All Color Matters

Not a book for light reading, Color and Design will satisfy any design practitioner, or scholar seeking to gain a more expanded view of how humans respond to color. Editors Marilyn DeLong and Barbara have curated a selection of essays which are organized into subjects ranging from color psychology  to marketing and trend influences. Since these are essays, the reader should not expect this book to offer a cultural analysis of primary/secondary colors nor an explanation of basic color theory. What the text does offer is specific examinations on various topics that center around sociological approach of how color is assimilated within a culture, its art, folklore and consumerism. Outwardly this can seem to be a real bore. I did however find a pearl or two that can potentially be assigned as required reading for my students. For example in Part III: Markets and Trends , I found an informative essay by Alex Bitterman ( Color the World: Identifying Color Trends in Contemporary City B

Murex Brandaris For centuries, the color purple was both an elusive and exclusive hue. From the time of Ceasar till the conclusion of the Byzantine Empire, purple was worn by kings and those serving in a high office or positions of influence. Rulers like Nero would sentence anyone to death who dared to wear imperial purple. The Roman emperor Diocletain however, took a more economical approach by collecting taxes from anyone who was compelled to slip on the hue. Up until the 1850’s, the arduous process of acquiring this color was more involved then its close cousin—red. Not unlike red, purple was also derived from the animal kingdom. Farmed from the Mediterranean region by the Phonecians as far back as 1500 B.C., Tyrian Purple came from the mucous secretion of a predatory sea snail’s hypobranchial gland ( murex brandaris , murex trunculus , bolinus brandaris ). The sea snails were soaked and then boiled in large vats which allowed the “juice” to be removed from the gland. It t

Having resisted Pinterest for about a year now, I finally dipped my toes into the virtual pool of pinboards. My apprehension was truly misdirected and I've come to find that the concept of organizing visual images/links onto a virtual board has become a great teaching tool. After covering the typical graphic design topics such as typography, and history it was a natural move to include color among the related topics. So here is a link to my All Color Matters pinboard .

These past 6 years have shown a measured effort to keep Pantone’s Color of the Year selection bright and vibrant. Marsala , Pantone’s choice for the new year, shifts direction by introducing a trend toward a more muted yet full-bodied shade like it's alcoholic namesake. Marsala can be easily paired with quiet neutrals or a more saturated color such as teal or coral for any need to retain accent of color. Past Pantone Colors of the Year The pillars of fashion, beauty, industrial design, and home furnishings are always considered in Pantone’s selection process. The past few years have shown hues full of punch that supported these industries but may have fallen short in accommodating the tastes for both women and men. Marsala however, can successfully transition into both camps as a rich yet glamorous solo, or accent color.

It's always refreshing to happen upon a web-related project that gives you pause to consider the thought that goes into building website color schemes. From a user's perspective, website color can set the tone of the content, maintain a brand, or reinforce navigational flow. Interaction designer Ri Liu and web developer Bo Jeanes created a website webcolourdata.com that showcases the current color palettes in use among some of the most popular websites. By condensing each website to a strip of hues you can begin to notice established themes that go beyond the expected "eye candy" reaction. I also found the breakdown of color for each website (accessed by clicking on each website color strip) an interesting approach to analyzing the use (by percentage) of each hue with their corresponding hex value. For user interface designers this site offers a chance to see what's been done by some ubiquitous websites while potentially being a place to pause and borrow a

Trolling the web can sometimes steal time without us realizing it. Every so often I trip upon content that makes up for those lost minutes by being a means to enhance a more in depth class discussion. PBS (Public Broadcast System) released a 7 minute video The Effect of Color in October of last year that does a fairly good job of introducing the scope of color's influences, intent in trends and cultural implications. This quick overview teases your eye with a myriad number of images that puts you on the path to wanting more for inspiration and explanation.