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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Today’s business world relies on effective use of color to promote its products, both tangible goods and images. Understanding Color has long stood as an indispensable introduction to the effective use of color for design applications, with detailed treatment of the language, psychology, cultural associations, core concepts of color and much more. Reorganized and updated to reflect the needs of today’s courses in color and design, it introduces a new generation of artists and designers to the fundamental concepts of color and how to use them.
- Detailed treatment of color illusions and special effects
- Coverage of the impact of new light sources on color perception
- Explanation of different digital display modes in presenting color
- A companion website including a downloadable workbook
From theory and practical implementation to business and marketing aspects, Understanding Color is ideal for students and instructors in schools of art and design.
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Table of Contents
COVER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
PREFACE
Note
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE COMPANION WEBSITE
1 THE ROLE OF COLOR IN DESIGN
The Role of Color in Design
Color as Language
Culture, Color, and Time
Color, Form, and Arrangement: Communication without Words
Clothing and Color: Social Messaging
Color Coding
Notes
2 AN INTRODUCTION TO COLOR STUDY
The Experience of Color
Color Awareness
The Uses of Color
Color‐Order Systems
Color Study
Notes
3 A LITTLE LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT
Light
Light Sources
Modifying Light
Additive Color: Mixing Light
Subtractive Color
Colorants
Man‐made Light Sources: Past, Present, and the Future at a Crossroad
Color Temperature
Metamerism and Matching
Modifying Light: Surface
Transparent, Opaque, and Translucent
Iridescence
Luminosity
Indirect Light, Indirect Color
Modifying Light: Filters
Notes
4 THE VOCABULARY OF COLOR
Hue
The Artists’ Spectrum
Primary, Secondary, and Intermediate Colors
Saturated Color
Other Spectrums, Other Primaries
Chromatic Scales
Cool and Warm Colors
Analogous Colors
Complementary Colors
Tertiary Colors: Chromatic Neutrals
Black, White, Gray
Value
Tints and Shades
Monochromatic Value Scales
Comparing Value in Different Hues
Saturation
Theoretical Gray
Tone
Notes
5 THE HUMAN ELEMENT
The Sensation of Color
Vision: Responding to Light
Threshold
Intervals
The Perception of Color
Physiological Responses to Light
Healing and Color
Synaesthesia
Psychology: Responding to Light
Notes
6 THE INSTABILITY OF COLORS
The Instability of Colors
Color Composition
Ground and Carried Colors
Placement and Color Change
Equilibrium
Simultaneous Contrast
Afterimage and Contrast Reversal
Complementary Contrast
Ground Subtraction
Color and Area: Small, Medium, Large
Notes
7 ILLUSION AND IMPRESSION
Color Illusions
The Illusion of Depth
Spatial Effects of Colors
Transparence Illusion
Fluting
Vibration
Vanishing Boundaries
Luminosity
Bezold Effect
Optical Mixes
Notes
8 COLOR THEORY: A BRIEF HISTORY
The Mystery of Color
Setting the Stage
The Beginnings of Color Theory
Color and Controversy
The Scientific Model: Color Gets Organized
Color by Numbers
A New Perspective
Notes
9 COLOR HARMONY
In Search of Beauty
Intervals and Harmony
Hue and Harmony
Major and Minor Themes
Value and Harmony
Saturation and Harmony
On Beyond Harmony: Dissonant Colors
The X‐Tra Factor: Surface and Harmony
Some Harmonious Conclusions
Notes
10 TOOLS OF THE TRADE: COLOR IN PRODUCT AND PRINT
It's the Real Thing: Color on Product and Print
Design Media
Artists' Media
Subtractive Mixing
Muted Hues
Tinting Strength
Color Printing
Spot Colors
Screen and Block Printing
Note
11 THE MEDIUM OF LIGHT
Images of Light
Lost in Translation
The Screen Display
Color Display Modes
Color Management
Color on the Web
Web Color Coding
Emerging Media: E‐Ink
Notes
12 THE BUSINESS OF COLOR
The Color Industries
Colorants
Color Sampling
Color Forecasting
Color Consulting
Color Marketing and Color Forecasting: A Brief History
Color and Product Identity
Palettes, Color Cycles, and History
Traditional and Document Colors
Influences on Palettes
Notes
GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1–1.
Color Symbolism
. Concern for the environment is implicit in prod...
Figure 1–2.
Color and Form as Identity
. The image identifying the Red Cross ...
Figure 1–3.
Color as Historical Reference
. The colors of the flag of the Rep...
Figure 1–4.
Color Alone as Symbol
. Only different color combinations disting...
Figure 1–5.
Form and Color Together as Warning
. The traditional internationa...
Figure 1–6.
Form and Color Together as Warning
. A new international symbol f...
Figure 1–7.
Form Alone as Warning
. No matter what the color (or no color at ...
Figure 1–8.
