Color Matters
Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite. When used in the right ways, color can even save on energy consumption. As a powerful form of communication, color is irreplaceable. Red means "stop" and green means "go." Traffic lights send this universal message. Likewise, the colors used for a product, web site, business card, or logo cause powerful reactions. Color Matters!
Basic Color Theory
Color theory encompasses a multitude of definitions, concepts and design applications. There are enough to fill several encyclopedias. However, there are basic categories of color theory. They are the color wheel and the color harmony. Color theories create a logical structure for color. For example, if we have an assortment of fruits and vegetables, we can organize them by color and place them on a circle that shows the colors in relation to each other.
The Color Wheel
A color wheel is traditional in the field of art. Sir Isaac Newton developed the first color wheel in 1666. Since then, scientists and artists have studied a number of variations of this concept. Different opinions of one format of color wheel over another sparks debate. In reality, any color wheel which is logically arranged has merit.
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The definitions of colors are based on the color wheel. There are primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors. Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blue o In traditional color theory, primary colors are the 3 colors that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. o All other colors are derived from these 3 hues. Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purple o These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors. Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green o These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. o That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green and red-violet.
Color Harmony
Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, whether it be music, poetry, color, or even an ice cream sundae. In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer, and it creates a sense of order. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged.
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The human brain will reject dull information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it cannot organize, what it cannot understand. Color harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order. There are many theories for harmony. The following descriptions and illustrations present some basic color schemes. Analogous colors are any three colors which are side by side on a 12 part color wheel, such as yellow, yellow-green, green. Usually one of the three colors dominates.
A color scheme based on analogous colors.
Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other, such as red-purple and yellow-green. In the illustration below, there are several variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several variations of red- purple in the orchid. These opposing colors create maximum contrast.
A color scheme based on complementary colors.
Adapted from Color Matters; retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.colormatters.com
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Purple
The Meanings of Purple
Purple’s rarity in nature and the expense of creating the color and has given purple a supernatural aura for centuries. Purple is also the most powerful wavelength of the rainbow. It’s a color with a powerful history that has evolved over time. In fact, the origins of the symbolism of purple are more significant and interesting than those of any other color. Our pre-historic ancestors probably never saw a purple fruit, flower, bird, or fish because purple is very rare in nature. This is hard to imagine in today’s world. As civilizations developed, so did clothing and colored dyes. The earliest purple dyes date back to about 1900 B.C. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye which was barely enough for dying a single garment. It’s no wonder then, that this color was used primarily for garments of privileged individuals. Over time, purple dyes became less costly and complex. Regardless, purple continues to symbolize nobility and luxury to most people in the world.
Purple symbolizes magic, mystery, creativity, and royalty. Variations of purple convey different meanings. Light purples are light-hearted, floral, and romantic. The dark shades are more intellectual and dignified. The negative meanings of purple are decadence, conceit, and
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pomposity. Purple is also a color of mourning. It evokes all of these meanings more so than any other color.
Unique Meanings of Purple in Different Cultures The “Purple Heart” is the American award for bravery. In Italy most performing artists would not go on stage if they have to wear anything purple. Among Mediterranean people, purple was reserved for emperors and popes. The Japanese christened it “Imperial Purple” Purple is the color of mourning or death in many cultures including the United Kingdom, Italy, Thailand, and Brazil.
Designing with Purple The colors of red and blue combine to create this intriguing color. There are three distinct purples: Red-Purple, Purple, Blue-Purple. Red-purples are warm, blue-purples are cool, and pure purple is neutral.
Interesting FACTS Roman emperors Julius Caesar and Augustus both decreed that only the Emperor could wear purple. When Nero became Emperor, the wearing and the sale of purple was punishable by death! Purple tends to be a color that people either love or hate. Purple is not a common flag color; only two flags contain purple.
Adapted from Color Matters; retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.colormatters.com/purple
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Red
The Meanings of Red Red is the color of extremes. It’s the color of love, violence, danger, anger, and adventure. Red is the international color for stop. Our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the color of fire and blood. Most of today’s red symbolism arises from its powerful associations in the past. Red is also a magical and religious color. It symbolized super-human heroism to the Greeks and is the color of the Christian crucifixion. Red was rare and expensive in ancient days. This fact may explain its magic and power. Ironically, today’s intense red dyes come from crushed insects, such as the lac beetle and the cochineal.
