Use of Colour in Graphic Design by Chiew Weng Yau

Introduction

In graphic design, color is an important element. It brings out the “life” of the design and makes the appearance of the design more appealing. It also helps the design to convey its message in a more direct way. But color is not just the general red, blue, green, etc. It has a much deeper meaning, which will support the design other than conveying messages and attracting attentions.

In general, we know that color helps to represent the objects concerned, for instance, apples are red, and grass is green. This is what we are taught, but not what only should be taught. Color and its nature and impact can greatly contribute to graphic designs in many more ways other than identification.

The Tiers of Color

Here are some simple and general information of color to ease the upcoming explanation of the nature of color.

Primary Colors: Red, Blue, Yellow

Theoretically, primary colors are the colors that can’t be mixed by other colors. They are the basic colors.

Secondary Colors: Purple, Orange, Green

These colors are formed when mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary Colors: Red-purple, Red-orange, Blue-purple, Blue green, Yellow-orange,                                Yellow green

These colors are formed when mixing the primary colors with the corresponding secondary colors.

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The Flavors of Color

Each color has its own nature, flavor, properties. They are distinguished by their very own unique properties.

Red is the most eye-catching color. It symbolizes energy, passion, extremes, hotness, etc. In different perspective, red has different meanings. Red can represent anger and danger. But it may also symbolize wealth and prosperity.

Blue is our favorite color. It is the color of the sea and sky. It is the color of peace and calmness. It also represents loyalty, trust and it’s the color of professionals. It carries out dependability, as shown in some studies.

Green is the color of nature. It has soothing and healing effects. Green color is able to relieve stress because of its connection with nature. It may also represent new life, or new beginning.

Yellow is the color of luminosity, and it is often used in car headlights. It is associated with happiness, sunshine, and enlightenment. It is the most optimistic color. It catches our attentions well, thus it’s also used as the color of caution.

Orange is the color of fun. It represents joy, pleasure, and healthy. It is often used as the theme color for adventures, as it brings out the adventurers in us. Orange is also considered a friendly color, making it fitting into most of the designs.

Purple is always considered as the mysterious color. This is because purple is used in such way that we are fascinated but somehow puzzled by it. Purple is also the color of supernatural. It gives us the eerie feel but keeps us amazed at the same time.

Pink is a sweet color. It creates a soothing and pleasing atmosphere. It is known as the color of romance. It supports the theme, and enhances the atmosphere. It is also considered as the color of girls, and pink stuffs are usually considered as girls’ stuffs.

The strongest of them all, black is one of the most famous colors. Black represents power, elegance, and high quality. It also symbolizes formality, which is why it is widely used in formal occasions.

White is considered the color of elegance, similar to black. It is the color of purity, and simplicity. It also represents innocence, because it’s bright and free from influence of other colors. White somehow symbolizes emptiness, and is usually used with other colors in order to enhance the contrast of the colors.

Each color has its own symbolic meaning, and this will give designers and edge if they can understand and manipulate the colors well.

The Impacts of Color

The main impact of color is the impact on our visual. As soon as we see it, colors will be interpreted by our brains. Color is also able to affect our visual in another way. For instance, color can affect our vision of other objects like words. Different combination of colors will affect the image received by our retinas, and the output of the brain will also be affected, as well as the clarity of the message.

Color will create a secondary impact, which is usually related to the things of the correspondent color. Thus when our brain receive the vision of the color, we will be indirectly prompted to imagine the nature of the color and attach it to the sightings that we saw. For example, fire is generally considered to be in red color. The moment we saw some red color objects, there is a hidden feeling or thought of hot within our minds. Green color is usually associated to the Mother Nature. Which is why the green color is go-green related, and is widely used in such aspects.

Besides that, color will cause impacts to our minds, emotional and psychological impacts. It is scientifically shown that color is able to somehow manipulate our emotion and alter it according to the nature of the color itself. Color is able to make a happy person dull and a dull person happy. After our brains interpret the color that we saw, there will be emotional feelings indirectly produced. For instance, black color often produces seriousness, as it’s the color of formality. Green color, on the other hand, produces relaxing feelings, as it’s the color of nature. Pink color produces the feeling of love, and further emphasizes the atmosphere of love and romance. These are all psychological emotions created by our brains due to the impact of color. This also invoked studies of color and stuffs like color therapies were invented.

In the process of graphic design, color will largely affect the outcome of the design, and it’s important to have the right coloring of the design. Different color will generate different atmosphere. Optimum results can be obtained if the color of the design matches perfectly with the theme and the atmosphere needed.

Conclusion

Studying color will greatly contribute to the process of graphic design. This is because each color has its own flavor, its own identity. Each color will create different effects, depending on how it is used. How the color is used, and how well it is used, is up to the designers. Different designers have different perspective, and different preferences. Designs can be attractive as well as disturbing, depending on the color used. With great skills, a designer can manipulate the color at his or her will, and indirectly manipulates the audience with the color used.

Color can be considered as the decision point whether a design is good or bad. A design with good color is able to easily attract attentions, and easily influence the audience. Designs with poor color are considered “lifeless”, and are often ignored or rejected by the audience. With good skills, a designer can excel in the designing process, and come out with designs that are sure to captivate others.

References

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3.Black Bear Design. 2013. Understanding Color & The Meaning of Color. [online] Available at: http://www.blackbeardesign.com/understanding-color-the-meaning-of-color/ [Accessed: 22 Feb 2014].

4.Smashing Magazine. 2014. Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color. [online] Available at: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/28/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/ [Accessed: 22 Feb 2014].

5.Web Design Library. 2013.. Color In Graphic Design. [online] Available at: http://www.webdesign.org/web-design-basics/color-theory/graphic-design-using-color.12801.html [Accessed: 22 Feb 2014].

6.The BLU Group – Advertising & Marketing. 2014. The Impact of Color - In Graphic Design...and Life. [online] Available at: http://www.theblugroup.com/blog/impact-color-graphic-designand-life [Accessed: 22 Feb 2014].