Clothing Color as Traditional Social Identity
. Robes of sharp ye...
Figure 1–9.
Clothing Color as Contemporary Social Identity
. Goth culture pro...
Figure 1–10.
Color as Corporate Identity
. Commercial uniforms identify the w...
Figure 1–11.
Clothing Color as Identity
. One “uniform” provides instant reco...
Figure 1–12.
OSHA Colors
.
Figure 1–13.
Safety Color
. The yellow of a school bus prompts drivers to exe...
Figure 1–14.
Stroop Interaction
. Comprehension is delayed when different par...
Figure 1–15.
By Popular Vote
… the ugliest color of all.
14
Chapter 2
Figure 2–1.
Color as Simple Beauty
. Vibrant colors enhance an already beauti...
Figure 2–2.
Color as product enhancement
. The simple geometry of a contempor...
Figure 2–3.
Color Evokes History
. A necklace of eighteenth‐century Venetian ...
Figure 2–4.
Graphic Color
. Color adds meaning to the written word.
Figure 2–5.
Environmental Color
. The astonishing colors of the mountains of ...
Figure 2–6.
Environmental Color
. The gray of city streets is only a backgrou...
Figure 2–7.
Environmental Color: Nature Enhanced
. An element of manmade colo...
Figure 2–8.
Color in Interior Space
. Linen‐pale walls reflect light, creatin...
Figure 2–9.
Color in Interior Space
. Drama is clearly on the program in the ...
Figure 2–10.
Color Conveys Mood
. An offbeat combination of strong colors per...
Figure 2–11.
Color Identifies
. Locating information in an enormous filing sy...
Figure 2–12.
Commercial Color Order Systems
. Pantone offers swatch books of ...
Figure 2–13.
Color Collections
. A selection of Coats Dual Duty XP all‐purpos...
Figure 2–14.
Color Collections
. A representative sampling of Ressource paint...
Chapter 3
Figure 3–1.
Wavelength
. Waves of visible energy are given off at different d...
Figure 3–2.
The Component Wavelengths of White Light
. The individual colors ...
Figure 3–3.
Visible Light
. Human beings are able to sense light (visible ene...
Figure 3–4.
The Secondary Colors of Light
. The light primaries red, green, a...
Figure 3–5.
Transmission
. Clear glass transmits light, allowing it to pass t...
Figure 3–6.
Daybreak at Seabrook Island
. Spectacular sunrises and sunsets ta...
Figure 3–7.
Summer Sunset in Manhattan
. Airborne pollutants and angled sunli...
Figure 3–8.
Transmission and Refraction Together
. Gemstones are naturally fo...
Figure 3–9.
Scattering, or Reflection
.
Figure 3–10.
Reflection
. The brilliance of an autumn landscape is doubled by...
Figure 3–11.
Absorption and Reflection Together
. When a red apple is placed ...
Figure 3–12.
Additive Color
. Neon signs are a familiar example of color seen...
Figure 3–13.
Color is seen when a surface absorbs some wavelengths of light
...
Figure 3–14.
Colorants
. The Forbes Museum of Pigments at Harvard University ...
Figure 3–15.
Lamps
. Lamps are available in hundreds of different shapes and ...
Figure 3–16.
Light Reflecting Value
. Benjamin Moore provides an LRV for each...
Figure 3–17.
Smooth and Rough
. Light reaching a smooth surface bounces off i...
Figure 3–18.
Texture
. A wall painted a single color in a stucco finish takes...
Figure 3–19.
Texture and Pattern
. A single yarn woven in different direction...
Figure 3–20.
Color, Texture, and Specular Reflection
. Carolyn Parton’s spect...
Figure 3–21.
Iridescence
. The colors of an iridescent textile shift as the o...
Figure 3–22.
Indirect Color
. Green light reflected from a painted wall cause...
Figure 3–23.
Filters
. A filter absorbs some wavelengths of light and transmi...
Chapter 4
Figure 4–1.
Color Names
. Color names are not absolute. Each belongs to a fam...
Figure 4–2.
The Earliest Known Color Circle
. Newton was first to present col...
Figure 4–3.
The Artists’ Spectrum
.
Figure 4–4.
Alternative Spectrums
. Wilhelm Ostwald’s spectrum has an eight‐h...
Figure 4–5.
Analogous Colors, Cool and Warm
.
Figure 4–6.
Analogous Colors
. Reds and oranges in a range of values and satu...
Figure 4–7.
Complementary Colors
. Complements are opposite each other at any...
Figure 4–8.
Tertiary Colors: Mixing Complements
. When complementary colors a...
Figure 4–9.
Tertiary Colors
. This natural rock formation has no readily appa...
Figure 4–10.
Value Scale
. A value scale moves from dark to light.
Figure 4–11.
Hue, Value, and Image
. Only contrast of light and dark creates ...
Figure 4–12.
