Let the Colors Talk!
With hundreds of colors in your palette and thousands of color combinations to choose from, it often gets very difficult for a designer to select a shade for his design. Red seems attractive and bright enough, but purple can be an excellent alternative and not to forget the joy that comes along with orange, yet you end up choosing green. A vintage look with a blend of black and grey is sophisticated and mesmerizing but a texture of blue and white is royal and makes jaws drop. Color combinations further make it difficult with your mind unconsciously pairing one color with the other and then the other and then the other and it continues. You like the idea of pink and blue, but blue and green sounds elegant too. Oh God, how do you shortlist when you have unlimited choices and each one of them is equally amazing? How can a designer choose just the right fit for his design and how to produce the color combination everyone would love? Let us take a ride and describe some of the colors to help you understand how, where and where to use them!
The Color of Blood; Red!
Red is an intense color, with a sense of motivation associated with it. It is energizing and makes you get up and take some action. If you look around, you would observe that most of the advertisements, billboards, promotional messages and brand logos are tinted red, because of its attractive and eye catching characteristics. It is used in traffic signals for ‘Stop’ so that drivers can see it from a far distance. Researchers suggest that red increases blood pressure and pulse rate and too much of red causes agitation and gets you angry. Red is perceived differently in each culture, as that of China where it means fire and fortune, in Egypt it reflects health, life and victory while in Asian countries it promotes love and belonging. Having said that, you can use red in places where you have to draw attention or in areas which describe intimacy, intensity and compassion. If your design demands immediate attention, reflects gravity or danger, asks for an action or wants heightened emotions, red will be your perfect fit. Also, if you want people to get an adrenaline rush from certain elements of your design, fill it in with the color of blood!
The Color of Darkness; Black!
Black color symbolizes the unknown and is a sign of mystery and darkness. Psychology suggests that black protects from emotional stress, by creating a barrier between the outside world and one’s mind. The absence of light creates the color black, therefore, it is associated with power, death and evil. It also donates authority and strength, is intimidating, unapproachable and unfriendly. Black is also the color of grief, misery and sadness and guess what? You should avoid using black unless you have no other choice! Since it is the darkest color, black overpowers all the other colors in a design and stands out amongst all, ultimately grabbing all the attention, even if you don’t want it to. Throw away and delete the dark black color in your palette, rather replace it with a much lighter greyish paint, that too if you really have to use it. Things are not black, they are perceived to be black. Holes are not black, they just don’t have light nor are shadows. Instead use dark blue and purple to create the effect! Designers think using black is an easy way out but, you, my friend, can do better by playing with the rest of the colors.
The Color of Fertility; Green!
Green reflects harmony, fertility, balance and growth. Psychology suggests that it shows a balance between the heart and the mind and talks about rebirth and renewal. It has an unexplainable positivity attached it, along with its power of peacemaking. Green is also a symbol of health and good will, therefore, many brand logos are green to let the customers know they are positively contributing to the society. It is a nature loving color and has a sense of family orientation to it, encourages social interaction, is sympathetic and down to earth. While you are designing, you have to be very careful when and where to use green, since it completely changes the meaning of your design. Use it to highlight an area or to anticipate an action. It works best to foster positive feelings towards the design or logo. The color green is used best when a behavior or action needs to be replicated over and over again.
The Color of Purity; White
White is a symbol of purity, wholeness, completion and innocence which is why brides wear white on their weddings and doctors have white jackets. It is the color of new beginnings, neutrality, independences and fairness and incorporates an energy into the viewer. Some believe that it fosters sadness as it is traditionally related to mourning and death. It is also important to notice that sometimes we feel like wearing white clothes or having white accessories. Psychologists suggests that it is because you are entering into a new phase of your life and are emotionally transforming. Using white color in your design leaves a dimension to ponder wonder, it gives you space to be creative and to fill the white space with your imagination. It is used to balance out the sharpening effect of other colors and is pleasant to the eye. When you are designing, use white when you want somethings to be left to the viewer’s imagination.
But, but, color combinations are still left undiscussed. One approach that designers follow is to fill each area with the color that will suit best and believe that eventually the whole design will be good to go, but often, the colors don’t blend it well with each other. The easiest approach is to draw your design on a paper and use the color combinations you have shortlisted.
