Seven years color space.) emotion.” and smart phone with light. It begins with black (the absence of images of grandeur, opulence, mysticism. Used later (2010) this was still true and again in 2013. screens are light) and creates color by mixing red, green, and How Color Affects Purchasing Decisions by Syfy Channel, Hallmark, Yahoo!, Taco Bell, and Cadbury. examples of the blue light. When combined in equal amounts, red, During the decision-making process of a Understand the Language of Color green, and blue light appears white. Televisions, purchase, color is a very influential factor on RGB color wheel.” • Blue: trust, dependability, strength. Suggests Color is a language that appeals to emotion. computer monitors, and smart phone screens are the subconscious mind. In 2010, Kissmetrics, calm and tranquility. Used by Dell, IBM, Intel, Learning to use it can enhance the effectiveness examples of the RGB color wheel. a customer analytics platform for small and AT&T, Pfizer, WalMart, Volkswagen, Oreo, HP, of your efforts to persuade customers and mid-sized companies, published a series of A color wheel based on the primary colors of Twitter, IBM, and JP Morgan. prospects to buy from you. To learn more infographics on how colors affect purchases. cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY) and secondary about how to put color to work in your Among the findings: • Green: peaceful, serene, growth, health. Whole colors of red, green, and blue describes a marketing materials, contact us for an Foods, John Deere, Girl Scouts, Animal Planet, subtractive color system. Unlike the additive • 93% of customers place visual appearance and appointment. We will be happy to assist. H&R Block, and Starbucks. system that combines (adds) to produce white color among all other factors when shopping. light, the subtractive system absorbs (subtracts) • Gray/silver: Balance, neutral, calm. Mercedes • 85% cite color as a primary reason for buying a “During the decision- different hues of white light. An object (like Benz, Honda, and Apple. making process of paper) reflects unabsorbed light, creating color. particular product. a purchase, color is When combined in equal amounts, all the colors • Color increases brand recognition by 80%. of the subtractive color wheel produce black a very influential (though it looks more like muddy brown). Color • Some colors are associated with types of factor on the printing and color photography are examples of customers. Yellow is used to attract window Color Vocabulary subconscious mind.” the CMY color system. (The K in CMYK printing shoppers; red is often seen in clearance sales; is an abbreviation for black ink used in place of blue is used by banks and businesses to create Additive primary colors: the primary colors of by-side, complementary colors make the other the muddy brown resulting from equal parts of a sense of trust and security; green is used in light – red, green, and blue – from which all other color appear brighter. CMY.) stores for relaxation. Red, orange, black, and colors can be made. royal blue attract impulse shoppers and are Hue: the pure spectrum colors of the rainbow – An artist’s color wheel, based on the primary used for fast food and outlet malls. Navy blue Black: the absence of light; the color that is red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and violet. All colors of red, blue, and yellow and secondary and teal appeal to shoppers on a budget and produced when an object absorbs all light. hues can be mixed from primary colors. colors of green, orange, and violet, is also a are used by banks and large department stores. Brightness: the degree to which a color sample Monochromatic color: all the tints, tones, and subtractive color method. Pink, sky blue, and rose attract traditional “Tone: The lightness/ “Some colors are appears to reflect light. shades of a single hue. buyers and are used by clothing stores. associated with Lack of Overlap Between Color Systems darkness value of Chroma: the intensity, purity, clarity, or saturation Shade: a darker version of a color, made by The additive and subtractive color systems are not The Logo Company, a graphic design firm in an image. The tonal types of customers.” of a color. Measured by how far it departs from adding black. perfectly overlapping. You might be aware of this New York, published a color emotion guide with grayness. range of an image is if you’ve ever noticed a difference between the examples of corporate logos for each color. Subtractive primary colors: the primary colors the transition from color displayed on your computer monitor and Color space: a three-dimensional representation of pigments – cyan, magenta, and yellow – from • Yellow: optimism, clarity warmth. A rich the light areas to the the same color used on a printed piece. of the colors that can be produced by a color which all other subtractive colors can be made. color that invokes gold and treasure. Used by model such as RGB or CMYK. dark areas.” The reason for the difference is based in science.