Unique Meanings of Red in Different Cultures In Russia, the word for "red" means beautiful. Red is the color of good luck in Asia and is the most popular color in China. Most Japanese children draw the sun as a big red circle. In East Asian stock markets, red is used to denote a rise in stock price. In North American stock markets, red is used to denote a drop in stock prices. Red is a favorable color for marriage. For example, brides in India and Nepal wear red saris. In Japan, a red kimono symbolizes happiness and good luck.
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Designing with Red All reds are not created equal. Aside from light and dark shades of red, there are two kinds of red: “tomato” reds and “berry” reds. Yellow-based reds are tomato reds. Blue-based reds are berry reds. Some say that males are more drawn to the tomato reds; whereas, females to the berry reds.
Context is everything when using red. For example, when red is place on a black background, it glows with an otherworldly fire. On a white background, red appears somewhat duller. In contrast with orange, red appears lifeless. Notice that the red square appears larger on black. Regardless of how it is used in a design, a little bit of red goes a long way.
How Red Affects Vision Red captures attention. It is one of the most visible colors, second only to yellow. This explains why it is used on fire engines and stop signs. Hence, it is used to trigger alertness. Red focuses behind the retina which forces the lens grows more convex to pull it forward. Therefore, we perceive that red areas are moving forward. This may explain why red captures attention.
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Interesting FACTS Red is one of the top two favorite colors of all people. Red is the most popular color used on flags in the world; approximately 77% of all flags include red. Eight percent of the male population has a red-green color vision deficiency and cannot see red at all.
Adapted from Color Matters; retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.colormatters.com/red
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Yellow
The Meanings of Yellow Yellow is the most luminous of all the colors of the spectrum. It’s the color that captures our attention more than any other color. In nature, yellow is the color of sunflowers and daffodils, egg yolks and lemons, canaries and bees. In the human-made world, yellow is the color of Sponge Bob, the Tour de France winner’s jersey, happy faces, post its, and signs that alert us to danger. It’s the color of happiness, optimism, creativity, sunshine, warmth, and spring. However, yellow also has a dark side of yellow. Yellow is the color of caution. It is also the color of cowardice and betrayal. Furthermore, yellow is the color of some physical illnesses such as jaundice and malaria.
Global Meanings of Yellow Around the world, yellow is the color of traffic lights and signs indicating caution.
Unique Meanings of Yellow in Different Cultures In Japan, yellow often represents courage. In Russia, a slang expression for an insane asylum used to be "yellow house." Bright “marigold” yellow may be associated with death in some areas of Mexico. Yellow is the color most often associated with a deity, or god, in many religions such as Hinduism and Ancient Egypt.
Designing with Yellow Although there are strong mustard yellows and deep yellows, there are no dark yellows.
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Yellow is the only color that reacts badly to black. If you add a little black paint to yellow paint, it becomes a sickly yellow-green.
How Yellow Affects Vision Yellow is the most visible color of the spectrum. The human eye processes yellow first. This explains why it is used for cautionary signs and emergency rescue vehicles. Peripheral vision is 2.5 times higher for yellow than for red. The color of yellow is also highly reflective. Therefore, excessive use of bright yellow can irritate the eyes.
Adapted from Color Matters; retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.colormatters.com/yellow
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Blue
The Meanings of Blue
Blue is the favorite color of all people. It’s nature’s color for water and sky, but it is rarely found in fruits and vegetables. Blue is embraced as the color of heaven and authority, jeans and corporate logos. It is cold, wet, and slow as compared to red’s warmth, fire, and intensity. Blue has more complex and contradictory meanings than any other color. The different meanings are connected to the different shades of blue. Dark blue represents trust, dignity, intelligence, and authority. Bright blue represents cleanliness, strength, dependability, andcoolness. Light blue, or sky blue, represents peace, calmness, and serenity.
