I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for.There are infinite shadings of light and shadows and colors... it's an extraordinarily subtle language. Figuring out how to speak that language is a lifetime job.
Conrad Hall
Symbolism of Color and Colors That Go TogetherColors are more than a combination of red and blue or yellow and black. They are non-verbal communication. Colors have symbolism and color meanings that go beyond ink. As you design brochures, logos, and Web sites, it is helpful to keep in mind how the eye and the mind perceive certain colors and the color meanings we associate with each color.
Physical and Cultural Color ReactionsSometimes colors create a physical reaction (red has been shown to raise blood pressure) and at other times it is a cultural reaction (in the U.S. white is for weddings, in some Eastern cultures, white is the color for mourning and funerals). Colors follow trends as well. Avocado, a shade of green, is synomous with the 60s and 70s in the minds of some consumers.
Color RelationshipsIn addition to understanding color meanings, it helps with mixing and matching colors to know the relationship of adjacent, complementary, and clashing colors.
The Colors of CalmCool colors tend to have a calming effect. At one end of the spectrum they are cold, impersonal, antispectic colors. At the other end the cool colors are comforting and nurturing. Blue, green, and the neutrals white, gray, and silver are examples of cool colors.
In nature blue is water and green is plant life - a natural, life-sustaining duo. Combine blues and greens for natural, watery color palettes. Heat up a too cool color palette with a dash of warm colors such as red or orange. If you want warmth with just a blue palette, choose deeper blues with a touch of red but not quite purple or almost black deep navy blues.
Cool colors appear smaller than warm colors and they visually recede on the page so red can visually overpower and stand out over blue even if used in equal amounts.
The profiles for each of these cool colors include descriptions of their nature, cultural color meanings, how to use each color in design work, and which colors work best together.
The Colors of ExcitementWarm colors rev us up and get us going. The warmth of red, yellow, or orange can create excitement or even anger. Warm colors convey emotions from simple optimism to strong violence. The neutrals of black and brown also carry warm attributes.
In nature, warm colors represent change as in the changing of the seasons or the eruption of a volcano. Tone down the strong emotions of a warm palette with some soothing cool or neutral colors or by using the lighter side of the warm palette such as pinks, pale yellows, and peach.
Warm colors appear larger than cool colors so red can visually overpower blue even if used in equal amounts. Warm colors appear closer while their cool counterparts visually recede on the page.
The profiles for each of these warm colors include descriptions of their nature, cultural color meanings, how to use each color in design work, and which colors work best together.
The Colors of IntrigueColors with attributes from both the warm and cool colors can calm and excite. These are colors derived from a mix of a cool and warm color such as blue and red or blue and yellow.
A cool blue and a warm red combine to create deep purples and pale lavendars. To a lesser extent, shades of green, especially turquoise and teal, also have both the warming and cooling effects born of warm yellow and cool blue. Some light neutrals such as cream, pale beige, and taupe evoke some of the same warm and cool feelings of purples and greens. The opposite or clashing color for purple is green and for green, purple.
The profiles for each of these mixed colors include descriptions of their nature, cultural color meanings, how to use each color in design work, and which colors work best together.
The Colors of UnityThe neutral colors of black, white, silver, gray, and brown make good backgrounds, serve to unify diverse color palettes, and also often stand alone as the only or primary focus of a design.
Neutral colors help to put the focus on other colors or serve to tone down colors that might otherwise be overpowering on their own. To some extent blacks, browns, tans, golds, and beige colors are considered warm. While white, ivory, silver, and gray are somewhat cooler colors. Yet these warm and cool attributes are flexible and more subtle than that of reds or blues.
The profiles for each of these neutral colors include descriptions of their nature, cultural color meanings, and how to use each color in design work
