About Color

Humans have been thinking about colors since the beginning of our existence, but modern color theory really arose in the 1800s. At this time people started looking into it as more than just art. Today’s color theory requires some understanding of basic scientific principle and psychological principles. Much of modern color theory surrounds the way that people view, think about and interact with colors, from those used on in their homes to the hues in a company logo.

What is color?

Color is the quality of an object or substance with respect to light reflected by the object, usually determined visually by measurement of hue, saturation and brightness of the reflected light; saturation or chroma; hue.

Color is perceived in the following areas:
• Physiological - Color is perceived through the eye – causing muscles to relax or tense up and the pupils to expand or contract.
• Psychological - Each color subconsciously evokes thoughts and emotions that are developed through previous experiences with that color.
• Aesthetic - When used properly color creates visual harmony and enforces a visual hierarchy to provide an uncluttered non-chaotic experience.

Physiological:
“Though color-sensing mechanisms of the eye and brain interpret color information, the nervous impulses of the color channel don’t only go to the brain for cognitive analysis. Some pulses travel to the pituitary and pineal glands through the hypothalamus. It is logical to assume that what we see, especially color, can affect other systems of the body.” - Brandy Gee, color expert

Color is a stimuli, which causes a response. Like any other stimuli response pair, there are several different variables and outcomes.

The simplest example to understand physiological responses to color is how color affects a person's perception of temperature. Studies have shown that body temperature fluctuates in response to various colors. Red, orange and yellow (considered to be warm colors) can raise temperature, whereas cool colors have the opposite reaction.

A more specific example pertaining to the web relates to the color red. Visitors tend to browse more quickly (if at all) through pages that have a pure red background. This is due to the strain that the color red places on the retinas.


Psychological:
“People will actually gamble more and make riskier bets when seated under a red light as opposed to a blue light. That's why Las Vegas is the city of red neon.” – Pantone website

Throughout the years colors have become less subjective and more representative. Colors have universal and cultural underlying meanings that shouldn’t be overlooked when deciding on one color over another.

The following are some of the most common noted psychological pairings:

Red --excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger.
Blue --(listed as the most popular color) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness.
Yellow --warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
Orange -- playfulness, warmth, vibrant
Green -- nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
Purple --royal, spirituality, dignity
Pink -- soft, sweet, nurture, security
White --pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild.
Black --sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
Gold -- prestige, expensive
Silver -- prestige, cold, scientific

It is important to consider these meanings when choosing colors. Most of today’s large companies refer to these color references when choosing company colors. Color is the first impression your audience takes in, it is important to represent yourself correctly.

What do you think of when you see the colors listed above? Are the majority of your answers in line with what is above?


Most people can look at something and confidently say that the colors clash, but they cannot explain why. Someone who has studied color can discuss how the saturation of the colors, tints and shades causes the “Clash”. A lack of color harmony can be quite unsettling, as you may have noted if you've ever tried to pair, say, red shoes and a red dress; small variations between the reds can cause a fashion crime.

Color theory is very complex; art and design students often spend years learning about the subject. The following is the most basic information that can be applied to greater learning and discovery:


The color wheel:
The color wheel is a tool that was developed to understand color. Many people remember it from art class in elementary school. But artists and designers use it as a base when dealing with colors. On a basic color wheel there are 6 colors– red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. The color wheel serves as a chart to help visualize the following categories and combinations.




Primary Colors: Red, Yellow and Blue.
These 3 colors are the base colors for every other color on the color wheel. Note the triangular positioning of the primary colors on the color wheel.

Primary colors are useful for designs or art that needs to have a sense of urgency. Primary colors are the most vivid colors when placed next to each other, which is why you'll notice that most fast food joints use primary colors in their logos, as it evokes speed.

Secondary Colors: Orange, Green and Purple
These 3 colors are formed when 2 primary colors are mixed. They're located in-between the primary colors to indicate what colors they're made from.

Secondary colors are usually more interesting than primary colors, but they do not evoke the same sense of speed and urgency.

Tertiary Colors: These are those "in-between" colors like Yellow-Green and Red-Violet. Mixing one primary color and one secondary color together makes them.

Complementary Colors: Red and Green, Blue and Orange, Purple and Yellow.
These are the colors directly across from each other on the color wheel. When used together, they become extremely vibrant and have heavy contrast.

Analogous Colors: Red and Orange, Blue and Green (etc.)
These are colors right next to each other on the color wheel. They usually match extremely well, but they also create almost no contrast.

They're good for very serene-feeling designs and artwork where you want viewers to feel comfortable.


The color wheel is the basis for colors; however there are plenty of other variables that make one red differ from another. Here is a list of them:

Hue:
Undiluted colors – the true colors of the spectrum.

Saturation:
Brightness of a color.

Value:
Lightness and darkness of a color.

Tint:
A color with the presence of white – lighter shade of a color. Pink is a tint of red.

Shade:
A color with the presence of black – darker shade of a color. Navy is a shade of blue.


Color theory can get incredibly complex. Some people spend years to become experts in the field, devoting time to serious research in the sciences that are involved in color.


Here are some fun and interesting facts taken from increasetheknowledge.com:

- Butter has been artificially colored yellow back as far as the 1300’s.
- It is generally accepted that pink is for girls and blue is for boys. Pink has also been used in drunk tanks and opposing team locker rooms to calm and weaken the people in them. Even color-blind prisoners have been tranquilized.
- Blue and black are both appetite suppressants.
- Red is used in stoplights and emergency vehicles, although bright neon green is becoming more relevant for emergency and safety applications. It is the color of fire and blood as well as being energizing, aggressive and bold.
- Color helps people differentiate medicines.
- Green is associated with nature, growth, fruitfulness, freshness and ecology. On the other hand, green may also be symbolic of good luck, seasickness, money and greed — all of which have nothing to do with green plants.
- Color helps increase memory by attaching extra meaning to things that we see.
- Color can improve readership by 40 percent, learning from 55 to 78 percent and comprehension by 73 percent.
- Ads in color are viewed up to 42% more often than the same ads in black and white.
- Red appears more brilliant against a black background and duller against the white background. In contrast with orange, red appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, it exhibits brilliance.
- A soft shade of blue triggers a sense of calm.
- Color may have both positive and negative symbolism. For example, although blue is the beautiful color of the sky on a sunny day, it can be symbolic of sadness or stability.
- Dark and light shades of any color can convey completely different meanings. For example, pink (light red) tends to appear delicate and sweet as opposed to the strength and anger associated with dark red.
- Colors take on new meaning when combined with other colors. For example, red and green together remind many people of Christmas.
- As people get older, their eyes change. The sensitivity to certain colors gets dulled, but orange is least affected. So if your audience is older, you may want to use more orange hues.