Creative Awareness

Lecture 6

Dr.Nivin Elrefaey
THE POWER OF COLOR
 ?Where does color come from
• A ray of light is the
source of all color.

• Without light, color

does not exist.

• Light is broken down

into colors of the
spectrum. You can
often see a variety of
colors in a bright beam
when you look at
something like a
rainbow.
 Color
• Color can alter the
appearance of form and
space.

• Color can affect our

performance abilities and
change our moods.
Color psychology provides
insight to how people view the
world, from the perspective of
their mood, emotions and
even behaviors.
Colors exert a
profound influence
upon our emotions,
and emotions are the
driving force behind
decision-making.
Drawing on this, industrial psychologists have
come to recognize the importance of colors as
subliminal catalysts.
You'd be wise to consider the
psychology of color when designing
your marketing materials. Be it
business card, brochure, web site,
posters or other material, you'll be
making color choices. Colors not only
enhance the appearance of the item
-- they also influence our behavior.
You will do well to consider the
impact that the colors you use will
have on your target audience.
For instance, have you noticed that most
fast food restaurants are decorated with
vivid reds and oranges? It's no accident
that these colors show up so frequently.
Studies have shown that reds and
oranges encourage diners to eat quickly
and leave -- and that's exactly what fast
food outlets want you to do.
Ever notice that toys, books
and children's web sites
usually contain large blocks
of bright, primary colors?
Young children prefer these
colors and respond more
positively than they do to
pastels or muted blends.
Notice a trend in
top websites
?and their colors
?What do they all mean
The visceral impact of any given color
can vary from culture to culture.
In the West, black is associated with
death, but funeral colors throughout
Asia are white, and in ancient Egypt,
they were yellow.
Do colors have
? personality
 Black
• Authority
• Power
• Strength
• Evil
• Intelligence
• Thinning / Slimming
• Death / Mourning

• Purity
• Innocence

White
• Cleanliness
• Sense of Space
• Neutrality
Design elements - Colour

Some colours are

strongly associated
with emotions or
feelings. For
example, red is
often associated
with passion or
.anger
A quick look at some
other well known color
associations:
 Blue
• Calmness • Truth
• Serenity • Focused
• Cold • Un - appetizing
• Uncaring

urple
• Wisdom
• Loyalty

• Royalty • Spiritual
• Wealth • Prosperity
• Sophistication • Respect
• Wisdom • Mystery
• Exotic
• Natural • Envy

Green
• Cool • Tranquility
• Growth • Harmony
• Money • Calmness
• Health • Fertility
Blue: The hue of the sky,
.blue is seen as spiritual
Green: Green is the
most frequent color in
the natural universe
and the second most
popular “favorite color”
choice. It has also
recently become
synonymous with
energy created from
renewable sources.
Design elements - Colour

Colours such as
red, orange and
yellow can
create an
illusion of
.warmth
Red
• Energy
• Excitement
• Intensity
• Life
• Blood

Gray
• Neutral
• Timeless
• Practical
Red: Red is the
tinge of blood, and
so it is the color
associated with
love, anger, danger
and all the other
things that make
our hearts beat just
a little bit faster.
Orange: Orange is the color that people feel
most ambivalent about. It is usually picked
as a least favorite shade in most color
surveys.
 w
• Happiness

o
• Intensity

l
• Laughter

l
• Frustration

Ye
• Cheery
• Anger
• Warmth
• Attention
• Optimism
Getting
• Hunger

Orange
• Happy • Sophistication
• Energetic • Change
• Excitement • Stimulation
• Warmth
• Wealth
Yellow: Yellow, the color of the sun, carries
with it associations of good luck and a
positive future.
 How about
? this yellow

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. Yellow
produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates
muscle energy.
Shades of yellow (when gray is added) are visually unappealing because they lose cheerfulness
and become dingy. Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealous.
• Reliability • Security
• Stability • Natural
• Friendship • Organic
• Sadness • Comfort

Brown
• Warmth

• Romance
Pink These two
• Love colors look
• Gentle great
• Calming combined. Ask
• Agitation Juicy.
 Color is the most vital and expressive
of the elements of design.

It effects us psychologically and physically

WARM COLORS red, red-orange, yellow, yellow-orange

COOL COLORS blue, blue-green, green, violet, blue-violet

NEUTRAL COLORS gray, white, and black

NEUTRALIZED COLORS beige, brown, taupe, cream,

ivory, off-black, off-white
 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF
EACH COLOR
Each color
• Reflects the personality of client
• Reflects the mood of a room
 COLOR IS AFFECTED BY
Light
- Review colors to be used in different lights

- Level of illumination affects color = color may become dull with too little
light, too much light can wash out a color

- Light can affect the mood of a room

Color Transitions from room to room

Visual Communication

Color Trends