All Color Matters

Dulux and UNICEF ( The United Nations Children's Fund) have partnered together in a unique fundraising website. Ownacolor.com allows the public to purchase a color to finance initiatives for the non-profit children's organization UNICEF . Users can select a color from a rainbow of hues for purchase on behalf of a friend, family member, or themselves. The site gives you the option to name the color of your choice and write a brief description of your selection. For as little as a £1 ($1.54), your donation can buy enough polio vaccines to immunize ten children. Purchases can be made via mobile phone or computer web browser. All proceeds go to aid underprivileged children around the globe.

Commenting on the cuteness of a newborn can sometimes offer a risk in testing our abilities to deduce gender. To reassure the observer, that it is in fact a she, not a he—parents often use color cuing through clothes, blankets or a cuddly stuffed toy. Decades ago however, gender confusion was the norm since fashion had a more homogeneous approach that lasted till young adolescence. From the 1800’s to 1890’s both girls and boys dressed in white, up until they began to walk. To confound the onlooker even more, both sexes wore dresses or short skirts beginning at age six till their seventh birthday. With a nod to an underlying connection to innocence, white’s practical use allowed for bleaching with abandon to remove stains. The actual ritual of assigning color to gender (in Western culture) didn’t occur until the 1920’s. Pink was considered a suitable color for boys because of its close relation to red—a more masculine color to wear. Blue was thought to be more appropriate for g...