• THE DEFINITION OF COLOR

• HOW DOES COLOR IMPACT OUR EMOTIONS AND BEHAVIORS?

• WHY IS COLOR ESSENTIAL IN GRAPHIC DESIGN?

• HOW DOES IT WORK?

• WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE COLOR?

THE DEFINITION OF COLOR

Quality of the light returned by the surface of an object (regardless of its shape), according to the visual impression it produces (a color, colors); property that we attribute to the light, to the objects to produce such impression (the color). - Dictionary "Le Robert"

HOW DOES COLOR IMPACT OUR EMOTIONS AND BEHAVIORS?

In our daily life, we see constantly color everywhere. Color is our landmark and we are sensitive to light and dark. Color affects our mood, feeling, and behaviors. Did you realize that when you choose to wear black clothes I mean all black, people ask you if you are sad or if something is wrong or if you decide to wear orange or pink clothes then you look good? As the summer season comes, color seems light, bright, and colorful. We feel happier and good mood. Same for the autumn season, the color becomes warmer and denser. We feel low mood and fatigue. It can have a big influence on our emotions when we surround by Green, Blue, or Purple, we feel calm and relaxed but in Red, we feel excited or anxious and of course, it depends on your own experience and culture.

WHY IS COLOR ESSENTIAL IN GRAPHIC DESIGN?

Like everybody says: "Color is a universal language and a powerful communication tool". We create all the time with color everywhere. Book, printed newspaper, packaging, application, or website interface. it is so important for Graphic Designers to choose wisely the color for every aspect of their work because they want to make sure that customer is psychologically connected to the brand. They have to understand the brand, the audience, and what kind of message or value they want to convey. It plays a crucial role to create a successful design.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The knowledge of the basic color wheel/theory is the most useful in design. Represents the primary colors like red, yellow, and blue. Secondary colors are orange, green, and purple (mixing colors from the primary color). If you mix primary and secondary, you create tertiary colors. In the digital design world, we used to use an additive color system, in other words, RGB color (red, green, blue). You add colors together to form other color combinations. Also for print, it names subtractive color CYMK (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Key(Black)), the color becomes duller.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE COLOR?

RED

+: Power . Passion . Energy . Fearlness . Strength

x : Anger . Danger . Warning . Agression . Fear

ORANGE

+: Warmth . Confidence . Courage . Innovation . Energy . Friendliness

x : Frustration . Immaturity . Ignorance

YELLOW

+: Optimism . Warmth . Happiness . Creativity

x : Caution. Irrationality . Ignorance

GREEN

+: Health . Hope . Nature . Growth . Prosperity

x: Envy . Boredom . Stagnation

TURQUOISE

+: Communication. Clarity. Inspiration . Healing

x : Secrecy . Aloofness

BLUE

+: Trust. Loyalty . Serenity . Security

x : Coldness . Unfriendliness . Emotionless

PURPLE

+: Wisdom . Spirituality. Imaginative. Sophistication

x : Moodiness . Extravagance . Suppression

MAGENTA

+: Imaginative . Passion . Creative . Innovation

x : Nonconformity . Eccentricity

BROWN

+: Warmth. Authenticity . Earthiness. Seriousness

x : Aloofness . Sadness

BLACK

+: Sophistication. Security. Power . Elegance. Substance

x : Oppression . Mourning . Heaviness . Menace

GRAY

+: Timelessness. Neutrality . Balance . Healing

x : Lack of energy . Depression . Hibernation

WHITE

+: Cleanness . Clarity. Purity . Sophistication

x : Sterility . Emptiness . Coldness . Elitism

Thank you for taking the time to read my article, don't hesitate if you have any questions or to give me feedback.