Comments on: How Colour Communicates Meaning

By: Frances navudi

Frances navudi — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:19:00 +0000

hi!!!!!!!Thank u so much for writing this article on colours..it really helped me alot because one of my assignments was on colours.it truly is an intresting and insipiring article…good job

By: Honeykhan28

Honeykhan28 — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:04:00 +0000

kurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy sha

By: Harsha9962

Harsha9962 — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:21:00 +0000

it is very usefull for business to run successfully.. to understand the customer need&wants…….
thanq……

By: Ice

Ice — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 09:32:00 +0000

A very helpful article! Thank you!:-)

By: Victoria Blount

Victoria Blount — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:31:22 +0000

This is a really insightful article on colour, and the various different meanings and history behind certain colour preferences. I find that in my design work, i choose colours which i think compliment each other, but im sure i have a subconscious recognition of why i would choose blue and green as the basis for a Physiotherapist website.

By: TurnkeyE

TurnkeyE — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:43:28 +0000

Very interesting!! Thank you for this article!

By: Justin Easthall

Justin Easthall — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:37:05 +0000

Is Black and brown doable? I never know what to do with these two together?

By: azua

azua — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:58:20 +0000

very nice article about color..but i need you or anyone opinion about my problem ‘how to solve color blindness in a creative way’ i mean somebody who have a potential in design and creative but they no chances in this industry (like creative in advertising agency) because of they are color blind…u have idea! tq

By: mOki

mOki — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:02:35 +0000

I just wanted to add that in China white is the colour of mourning as in Japan. To refer to the visit of Miss Segolène Royal on the China’s great wall (when she made an ashamed mistake) ;).
I’m sorry if my english is not very good ^^
This article is very good !

By: Jon Pietz

Jon Pietz — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:45:15 +0000

I enjoyed this in-depth article and would like to add a point: Color takes on meaning in context. Just as the autumn leaves look spectacular as you scan the treeline and compare a half-dozen different hues, any of the colors you mention above in your article take on an ability to stimulate us more completely when they’re placed into relationship with other colors.

Your own blog site illustrates this point nicely. The neutral, greenish putty color of the background makes the orange buttons and highlights more vibrant. You have created depth on a flat screen through the use of recessive and dominant colors. In the same way, the color of a brand takes on meaning relative to the colors of its competitors in the market. This gives us the opportunity to zig while others are zagging.

As Matisse said (I’m grossly paraphrasing), if you happen to put down a disagreeable color on your canvas, don’t scrape it off. Put down another color to make it more harmonious.

By: Cheltenham Web Design

Cheltenham Web Design — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:41:01 +0000

Fantastic Article

By: Thai Orchid

Thai Orchid — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:22:29 +0000

That is great. I think a very gernal example is same taste or nature person usually like same shades.Thanks.

By: Susan Pomeroy

Susan Pomeroy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:40:37 +0000

Really good comprehensive intro to color associations and meanings. I love that you mention Faber Birren! I’ve found travel to be incredibly stimulating in terms of color… combos, hues, and juxtapositions I never would have imagined become exciting and meaningful when they’re perceived in context. For me, the biggest design challenge is trimming my palette–it’s really hard to pare down to those meaningful & most significant few that will make the most visual sense.

By: Redstage Magento

Redstage Magento — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:09:35 +0000

Great article! These facts are very on point and accurate.

By: Bob Beckett

Bob Beckett — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:59:43 +0000

That’s true. I also felt the inner feeling while I wear a specific color clothes. I feel confident wearing red color t-shirts.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:03:45 +0000

In Japan some centuries ago white was the colour of mourning, in todays Japanese society almost nobody remembers that and black is the colour of mourning.

The _traditional_ (as considered nowaday) kimono for a funeral (喪服) is black. Yes black. I really hope after a few centuries someone will get that right. I’ve just read that false information too many times.

By: cape spear canada

cape spear canada — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:47:30 +0000

Your article is 100 % true .Colors define our self .A very gernal example is same taste or nature person usually like same shades.