Value and Image
. Images are strongest when they contrast sharpl...
Figure 4–13.
Value and Image
. Which (important) words are nearly unreadable?...
Figure 4–14.
Line
. Line is an elongated, one‐dimensional figure that contras...
Figure 4–15.
Line
. Even the suggestion of line creates separation between fi...
Figure 4–16.
Maintaining an Image
. The same bird appears in different colors...
Figure 4–17.
Changing an Image
. The birds have the same configuration, but c...
Figure 4–18.
Hue and Value
. Any hue can be illustrated as a range of tints a...
Figure 4–19.
Determining Relative Value
. A white frame that isolates samples...
Figure 4–20.
A Spectrum of Hues of Equal Value
. A spectrum of hues of equal ...
Figure 4–21.
Six Steps of Equal Value in Six Hues
. With a limited number of ...
Figure 4–22.
Saturation
.
Figure 4–23.
Hues Diluted by a Gray of Equal Value
.
Figure 4–24.
Six Spectrum Hues Diluted by Their Complements
. Each pair reach...
Chapter 5
Figure 5–1.
The Human Eye
.
Figure 5–2.
The Light‐Dark Threshold of Vision
. Small differences betw...
Figure 5–3.
The Threshold of Color Vision
. Each individual's visual acuity f...
Figure 5–4.
Even Intervals of Hue. Even Intervals of Value. Even Intervals o
...
Figure 5–5.
Intervals
. A middle interval can be established between any two ...
Figure 5–6.
Even Intervals in Series
.
Figure 5–7.
Even and Uneven Intervals of Hue
. In the upper set of squares, t...
Figure 5–8.
Even and Uneven Intervals of Value
. Images composed of even inte...
Figure 5–9.
Gradients
. A gradient is a progression of intervals in steps of ...
Figure 5–10.
Baker‐Miller Pink
. SPAM calls out of control? A phone cas...
Chapter 6
Figure 6–1.
Color Composition
. A carpet design rendered in different colorwa...
Figure 6–2.
Ground and Area
. The ground is not necessarily the largest area ...
Figure 6–3.
Shaky Ground
. Negative space is not always clearly defined. Is a...
Figure 6–4.
Equilibrium
. The presence of three primary colors in a single co...
Figure 6–5.
Equilibrium
. Compositions containing all primaries as highly sat...
Figure 6–6.
Simultaneous Contrast
. The strongest effects of simultaneous con...
Figure 6–7.
Simultaneous Contrast
. The two floral patterns are the same gray...
Figure 6–8.
Afterimage
. Cover the lower half of the illustration with white ...
Figure 6–9.
Complementary Contrast
. The hue contrast of complementary colors...
Figure 6–10.
Complementary Contrast
. Each color in a part‐complementary rela...
Figure 6–11.
Ground Subtraction of Value
. A middle gray appears darker on a ...
Figure 6–12.
Ground Subtraction of Value When Hue Is Present
. The same blue‐...
Figure 6–13.
Ground Subtraction of Hue: One Color as Two
. The same color app...
Figure 6–14.
Ground Subtraction of Saturation
. A red‐gray placed on gray app...
Figure 6–15.
Ground Subtraction: Two Colors as One
. Different colors can be ...
Chapter 7
Figure 7–1.
The Importance of Arrangement
. In an illusion called neon color ...
Figure 7–2.
Atmospheric Perspective
. Mountains in the distance appear progre...
Figure 7–3.
Pictorial Depth Cues
. These drawing conventions convey depth but...
Figure 7–4.
Spatial Effects of Warm and Cool Hues
. Warm hues advance relativ...
Figure 7–5.
Spatial Effects of Saturation
. Brilliant colors come forward rel...
Figure 7–6.
Value and Figure Ground Perception
. A dark figure comes forward ...
Figure 7–7.
Value, Ground, and Spatial Perception
. A form that contrasts sha...
Figure 7–8.
Advancing and Receding Color Without Depth Cues
. Lighter and war...
Figure 7–9.
Transparence Illusion
. When colors and intervals between them ar...
Figure 7–10.
Transparence Illusion: Hue
. If the middle color is an interval ...
Figure 7–11.
Transparence Illusion: Value
. If the middle color is an interva...
Figure 7–12.
Transparence Illusion: Saturation
. If the middle color is an in...
Figure 7–13.
Transparence Illusion, Different Opacities
. Shifting a middle i...
Figure 7–14.
Fluting
. Vertical stripes in steps from dark to light create an...
Figure 7–15.
Fluting
. Colored stripes arranged in steps of hue and value see...
Figure 7–16.
Not Fluting
. Colors arranged in random values have no three‐dim...
Figure 7–17.
Vibration
. A separating line reduces or eliminates vibration.
Figure 7–18.
Vanishing Boundaries
.
Figure 7–19.
Glowing Effect
. Because warm colors advance relative to cool on...
