Composition Ch 3 Color Psychology
Color as a Means of Expression
Another method of using color as visual expression is the use of heightened color. Heightened color makes elements of a paint- ing or image stand out. This was also a liberating idea that an artist could paint an object—for instance, a tree—any color he wanted. And by making the tree blue or red or violet, force the viewer to stop and rethink just exactly what a tree is and what its true meaning may be.
Psychological Perception
Beyond a poetic use of hue and pigment, as we have seen in the previous chapter, colors have a physiological effect on our bodies and well-being. The color red will increase skin temperature and raise blood pressure and respiration, while blue will lower skin temperature, blood pressure, respiration, and pulse.
Color Function and Cognition
By changing the color of an object, we can drastically alter its function and use. We tend to recognize objects such as signs by their color as much as by their shape or lettering.
Color Psychology
Color and emotions are so closely related that we use these terms as descriptions for concepts and feelings that go beyond words and language. It is not enough for an artist or designer to produce a particular product in any color of their choosing: they must be aware of how their choice will affect the viewer. In design, the simple act of choosing a color can make or break a product. When we look at anything from a painting to a package or even a simple product, we bring a lifetime's worth of memories, experiences, and psychological baggage that impacts and affects our perception. Color psychology and market research go hand in hand, but these two areas have had an uneasy relationship or alliance since the days of Sigmund Freud.
History of Blue
Color associations can change and be as relative as the application of color itself. Blue can stand for being "true blue," loyal, and steadfast. The contemporary, mass-produced equivalent is navy blue, which is still associated with truth, honesty, and confidence. Certainly no businessman or politician would be without a navy suit! Blue is also associated with water and sky; the earth is often referred to as a "big blue marble." Lighter blue hues do not have the same impact or meaning as the darker varieties. Unlike the statement of authority in navy-blue, a light blue hue has a more calming and peaceful feel.
The Brain and Cortex
Edwin Land, the inventor of the Polaroid camera, took this idea a step further with his retinex theory. Retinex is a combination of the words retina and cortex. He stated that colors are not determined in isolation and that colors change in relation to one another. We can take two swatches of the same color, and depending upon the background color they are placed on, radically change their visual appearance.
The Luscher Color Test
In 1960, Dr. Max Luscher developed a color test to determine personality traits and disorders. The Luscher Color Test has become the standard and is considered the most reliable of all of the color personality insight tools because it held its results even for those with color vision impairment or color blindness. The simple and most widely used version of the test contains eight colors. The four psychological primaries—dark blue, yellow, red-orange, and green—make up the first group of the color test, with violet and neutrals of brown, gray, and black (the absence of all color) making up the second or auxiliary group. These auxiliary colors require a bit of an explanation: black and gray are not actually colors at all because they represent the negation of all color. By placing these colored swatches in descending order of preference, it revealed aspects of personality, including anxieties, conflicts, and compulsions.
Color and Flavor
In food stores, bread is normally sold in packaging decorated or tinted with golden or brown tones to promote the idea of home baked and oven freshness. Rarely will you see it sold in a green wrapper because the cast color on to the product would remind buyers of mold. Adding yellow to the wrapper will boost bread sales bread sales and give the product a sunny bright appeal.The most recent entry into the food-coloring fray is blue. In the past, blue was not considered edible because it was not a color found in fresh, natural food products; rather, it reminded customers of mold and decay. Even today, the blue that is used is a very saturated bright hue and never a blue green. These new prod- ucts are mostly directed to a younger market who have not yet formed negative color asso- ciations and usually it is used in candy, soft drinks, and sports drinks.
Packaging and Products
In market research studies it has been determined that 60 percent of acceptance or rejection of a product is based on its color. That decision is also made very quickly. Within 90 seconds, a person will make a choice to accept or reject a purchase. But by far the most important aspect is the color of the item. If the color is not right, people will not purchase the product.
