Table Of Content&
Color Communicattiioonn
DesignedbyAsaJ.Sherrill
Color
Communicating
with
Ever stop and think what exactly makes up our everyday experi-
ences? On the surface level, before shapes and curves, the visu-
al world is made up of a series of intersecting colors, a mon-
tage of overlapping hues. A color means little when seen by
itself, but when paired with any number of the infinitely pos-
sible colors, a whole new experience develops. Suddenly,
as if already implanted in our brains, there is meaning
behind the color; it communicates to us. Designers
make use of color in their work, not randomly, but
selectively, to portray a desired experience, or to
evoke certain emotions. The rest of this book
describes some of the uses and aspects of color,
from specific strategies to a look at cultural, per-
ceptual, and conceptual views of colors.
i
1 Color Strategies, the basics 5 Salads, color palettes 9 E’s, the meaning behind colors
The Primary Triad Blood Oranges Early and Evening
Complimentary Colors Olive Salad Energy and Electricity
A Monochromatic Scheme Tropical Salad Entertainment and Education
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Color Strategies
, the basics
the rudiments of color interaction
strat·e·gy
1 a (1) : the science and art of employing the politi-
cal, economic, psychological, and military forces of The Primary Triad 2
a nation or group of nations to afford the maximum
support to adopted policies in peace or war (2) :
the science and art of military command exercised
to meet the enemy in combat under advantageous
conditions b : a variety of or instance of the use of
strategy
2 a : a careful plan or method : a clever
Complementary Colors 3
stratagem b : the art of devising or
employing plans or stratagems toward
a goal.
3 : an adaptation or complex of adaptations (as of
behavior, metabolism, or structure) that serves or A Monochromatic Scheme 4
appears to serve an important function in achieving
evolutionary success <foraging strategies of
insects>
1
The Primary Triad
The color wheel is made up of six colors: the The important thing to keep in mind when
primary colors, seen here (red, blue, and yel- thinking of the primary triad is that different
low), and the secondary colors (purple, saturations and intensities and the three pri-
green, and orange). A triad consists of any mary colors still apply. The smaller versions
three colors occurring simultaneously: anal- of the square show some explorations
ogous triads, secondary triads, etc. involving different saturations and intensi-
ties.
2
Complementary Colors
Compliments, when it comes to colors,
can be thought of as opposites. If the color
wheel is pictured as a circle divided into
equal sixths, complimentary colors exist
exactly opposite one another. When placed
adjacent to one another, compliments create
striking contrasts and oftentimes seem to
vibrate against one another.
3
A Monochromatic Scheme
Even within a single hue of a single color, The five smaller schemes below are the
there are infinite possibilities. When any of same layout with the saturation of cyan
these possibilities are placed adjacent to one increasing as the iterations progress from
another, the product is a monochromatic right to left, leading to the final product
scheme. which is composed as a combination of
each iteration.
4
Salads
, color palettes
adjacency and amount
Chopstix Chicken Salad Blood Oranges 6
1 cup cool white ranch dressing
1 tablespoon dark brown soy sauce
8 cups light green torn lettuce
Olive Salad 7
2 cups warm white shredded cooked chicken
1 cup light green chopped green onions
1 can/8 oz. brownish white sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
Tropical Salad 8
1/2 cup earthy brown sliced almonds, toasted
5
Blood Oranges
The purpose of the salads was to
look at the palettes of the individual
dishes, and then from there, to
apply the colors in amounts and
locations to convey a feeling of the
salad itself.
This specific salad consisted of a
large number of deep reds (the
meat of the oranges themselves),
yellows (the orange's peel), greens
(lettuce, added specifically for
color), and some light brown (nuts).
The proportional amounts and hues
of each color can be noted in the
bars of color.
6
Olive Salad
This salad consisted of two different
elements, large green olives and
smaller reddish olives. The colors
represented in the composition
stem from the lights and darks with-
in each element.
The greens in this piece are signifi-
cantly higher due to the fact that the
actual green olives themselves were
far larger than the reddish olives.
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