Figure 7–20.
Glowing Effect
. A gradient halo between a light area set into a...
Figure 7–21.
Shimmer
. A pattern of brilliant color separated from its neutra...
Figure 7–22.
Bezold Effect
. When forms are enclosed by a dark line, colors a...
Figure 7–23.
Optical Mixing
. Optical mixes depend for their effect on the co...
Figure 7–24.
Optical Mixing: CMYK Printing
. Tiny dots of ink too small to be...
Chapter 8
Figure 8–1.
The Earliest Known Color Circle
. Newton was the first to present...
Figure 8–2.
Primary Colors as Pigments
. In his 1725 treatise
Coloritto
, J.C....
Figure 8–3.
Color Organization
Color‐order systems organize color by hue, va...
Figure 8–4.
A Contemporary Visualization of the Munsell Color Tree
. Albert M...
Figure 8–5.
Color in Three Dimensions
. A hypothetical color solid is a frequ...
Figure 8–6.
Harmony by the Numbers
. Schopenhauer's harmonious color circle i...
Figure 8–7.
Harmonious Tee Shirts (According to Schopenhauer)
.
Figure 8–8.
The Harmonious Color Chords of Johannes Itten
. Each of these har...
Chapter 9
Figure 9–1.
Intervals and Harmony
. Creating intervals between two apparently...
Figure 9–2.
The Harmony of Value in Even Intervals
. Which design is more app...
Figure 9–3.
Major and Minor Themes
. Small areas of warm color emphasize the ...
Figure 9–4.
Hues of Equal Value
. Different hues of similar value seem to flo...
Figure 9–5.
Consistency of Saturation
.
Window Shopping
. A splash of high‐imp...
Figure 9–6.
Consistency of Saturation
. A nineteenth‐century tapestry fabric ...
Figure 9–7.
The Element of Surprise
. A patch of unexpected high color draws ...
Figure 9–8.
Dissonant Color
. The stencil designs in this early twentieth‐cen...
Chapter 10
Figure 10–1.
Selling Design
. Architect Daniel Brammer's meticulous pencil dr...
Figure 10–2.
Art Imitates Nature
. High performance engineered stones from Co...
Figure 10–3.
Applied Color
. This nineteenth‐century Mason pitcher was hand‐p...
Figure 10–4.
Artists' Media
. The multitude of colors available in Crayol...
Figure 10–5.
Subtractive Mixing of Hue
. Two paints mixed together produce a ...
Figure 10–6.
Subtractive Mixing of Hue: Failure
. Two paints that do not refl...
Figure 10–7.
Mixing Affinity
. A single product line has many tubes of appare...
Figure 10–8.
Process Colors
.
Figure 10–9.
Process Colors Act as Filters
. Here, cyan and yellow mixed abso...
Figure 10–10.
Process Color Mixing
.
Figure 10–11.
Process Color Printing
. Images in CMYK printing are made up of...
Figure 10–12.
Color Separations
. Each process color is printed as a separate...
Figure 10–13.
Silk Screen Printing
. Each color in this 1930s silk screen ima...
Chapter 11
Figure 11–1.
Online Tech Support
. ComputersdotMom offers free tech support o...
Figure 11–2.
Modes of Color Mixing
. Designers today must work within three m...
Figure 11–3. The Stephen Gerould Ceramic Lamp website offer particularly suc...
Figure 11–4.
Screen Drawing
. Drawing in light is an unparalleled medium for ...
Figure 11–5.
Simulating Texture
. An image of a faux fur coyote blanket made ...
Figure 11–6.
Traditional Rendering
. A hand‐painted rendering is shown to a c...
Figure 11–7.
Computer Rendering
. Carpet pattern, size, and colors reconfigur...
Figure 11–8.
Screen Colors Are Coded in More Than One Way
. A screen color ca...
Figure 11–9.
The Web‐safe Palette
. In the earliest days of computer re...
Chapter 12
Figure 12–1.
Kitchens for the New Millennium
. Refrigerators are now availabl...
Figure 12–2.
Forecast Colors
. Key colors for 2024; predictions by Color Mark...
Figure 12–3. The official colors of US military uniforms have been specified...
Figure 12–4.
The Standard Color Reference of America
.
Figure 12–5.
Color and Product Identity
. Marketing is easy when you can find...
Figure 12–6.
Color and Product Identity
. It is easy to confuse competing pro...
Figure 12–7.
Color and Product Trademark
. The distinctive color makes Fiskar...
Figure 12–8.
Colors of the 1960s
. The brash colors of the 1960s signaled a m...
Figure 12–9.
Colors of the 1990s
. Kenneth Charbonneau's assemblage of colors...
Figure 12–10.
Document Wallpaper
. Arthur Sanderson and Sons’ wallpaper “The ...
Figure 12–11.
Document Wallpaper, Contemporary Recoloring
. Arthur Sanderson ...