Unique Meanings of Blue in Different Cultures Greeks believe that blue wards off "the evil eye.” Dark blue is the color of mourning in Korea. The god, Krishna, has blue skin. Shades of blue are described as shallow or deep instead of light or dark in China. Blue is for a baby girl; pink for a baby boy in Belgium. Blue can be a symbol of depression in American culture. “Singing the blues” and “feeling blue” are good examples of this color symbolism. “Prince Charming” is called “The Blue Prince” in Italy and Spain.
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Designing with Blue Blue ranks so high as a favorite color that you can’t go wrong if you use blue. However, blue can be overused. Combining blue with another color creates a more creative effect.
Interesting FACTS Blue is the #1 favorite color of all people. 53% of the flags in the world contain blue. Blue is the most commonly used color in corporate identity.
Adapted from Color Matters; retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.colormatters.com/blue
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Green
The Meanings of Green
Green is no longer just a color. It's now the symbol of ecology and a verb. Since the beginning of time, green has signified growth and rebirth. Today's greens can be found in a wide range of objects: pea soup, delicate celadon glazes, emeralds, wasabi, and sage.
Global Meanings of Green Green is universally associated with nature. Green symbolizes ecology and the environment. Traffic lights are green all over the world.
Unique Meanings of Green in Different Cultures In Israel, green may symbolize bad news. In Japan, the words for blue and green ("ao") are the same. In Muslim countries, it is a holy color. In Ireland, it is a lucky color. It was the color of the heavens in the Ming Dynasty in Ancient China. Feng Shui claims that green eases absent-mindedness, nervousness and rudeness The English language contains some strange idioms using the word green. For example, “green with envy?” means to be extremely jealous; “green behind the ears” means to be immature; and “green around the gills” means nauseated.
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Designing with Green There are more shades of green than that of any other color. Greens range from yellow- greens, such as lime and avocado greens, to those with a blue tinge (such as emerald). Aqua or turquoise are colors that are typically half green and half blue.
How Green Affects Vision Approximately 5% - 8% of men and 0.5% of women of the world are born colorblind. Most people who are colorblind, have difficulty seeing green and red. Some European countries have outlined certain traffic light colors so that it is clear which is green and which is red, by the color that has a rectangle around it. Some states in the U.S. have placed diagonal lines through green traffic lights as an aid for the colorblind.
Interesting FACTS Green is a lucky culture in most Western cultures. A green shamrock symbolizes this. You won't find many green cars at racetracks because they are considered unlucky. Circus and traveling showmen in Australia may consider green to be bad luck.
Adapted from Color Matters; retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.colormatters.com/green
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Orange The Meanings of Orange
Orange is vibrant. It’s hot, healthy, fruity and engaging, but it can be abrasive and crass. It’s a polarizing color. People either love it or detest it.
Orange is the only color whose name was taken from an object, the popular fruit, the orange. In nature, it’s the color of vivid sunsets, fire, vegetables, flowers, fish, and many citrus fruits. In our contemporary world, orange is the color of marmalade, Halloween, traffic cones, life rafts, cheetos, and Halloween. Orange symbolizes energy, vitality, cheer, excitement, adventure, warmth, and good health. Pure orange can be brass. However, it can also suggest a lack of serious intellectual values and bad taste.
Global Meanings of Orange
Orange evokes the taste of healthy fruits, bursting with juice. Orange is associated with vitamin C and good health. Orange is symbolic of autumn. Children all over the world are drawn to orange. Orange is the color of life rafts, hazard cones, and high visibility police vests.
Unique Meanings of Orange in Different Cultures Orange is the color of prison uniforms in the U.S. Orange is a sacred and lucky color in Hinduism.
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The middle traffic light is orange in France. In the United Kingdom, orange stands for the Northern Irish Protestants and has very strong religious and political significance.
How Orange Affects Vision
“Safety orange” is used to set objects apart from their surroundings, particularly in complementary contrast to the blue color of the sky. It’s used for hunting and construction zone marking devices.
Interesting FACTS
Nothing rhymes with orange. Orange was a “groovy color” back in the 70s. In 1991, an article in Forbes magazine concluded that orange meant cheap.
Adapted from Color Matters; retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.colormatters.com/orange
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