The selection of reading were a great portrayal of how differing the ideas and reactions of color truly are. And it's not just about personal opinion, but about upbringing, cultural influences, and perception. The first reading, "Color Assignment," showed the results of color surveys contradicting the conclusions of Birren's color psychology studies. And in the "What Color Means" article you can see that depending on your culture different colors could mean mourning, courage, or jealousy.
Beyond the symbolism, cultural influences on the perception of color come from the history of that color. A fantastic book on that very history is Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay. I read this about a year ago. It really makes you appreciate color in a raw way.
There is certainly a lot to be said about color. It can bring emotion in to any visual. Even the lack of color can mean something. What makes this truly artistic is that the effect can mean different things to different people. Being aware of this, you may be able to create a new influence of your work depending on the color palette as designed for different groups.
Regardless, color should not be overlooked or under estimated in your design.
Absolutely! That is why we are learning the psychology of color. It matters little to a designer or artists why people react to a certain color, but that they do. Knowing which colors to choose to elicit a certain emotion makes your work that much more effective. It is like knowing the right words to use in writing. The wrong word ruins the meaning - just like choosing the wrong color does.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you, color should not be ignored or taken lightly. Understanding the psychology of color is a good base to design.
ReplyDeleteAfter all these readings I do feel like people have been ignoring color. Even I didn't realize how important color was in designing until I read all these articles. I knew that colors represented different feelings but I guess I never understood how much of an impact they could truly have.
ReplyDeleteI love the last line in your post -
ReplyDelete"Regardless, color should not be overlooked or under estimated in your design." I strongly agree with this. It is so important for a designer to pay attention to color when creating something. Throughout all of the sections we have seen how important design is to webpages and learning about the meanings and functions of color adds to our understanding of form.
Color should definitely NOT be under estimated. It's the fuel for the design. Your eyes are drawn to it, and if it is not appealing, what's going to happen? Oh, you won't look at it anymore. And that's not good in the field of design. Work with colors, and they will work with you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you all! Color on a website is what entices an individual to return. If the site it to busy and uncomfortable for the eye, no one will return. But if its comfortable, warm, and readable people will return. Never realized how important color is until now.
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