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Companion Website
Begin Reading
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
End User License Agreement
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UNDERSTANDING COLOR
An Introduction for Designers
Sixth Edition
Linda Holtzschue
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PREFACE
Timothy Twinge worried a lot about things that might happen and things than might not …1
In the Dark Ages, before television, before computers, before COVID‐19, before AI … there was kindergarten. And in kindergarten, if you were very, very good you were allowed to paint. So I was very, very good, and I was allowed to paint.
There were three pots of poster paint: red, yellow, and blue. The teacher promised that if I mixed the yellow and the blue paint I would make green. So I mixed blue and yellow poster paint and painted a tree. And it was brown. Maybe a little green‐ish, but really … brown. And I worried about that. Like Timothy Twinge, I worried a lot. Was I colorblind?
And generations later, I am still amazed that today’s environmentally safe and carefully curated children’s blue and yellow poster paints still mix to a yucky greenish brown. And even more amazed at the things that have changed and the things that have not. So I have set these thoughts down for those of you who have painted brown trees and spent a good bit of your life wondering why that happened. This book is about why—why we see what we see (although technology and business are unavoidable diversions)—and how to get that tree just the way you want it to be.
Note
1
Florence Parry Heide and Roxanne Heide Pierce,
Timothy Twinge
. Barbara Lehmann (illustrator) (Lothrop Lee and Shepard, January 1, 1993).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This sixth edition of Understanding Color would not have been possible without the generosity and support of friends, family, and colleagues. My heartfelt thanks to contributors old and new: Alan Calixto, Phyllis Rose, Dan Brammer, Kurt Ackerman, Kenneth Charbonneau, Donna Frost, Deb Slatkin, Renee Hytry Derrington, Leslie Harrington, Blue Agramonte, Cindy Seepersaud, Todd Goldblatt, Rodger Lippman, Claus Rademacher, and Carolyn Parton, with apologies to any contributors I may inadvertently have missed. I am eternally grateful to Monica Chandra Sekar and Todd Green, who were both kind and patient through endless delays. Special thanks to Vrushti Mehta and Jennifer Perman, whose illustrations enliven the pages. And most of all to my family, who supported me through this undertaking with patience, love, and tech support.
ABOUT THE COMPANION WEBSITE
This book is accompanied by a companion website:
www.wiley.com/go/understandingcolor/6e
This website contains a workbook.
1THE ROLE OF COLOR IN DESIGN
The Role of Color in Design / Color as Language / Color, Culture and Time / Color, Form and Arrangement: Communication Without Words / Clothing and Color: Social Messaging / Color Coding
Color is essential for life.
––Frank H. Mahnke
Color pervades every aspect of our lives. It delights, informs, identifies, warns, embellishes the ordinary and brings beauty and drama to everyday objects. If black and white images bring us the news of the day, color writes the poetry.
The Role of Color in Design
The romance of color exists for everyone, but color has a unique role for design professionals. Forms, colors, and their arrangement are the foundation elements of design, and of these, color is arguably the most powerful weapon in the designer's arsenal. All fields of design share the same goal: to create a product or communicate an idea that engages the attention of its target audience, and to do this in the most immediate, informative, and appealing way possible.
Color provides the first impression of any product or image. It may also provide immediate or lasting identity. Whether something is a web page, a book jacket, an article of clothing, an automobile, toaster, garden, or anything else, more often than not it is color that foretells its success or failure in the consumer marketplace.
Even more, it is that first color impression that influences—and at times even determines—the success of a product. It has been estimated that up to 90% of initial judgments made about consumer goods are based on color alone, and in graphic design, images that include color are thought to be more than 80% more effective in drawing immediate attention than those in black and white. A skilled designer understands that power and how to use it to enhance the market appeal of any product. For designers, color means business—and to use it effectively, it's important first to understand exactly what is meant by “design.”
Design: a plan or drawing provided to show the look and function of something before it is built.
1
Design: to devise for a specific purpose; also the creative art of the aesthetic of functional designs.
2
Design is a process; a way of merging art and utility. The outcome of every design undertaking is a product: anything from a sports car to a stuffed toy; something as solid as a marble floor or as insubstantial as images on a screen. The goal of every design process is to present and promote—to sell—that product or idea, whether for short‐term attention, like an advertisement, or long‐term appeal, like an easy chair or a car. Good design is a well‐balanced combination of art, function, and message. Great design combines art, function, and message in a way that is seamless, informative, innovative, and memorable.
The fine arts—images and objects such as paintings, sculptures, or works created in any of today's enormous range of alternative media—are meant to engage their audience in the work itself. A work of art is the product. Design is about a product.