Color Constancy
Land concluded that cognitive function and our learned responses to objects played a dominant role in our color recognition and the consistency with which we viewed an objects' color. He said that even in the dark, we expect an object to retain its color. For example, we expect lemons to be yellow when we turn the lights off because we think we still see yellow even though the light has changed. No matter how the light changes, or the color surrounding the lime may change, we know the lime is green and that is exactly what we see. The brain and psyche ignore the reflected wavelength light impulses, over- riding the incoming data, and decide based on years of knowledge of the color of the item. The brain, in the end, may be the real arbiter of color.
Mood and Emotion
Mood and disposition can also influence our perception of color. As an experiment on color and emotion, the U.S. Navy painted its holding cells in the "brig," its military jail, pink. They found that even the most hostile and agitated sailors became docile and calm while in the pink holding area. Why did this happen? One might think that it would have just the opposite effect. The color pink was emasculating and made the prisoners feel withdrawn and less manly and made them easier to control. However, the study also revealed that if the prisoners were left in the pink holding cell for more than a short period of time, they become even more aggressive and violent. The color that at first subdued and quieted, over an extended period of time, irritated and aggravated the sailors so much that they became uncontrol- lable. Green interiors are also frequently used in bed-and-breakfast inns to create a warm and inviting atmo- sphere for the guests.
Innate Responses
Our reaction to color and the color of an item or object is determined by two factors. There are inherited or innate responses to color, ones that we all share as human beings and those that are taught to us from infancy. One of the most primal and innate responses to is our reaction to the combination of yellow and black. They are the colors of poison and danger. Bumblebees, wasps, police caution tape, and road hazard warning signs all contain these two colors. So while they are easy to recognize and read they are not inviting and rarely used in design.
Learned Color Responses
Our response to color is not purely uncon- scious or intuitive; it is learned. Blue for boys and pink for girls is a cultural response to color. Colors are also cultural, having religious connotations. For years, fire trucks have been painted red, hence the name "fire-engine red." But several years ago it was discovered that this red hue is hard to see at dawn and dusk when there is little light. Today, yellow-green is used for fire trucks and hydrants because it can be seen from farthest away, regardless of the light and time of day.
Socioeconomic Aspects of Color
There are socioeconomic aspects that affect your choice of favorite hues and that determine which hues you feel more at home or comfortable with. The higher your economic status, the more you will favor darker, less saturated, complex hues. People in the lower economic brack- ets tend to prefer and respond favorably to simple, bright, pure hues.
Apple Changes Everything
Today, the computer is a fashion acces- sory and decorative home item. It is now considered a part of the room like furniture, and color is used to accent and decorate it. Other companies such as Dell have fol- lowed Apple's lead in creating colorful home computers. This same styling is also being featured in other items, from the George Foreman grill to microwave ovens and a whole host of other products.
Artists' Use of Color
Warm, bright, fully saturated colors appear to advance—they make objects seem larger and closer to us. Intense and highly saturated hues are normally used in the foreground and bring the viewer into the painting or work of art. On the other hand, cool, dull, low satu- rated dark colors make objects look smaller and appear to recede in space. They have a restrained feeling and evoke emotions such as sadness, depression, loss, and longing. As objects move back into space, they lose color and saturation and blend or melt away into a middle or light gray. This effect is called atmospheric perspective. When working in a representational man- ner with color, it is referred to as working with local color. Local color and value are synonymous with the exact appearance of the object. This style of painting is also known as photorealism. This use of color to mimic objects and their sur- roundings can act as a type of camouflage and is also known as trompe l'oeil, which means, "to fool the eye."
Color and Psychoanalysis
While Sigmund Freud was one of the first to begin to discuss the use of color and its relationship to psychology in his monograph on Leonardo da Vinci, it was Carl Jung in Man and His Symbols who began to see color as a primal element that needed to be addressed. He saw the artist's use of color as a manifesta- tion of the unconscious. Laurie Schneider Adams sees a close relationship between art and psychology, and she believes that the artist's use of the color, form, and imagery are autobiographical in nature.
Color and Appetite
While the U.S. Navy's experiments with color may have failed, fast-food restaurant chains have perfected the use of color to sway emotion. Think about your favorite: McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's. All use the same basic color scheme of hot hues of yellow, orange, and red. These colors increase the appetite.