By: cape spear canada

cape spear canada — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:43:57 +0000

Color represent our self , our way of living .If you throw light over old history of india, you will get enough details about it.Yoga is also adding some meanings to our life.

By: scsifix

scsifix — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:18:12 +0000

good article!!! nice job rob

By: Rob Mills

Rob Mills — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:21:27 +0000

Thanks for all the comments.

The points about colour blindness, gender, and how concepts and meanings can change over time stress even further that colour is a complex issue and should be carefully considered. It is clearly a topic that could lend itself to many posts.

I particularly like the comment from Stuart regarding the nature versus nurture debate. Indeed, how much are we in control of our decisions and how much is subconscious/innate? This extends beyond colour too and is applicable to signs, language, and storytelling.

Ultimately I hope that my post demonstrates some of the issues surrounding colour and emphasises that underneath all the layers there is an audience and they must be kept in mind when the colour making decision is being made :)

Thanks

Rob

By: EddyR

EddyR — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:20:07 +0000

In Thailand purple is also a royal color. It’s the color of Thailand’s favored orchid which has links to the royal family and the King who is extremely popular over here which is why Thai Airway’s color is purple. Purple is also the color for Saturday and every day has it’s own color. Thai people will wear colored t-shirts on those day especially yellow (for Thailand) and pink (the King was born on this day). So yes, color is very important and I’m still amazed how much of this type of regional information simply doesn’t exist on the web outside the West and Europe.

A good follow up article would be how web design in general differs from that in the west. I live in asia and the majority of websites here would be capable of giving the average person epileptic fits :) and I’m sure it would be different in other regions too… what makes a good website in the west definitely doesn’t automatically mean it will be just as successful elsewhere.

By: Web Expression

Web Expression — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:09:25 +0000

I am reminded of a sitepoint article “making your web colors visible” – five color accessibility tools.

By: Annemieke

Annemieke — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:35:52 +0000

Interesting post, especially the findings of the colour expert Faber Birren about the connection between maturity and a preference of colours with a shorter wave length.

Have to go see what I can find about that on Google!

By: aoutt

aoutt — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:00:14 +0000

Intriguing! =]

By: h1brd

h1brd — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:46:26 +0000

truly inspiring and awesome article, good work, enjoyable to read :) ty.

By: Kas Thomas

Kas Thomas — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:45:17 +0000

Unusually enjoyable post. Color me impressed.

By: Leatrice Eiseman

Leatrice Eiseman — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:26:09 +0000

While I appreciate your efforts to educate people about color and have written seven books on the subject myself (the latest being the Pantone Guide to Communicating With Color and Color Messages and Meanings) I do have to say that color concepts can change with time– even culturally. For example, white has been traditionally the color of mourning in China but now young brides are wearing romantic white gowns with veils (in ddition to traditional red dress for another ceremony) as this is the cool new look that imitates Western tastes. So it is hardly the color of mourning for that purpose. and China Airlines planes are now white with blue underbellies. Yellow is not the traditional color for people of Jewish descent, but blue is more often related to that religion. Yellow was the color of the armbands and Jewish stars that the Nazis made them wear during the terrible days of WWII. There is a lot of “urban legendary” that does exist around color, much of it dated. So my word of advice is to check to be certain that information is keeping up with the time and resultant changes in attitudes.

Thank you again for such an engaging website.

Leatrice Eiseman
http://www.colorexpert.com
morealivewithcolor.com

By: Chad Kaufman

Chad Kaufman — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:21:45 +0000

I think it is important to note as well that the associations of colors are always changing. For instance, today we usually associate baby colors by gender where Girls are usually associate with Light Pink and Boys with Baby Blue. These associations used to be reversed until around the 1940′s. Light Pink used to be used for Baby Boys because it was considered a lighter version of Red which was considered a more masculine color. The change to associated Pink with Girls and Blue with Boys is often said to be a result of popular superhero colors corresponding to the switch in mentality. The most obvious points to Superman who first appeared in the late 1930′s.

By: Dusan Vlahovic

Dusan Vlahovic — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:16:58 +0000

You have to consider a lot of factors before making a choice of color. Good post!.

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