Color as Language
Language is a collection of words used to communicate ideas and feelings. In a widely‐accepted study, researchers Brent Berlin and Paul Kay determined that 98 languages had names for 11 basic colors. Simpler languages had fewer color names; more complex languages had more names. The languages studied gave names to colors in a consistent order of recognition: first, black and white (or dark and light), then red, followed by yellow and/or green, then blue, brown, orange, purple, and pink.3
Each word has the same meaning for speakers of the same language, although words may have slightly different meanings in regional settings. An American who orders “today's pudding” from a London menu may be surprised when served a slice of chocolate cake.
Dead languages are frozen in time, but living languages evolve and grow; adding words, abandoning words, changing meanings. The words for red, yellow, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet are reasonably stable in all languages, but words for variations of these often change, are lost entirely, or are replaced by new words. Would anyone today order a sweater in puce, gamboge, zaffre, fulvous or amaranth, the color names of a century ago? Probably not, but the same sweater described as sky blue, mint green or apricot might appeal. Color is a living language.
Color words can be “signatures” that represent a non‐color entity. Color words or phrases used in this way do not have universal meaning; they are directed at particular audiences. “Three cheers for the ‘Red, White and Blue’” needs no explanation. Dartmouth is “Big Green” to its sports fans; Alabama opts for “The Crimson Tide.” Color words used as codes for ideas or entities can shift in meaning over time. Those used to reference political points of view are particularly vulnerable to instability. In the United States, the “Red Menace” of the 1950s referred to Communism; today a “Red State” designates the exact opposite––a state where a majority of voters are politically conservative.
Writing is visible language: a way of preserving words and ideas. It is also a way of organizing and controlling the way that words and ideas are presented. The color of written words influences the way in which the ideas they convey are understood.
Color words are used as analogies as well; they are central to descriptive writing. No one has written more comprehensively, or with more eloquence and scholarship, on the imagery and symbolism of colors than Alexander Theroux:
Fox‐red tenné in the language of chivalry shows a somewhat burnt tone. And garnet red with its low brilliance and medium saturation is a sort of ‘pigeon blood’ or ‘Spanish wine’. Cranberry red has a saucy sharpness to it, with a hint of yellow. Bluish red, popular in lipsticks, cardigans, and the aura of dramatic personalities …4
Culture, Color, and Time
A culture is a collective set of the values and beliefs of a particular social group. Each culture establishes what is important to that group; ideas that are passed down from generation to generation as traditions. Each culture also has its own language of social status and political meaning, including a language of color, and the symbolism of a single color or combination of colors is meaningful to that particular group. Awareness of cultural differences in the language of color is critical to successful marketing of any product or image destined for the global marketplace.
In Color, Environment, and Human Response, Frank H. Mahnke describes the experience of color as a pyramid with six levels of response:5
personal relationship
influence of fashions, styles and trends
cultural influences and mannerisms
conscious symbolism‐association
collective unconscious
biological reactions to a color stimulus
Each step upward in Mahnke's pyramid represents a narrower interpretation of a color experience. The lowest level is the innate, unlearned response to color; the physiological, unconscious response to a stimulus of light. The conscious part of the brain becomes a part of the response at the second level, where each sensation is identified by name. “Collective unconscious” responses, like the association of the color red (and also the word for red) with blood, are also involuntary and cross‐cultural.
At the third level, colors or color combinations become visual codes that have meaning for specific populations; a language that is independent of words but culture‐specific. Americans associate red, white, and blue with the United States, but the French, Chilean, and Yugoslavian flags (among others) display the same colors.
No matter what the culture, color words are understood as codes only when they are used in context. “Seeing red” is understood as rage; in a different situation, embarrassment. A “red flag” is a signal to be alert, and nobody wants to be “yellow” or “blue.” Green in one situation suggests youth or inexperience, in another, envy—or nausea. Shakespeare's aging Cleopatra speaks of her “salad days,” when she was “green in judgment.” In the twenty‐first century, with global warming and the deterioration of the environment everywhere apparent, green has become an international rallying color of environmental politics and a powerful tool for advertisers. “Green” products carry an unwritten message: using them will help to save the planet (Figure 1‐1).6
Figure 1–1.Color Symbolism. Concern for the environment is implicit in products labeled “The Green Promise.” Benjamin Moore’s® paints give assurance that its coatings meet the highest environmental safety standards.
Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.
Color, Form, and Arrangement: Communication without Words
A form alone, whether it is two‐ or three‐dimensional and no matter what its size, has no special identity. A circle is just a circle (or a sphere), a square is a square (or a cube), a triangle is a triangle or a polyhedron.7 A freeform figure is a “blob,” and so on.
Words like “above,” “below,” “adjacent,” “overlapping” describe the arrangement of forms. Color may be first element of design to capture a viewer's attention, but it is only first. Images and products made up of a specific color or combination of colors and distinctive in form and arrangement are a visual shorthand that communicates without any need for language. Images of this kind can convey social, religious, political, or military status, or warn, or direct, but no matter what the overall dimensions of the image—large or small—its forms, colors and their arrangement must be the same in order to communicate that precise meaning.
