Colour Definition Post

What is Colour? 
How an object reflects, emits or transmits colour and how our eyes see it. 

 






This image really emphasises the use of colour and how we perceive them to present different emotions. What I like about the image above is the neutral tone of her skin compared to the saturated blue paint. 








Colour and Emotion

•There has been a tremendous amount of research on how colour affects human beings and some of this research suggests that men and women may respond to colours differently.

•Colour affects us emotionally, with different colours evoking different emotions.

Meaning of different colours

Red 
Positive - Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity, excitement, love  
Negative - Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.

Example
 To me, this image signifies love and warmth between two people. 

Blue 
Positive -Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm
Negative -Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.

Example 
This image signifies coldness but also a feeling of serenity, calm and reflection. 

Yellow 

Positive - Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativityNegative - Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide.

Example 
The yellow in this image represents optimism and friendliness. 

Green 
Positive - Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace

Negative - Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation.

Example 

This image represents a harmony and balance that is provided by nature. 

Purple 

Positive - Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality

Negative - Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority

Example 

This painting represents a beauty and quality amongst nature, it also  gives a feeling of luxury as the colour is slightly rare. 

Orange 

Positive - Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun

Negative - Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity

Example 

This image quite obviously represents the food side of orange but its also represents freshness, fun and maybe even physical comfort to some people. 

Pink 

Positive - Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the species.

Negative - Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation, physical weakness.

Example 

This image is definitely very feminine and tranquil. It could represent love following not only the theme of the colour pink but also flowers. To me, images like this bring a sense of warmth and nurture, almost like an escape from everyday sights. 

Grey 

Positive - Psychological neutrality

Negative - Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy

Example 

The image of the lady in the window represents perhaps reflection on a hard situation or her lack of confidence.

Black 

Positive - Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional safety, efficiency, substance. 

Negative - Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness.

Example 

This image looks cold and sombre. It reflects maybe oppression or difficulties in someones life. 

White 

Positive - Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency.

Negative - Sterility, coldness, barriers, unfriendliness, elitism

Example 

this image represents cleanness and purity. The way the lady looks in white reflects on the way she wants to be perceived which could be sophisticated. 

What is a muted colour?

A colour that has been dulled down to make it less bright. For example adding black to a bright red would bring down the sharpness of the colour and add a dull, muted effect to it. 

Example 

Image of Lily Allen, By Kander 

The muted colours in this image give me a feeling of loneliness, the way Lily Allen is presented in this light and colour makes her look sombre or upset. There is no light in the image which makes her skin appear grey, I think the photographer has decided to do this because it might reflect the current situation Lily is in or something that she has been through. It gives us a good idea about how Lily Allen feels and how she wants to be seen. 

What is a saturated colour? 
The saturation of a colour is the intensity is has, how much of that colour is shown without any other colours altering it. 


This image of Britney Spears represents the way she is seen in the media. We can see that the image is full of bright colours like yellow, red, 
pink and blue. The yellow in they mage could represent confidence, the kind of confidence that Britney has. I think this because the colour is bold and draws attention to her which is perhaps her intention. I think the photographer has made Britney wear red because it gives her a look of strength and courage but also danger. 



 What are Analogous Colours? 
A group of three colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, these colours look pretty together and give a well put together feeling to an image. 




This is an example of analogous colours. The red, orange and yellow are all next to each other on the colour wheel and look very good together. In my eyes, it gives the image a clean finish and looks well planned. 







What are complimentary colours? 
Colours that are opposite each other o the colour wheel that make each other stand out, For example putting a plant against a red wall would make the green in the plant stand out from the rest of the image. 



This is an example of complimentary colours as green and red are opposite each other on the colour wheel. The plastic ladybird in the mug stands out against the green base of the cup and looks more obvious than it would against a black coloured mug. 




Colour Wheel