Colour is what the human eye can see and the information that we understand as colour is important. Understanding the correct uses for colour today is important because of the historical meaning that colour has developed through the history of the human race.
The Colour wheel above shows several colours, we will look at the several of the main colours above Red, White(lack of Colour), Purple. All these colours have developed a symbolic meaning due to their historical use.
Red – Often seen as the colour for love and passion, has several meanings in design red is often used as a signifier for a Critical warning, I see this as the same reason red is used on certain traffic signs in the UK to provide the driver with a clear warning.
White – Often though as the colour of purity, white is used in design to signify new begins similar to wiping clean a whiteboard or starting on a new canvas. White also signifies death and the end of things, this is because white is the colour of bone. When a designer is creating their designs it is important to think of the connotations that colour has on the person who is using the design.
Purple – Historically purple has been the colour of royalty. This stems from the cost in producing purple ink to dye clothing. Purple was reserved for the wealthiest among the Romans and this historical context can be seen today in the use of purple in design. Purple also is a mixture of Red – passion and Blue – Stability, it is often used to signify the middle ground between the colours.
Colour also takes on different meanings depending on what the context of the colour is, for example using red on a stop sign draws the eye to the sign allowing the sign to provide a clear message, but using red is used in commercial kitchens as a signifier for raw meat on a chopping board. This is also a signifier to the Chef, but it is less of a warning and more of an instruction to the chef to make sure he is using the correct chopping board. Also Red in Chinese culture is seen as a symbol for good luck this shows that colour influences differently in different cultures.
After exploring the meaning of theses colours, I think it is still important to challenge the norm and use colours in ways that they aren’t meant to be used, of course if colour is being used as a deeply ingrained signifier, Red – Stop/Danger, Green – Go/Safe. Then using this for design is a must. But if colour isn’t being used like this it is nice to think that I can choose a colour because I want to choose that colour and not the significance that it has.
Reference List
Olesen, J (2017) Color Meanings Available at https://www.color-meanings.com/ (Accessed: 1 December 2017)
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