Many of these form and color symbols have near‐universal recognition. A blocky, symmetrically‐armed red cross against a white field communicates aid to victims of disaster—but if the colors are reversed, the image becomes something far less familiar: the national flag of Switzerland (Figure 1‐2).
Figure 1–2.Color and Form as Identity. The image identifying the Red Cross is lost when its colors are reversed.
National flags are wordless messaging, their colors and arrangement painstakingly chosen to represent a particular culture and history. The flag of the Republic of Ireland is an ideal example. The majority of Ireland's population identifies as Roman Catholic and associates itself with vivid green; the “Emerald Isle.” A minority population, traditionally Protestant, is represented by orange, an allusion to the Protestant King William of Orange whose army overthrew the Catholic King James II in the seventeenth century. The two populations, united today in a sometimes uneasy accord, share a flag that represents both religious difference and national unity: equal bands of green and orange at opposing ends are separated by white, a symbol of truce (Figures 1‐3 and 1‐4).
Figure 1–3.Color as Historical Reference. The colors of the flag of the Republic of Ireland evoke its history.
Figure 1–4.Color Alone as Symbol. Only different color combinations distinguish national flags that have identical forms and arrangement.
Some combinations of form and arrangement are so distinctive that they retain their meaning even when illustrated in different colors; even in the absence of color. The international symbol for radiation hazard, initially represented as a magenta or black trefoil on a yellow ground, then as black on yellow, is now displayed in other colors while maintaining its distinctive forms and arrangement,8 and a new symbol has now been developed for international use (Figures 1‐5 to 1‐7).9
Figure 1–5.Form and Color Together as Warning. The traditional international symbol for radiation danger appears in several color combinations.
Figure 1–6.Form and Color Together as Warning. A new international symbol for radiation danger is not yet in universal use.10
Figure 1–7.Form Alone as Warning. No matter what the color (or no color at all), this message is unmistakable.
Clothing and Color: Social Messaging
Clothing is a universal form of social communication. Garments at every level from haut couture to construction overalls carry color associations that acknowledge (or challenge) cultural expectations. Funeral directors do not wear bright orange ties. Newborns are not swathed in black.
The use of color to communicate identity and social status has long roots in history. In ancient Rome, only the emperor and others of high status were permitted by law to wear “Tyrian Purple,” a color that required 250 000 tiny mollusk shells to make a half ounce of dye. In ancient China, the emperor alone wore yellow. Garments of particular colors meant to identify the wearers' role and status are worn still today. The saffron robes of Buddhist priests are instantly recognizable. An elaborate calendar of colors exists for Roman Catholic priests, the everyday black of their vestments changing to a rainbow of options at different periods in the liturgical calendar. Present‐day social groups use clothing color to assert identity as well: Goth culture proclaims itself in black, unmistakable, unrelieved black (Figures 1‐8 and 1‐9).
Figure 1–8.Clothing Color as Traditional Social Identity. Robes of sharp yellow‐orange identify Buddhist monks, a tradition of centuries.
Figure 1–9.Clothing Color as Contemporary Social Identity. Goth culture proclaims itself in unrelieved black.
Nearly all cultures have traditional colors for special occasions, but even long‐held traditions can change over time. Most Western brides wear white for their wedding day, but until 1840, when Queen Victoria chose white for her gown, a bride simply wore her best dress—often black—which was also the color of mourning in the West, both then and now. Indian brides for centuries were garbed gloriously in red, a color associated with a revered Hindu goddess, fertility, and passion, promising a happy conjugal future. An Indian bride today may choose more individual colors for her wedding, but most include red in some way as a nod to that tradition, while in India and the Far East, white remains—by tradition—the color of mourning.
Uniforms use both color and style to identify their wearers as distinct from the general population. The US Army has required, permitted, and prohibited colors for every conceivable situation, including hair color and lipstick.11 Whether a uniform is military, industrial, law enforcement or anything else, both design and color are meant to be so distinctive that the wearer's role is unmistakable. When Paul Revere rode to warn that “the Redcoats are coming,” no further information was needed (Figure 1‐10).
Figure 1–10.Color as Corporate Identity. Commercial uniforms identify the wearer's enterprise. UPS drivers' uniforms are the same distinctive color as their trucks (and are never mistaken for FedEx).
Uniforms are not necessarily without humor. Disneyworld's lighthearted staff uniforms charm visitors while fulfilling their function of identifying their wearers' role: ready to help and entertain park visitors. And some “uniforms” are singular statements: one figure below is instantly identifiable, the other would not enjoy the same immediate recognition (if at all.) (Figure 1‐11).
Figure 1–11.Clothing Color as Identity. One “uniform” provides instant recognition … and one does not.
