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mibitacora · 7 years ago

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WEEKLY TOPIC: Colors

Presenter: Prof. Paz Fox Designer and Academician, Universidad Catolica

Date: 04.04.2018

Key Concepts and Key Words:

#Historyofcolors #Colorsymbolism #Colormakingprocess #Colorapplication #Coloreffectsindesign

Key Questions:

How do we use colors? How do we obtain colors? How do colors affect design? How colors are used as a design element? What are the color application techniques?

Focus of the class:

A brief history of colors

How colors are obtained: natural and chemical processes

How colors are used as a symbol

Color application techniques in today’s world

Color application for design projects

References: Good examples for color application

Highlights of the class:

A brief history of colors

Colors in nature have been one of the greatest accompany of the humans. Since the beginning, it is possible to say that humans were interested in using different colors for their survival and as a tool to express themselves.

At the beginning, the colors that people could use were very limited: white, black and red. They were using carbons and minerals to get the colors and their hands to paint. They even used bone powder mixing it with animal liquid fat to obtain new colors and tones.

With the invention of the fire, a chemical technique was discovered: burning the plants and flowers. This led humans to engage in chemical experiments to try new colors.

The natural and chemical processes to make colors required a certain degree of knowledge of plants, minerals, chemical process and measurements. Therefore, color-making people were seen as magicians for having such a wisdom. This wisdom were being transferred from one generation to the other as a secret.

The use of the colors:

Ancient Egyptians were widely using the colors in architecture, medicine, fashion (the clothes), cosmetics, mural painting and etc.

It is possible to categorize the use of colors in mural paintings in two groups:

Naturalist colors (different colors and tones without any limit)

Religious colors (only 6 strong colors)

Not only in mural painting, in cosmetics and in their scripts as well colors were used with various intentions simbolizing distictive features and Egyptians were not the only ones who had a diversified color application.

Romans also painted their murals with colors and this were discovered when scientist found the traces of chemical and mineral colors on the sculptures and architectural excavated pieces which are seen as white and yellow today.

The colors were used to mark different classes in the Roman Society. The middle class were using limited tones of green where the high class had an access to a variety of colors and tones and blue was especially spared for the them.

The old texts also reveal the color trading between mediterenean and the rest of the world (only the discovered part).

Purple as an Exceptional Color: Purple color was difficult to obtaing, therefore, was only available to emperors and their family. It became a symbol of power, royalty and reign.

With the fall of Roman Empire, much of the knowledge about color making processes was forgotten but the interest in vivid colors continued. Big traders and discoverers kept carrying spices and color powders and beautifully colored fabrics all around the world. Colombus was one of them. When he arrived at undiscovered lands he found that native people had also different colorants obtained from different plants and animals.

In Europe these new sources of colors were welcomed with great interest. Alchemists found new ways to produce similar colors and distinctive tones. And thanks to industrilization of the textile sector, color making was taken to a different level.

Color Application in Today’s World

Today we have an access to a limitless color palette in both digital and real world yet our use of color is limited by:

Innate preferences

Cultural norms

The purpose of the use

In design the choice of color depends on the purpose of the product, service or ambiance and the audience who will view the content. The desired feauture of the color in design is its persuasiveness. Yet, it should also be appropriate for the cultural context and it should address to:

new fashion and trends

age/gender

personal preferences and experiences

Colors can also function as a tool to transmit a message making use of a very human nature. Our humour and psychology change with different colours. It is believed that colours represent and trigger different emotions. Therefore, they have an informative and expressive function.

What is Correct Color or Perfect Color in Design?

Do perfect color exist in Design? I do not know. But Prof PAz said that there are some criteria that we can consider before finding the correct color for the design projects:

Expressing ideas y emotions

Transmit ideological or personal information

Relate to the different expressions

Provoke different situations and forms of being

Evoke reactions

Fundamentals of COLOR CHOOSING in DESIGN

Knowledge of colors and color perceptions

Observation of colors and color applications

Making educated and justifiable choices for the design projects

Use of colors as a message transmission tool (discover its potential)

The majority of the chocies made to buy or not to buy a product depends on its color (be aware of it)

Colors create a personal experience and it may mean different things for different people, consider its subjectivity

There is not a specific recipe that can be applied, creativity is the key

Interaction with the color makes design more visible (interaction is a real deal)

The surfaces and materials are as important as the color itself

Color Choosing Methodology

We need a specific methodology to catch the attention of the user or the viewer by creating coherent and conceptual connection related to the message we would like to transmit.

The steps to follow to choose the right color for your design project as follows:

Creation of the color chart

Definition of basic patterns

Finding an image that represent these colors to add color chart

Practice in the class:

We were asked to pick a photograph to create a color palette (chart) for it with the tones existing in the photo.

I picked this beautiful picturesque view from the deck. The tones were quite diversified. I love working with natural tones. So I picked some colors from the color boxes. That wasthe most difficult part. Even though there were several boxes full of different colors, you would realize that in fact the same tones were repeated so that was why it looked like there were so many colors. It was hard to find exact blue and purplish brown tones which were in the photo.

So here are the colors I picked. The teacher said that I had more than I needed. I don’t agree at all. The more choices you have the more reflectıve your palette would be. Of course there is a limit but it is not 5 or 8, that’s for sure. I had 11 colors on my palette at the end.

I organized my color chart with the photo I picked. Teacher said that my palette was not breathing hinting that I should take off some of the tones from the palette. I can let it breathe without having to remove any colors.

Ta-taaaam. Now my palette looks much better than ever... I am proud of my work though it was not one of teacher’s favorites. :D :D :D :D

REFLECTIONS and QUESTIONS for further investigation:

I loved how the teacher said that gettıng to know colors and dıfferent tones depended on the traınıng of the eye. I always thought the same. Some people are classıfyıng the colors ın a very generic way and I am like, don’t you see that this green is different than the other green? Not many people is aware the differences between the tones. I believe that designing a product and choosing a color for it first requires a very well trained eye. Because every color, every tone has a different character and different messages.

I really appreciate the opportunity to listen to Prof. Paz Cox and being able to have a little practice with her. Unfortunately, I should also add that, I am a little bit dissappointed because she has not mentioned the future of colors or smart colors or color changing materials in intelligent design. I believe that it would have been really eye-opening if we had had a conversation about the future of the colors and color application in design.

Disclaimer: The first image in this post was taken from GoogleImages and may be subject to copyrights.

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