Color Coding
Color coding plays a critical role in conveying safety information for many vigilance tasks; situations that call for immediate response. Some colors have become so important in communicating ideas that their meanings have been legislated. In 1970 the United States Congress created The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure that the colors of safety equipment, garments, signage and emergency messaging were consistent in both government and private industry. OSHA Red is recognized world‐wide as an indicator of danger: red says “STOP.” OSHA yellow indicates caution; orange, dangerous machinery, or equipment. Safety colors are closely linked in memory to the situations in which they appear, and are processed very rapidly. An OSHA yellow rain slicker helps to protect the traffic policeman. The same yellow as paint on a chair suggests nothing about safety at all (Figures 1‐12 and 1‐13).
Figure 1–12.OSHA Colors.
Figure 1–13.Safety Color. The yellow of a school bus prompts drivers to exercise caution.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is an independent, non‐governmental organization which, like OSHA, strives for standardization in safety colors. ANSI is an association of private industry representatives, technical experts, and policy makers who meet to reach a consensus on safety matters. It is the sole United States representative to the International Organization for Standardization, which works toward the adoption of uniform safety colors by all nations. ANSI standards are voluntary and its colors echo those of OSHA, but it is through their efforts that many safety colors today have been adopted internationally.
OSHA and ANSI color standards are used most often in industrial design, but architects, graphic, interior and fashion designers employ them in the same ways: to arouse a unconscious association, to emphasize, alert, warn, or direct. The basement of New York City's Bellevue Hospital is a labyrinth worthy of Minoan Crete, but lines painted OSHA yellow on the floors lead visitors safely—if not exactly briskly—to exits.
OSHA and ANSI color standards are clearly designated, but designers who work within their palette must stay alert to changes in meaning. Both colors and application requirements are updated regularly to meet new needs and to improve earlier standards, and the use of OSHA colors is enforced under Federal law.
When safety colors appear with simultaneous and conflicting information, the areas of the brain that respond to color competes with other parts of the brain in structuring a response. The resulting delay and confusion in understanding the color message, called the Stroop interaction, take place because the importance of equal and competing elements of information must be sorted out.12 The word BLUE written in RED causes a brief hesitation in the flow of reading. An octagonal green traffic sign that says “STOP” would be misperceived, and response to it delayed, with potentially fatal results (Figure 1‐14).
Figure 1–14.Stroop Interaction. Comprehension is delayed when different parts of the brain respond to simultaneous and conflicting information.
The workplace is not the only industry that relies on color coding for safety. Pharmaceutical companies call upon specialty research firms to specify the color of individual medications, which enables patients with multiple needs to discriminate more easily between them, a mandate that includes over‐the‐counter as well as prescription items.
In some instances the color (or colors) of specific products are mandated by law. In an effort to discourage smoking, the Australian government in 2012 employed market researchers to determine what the general public considered to be the ugliest possible color. The “winner” was a dull, drab, dark brown, and legislation was passed requiring that all tobacco products available in Australia use this color for their packaging. That same packaging requirement has been followed by many countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and many others (Figure 1‐15).13
Figure 1–15.By Popular Vote … the ugliest color of all.14
Notes
1
Concise Oxford English Dictionary
, 12th Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).
2
Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary
, 11th Edition (Springfield, MA: Merriam‐Webster, Incorporated, 2020).
3
https://en.wikipedia.org
; wiki Brent Berlin.
4
Alexander Theroux,
The Primary Colors
(New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1994), 167.
5
Frank Mahnke and Rudolf H. Mahnke,
Color in Man‐Made Environments
(New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982), 11.
6
The Benjamin Moore Green Promise: “Every product that has the Benjamin Moore Green Promise designation has exceeded the most stringent standards for environmental safety and superior performance. These premium ‘green’ paints stand out for their low VOCs, low odor, unparalleled quality and performance with unlimited color selection. There's a perfect Benjamin Moore Green Promise product to suit every budget and lifestyle.”
7
A three‐dimensional shape with flat faces, straight edges and sharp corners.
8
https://www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk/nuclearhitchhiker/the-history-of-the-radiation-warning-symbol
9
https://remm.hhs.gov/radsign.htm
10
https://remm.hhs.gov/radsign.htm
/ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services /Public domain.
11
ALARACT 055/2023 DTG: R 061507Z JUL 23 UNCLAS SUBJ/ALARACT 055/2023 – UNITED STATES ARMY APPEARANCE AND GROOMING MODIFICATIONS BY JSP ON BEHALF OF HQDA, DCS, G–1 1. (U) REFERENCES: 1.A. (U) HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, SECRETARY OF THE ARMY MEMORANDUM (APPEARANCE AND GROOMING POLICIES FOR THE UNITED STATES ARMY), 30 April 2021.
12
Jules B. Davidoff,
Cognition through Color
(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991), 113–126.
13
Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care:
www.health.gov.au›topics›tobacco-control
. With permission of Commonwealth of Australia.
14
With permission of Commonwealth of Australia.
