For the world of advertising and graphic design, color is a key element that can save or doom a job.
Not only does it bring depth and emphasis to the design, it also gives it feeling and mood.
The basic objective of graphic design is to establish a connection with the target audience. One of the tools that designers use to emphasize this link is precisely color. She is able to convey a wide range of visual and emotional cues.
Knowing that there are 3 primary colors (cyan, magenta and yellow) and that black, white and gray are the result of the absence or excess of light, we undertake to “analyze” 7 colors that we use on a daily basis in graphic design. We promise it won’t be boring. Embark with us on this colorful journey:
Yellow
This color radiates optimism, energy and happiness. Promotes creative thoughts.
Effects: accelerates mental development, stimulates memory and the nervous system, facilitates communication.
Facts:
- In medieval France, the doors of traitors and criminals were painted yellow.
- For the Greek culture, yellow is a symbol of sadness and for the French, of jealousy.
- For psychology, yellow is the happiest color in the entire color spectrum.
- The cartoon character Green Lantern, from DC Comics, feared the color yellow.
- 75% of charcoal pencils sold in the United States are colored yellow.
GREEN
It is the color that the human eye captures the most. It is the second favorite of the people, in first comes the blue. It is the most universal in the natural world which makes it an ideal choice as a backdrop in interior designs, as we are so used to seeing it everywhere.
Effects: calms. It causes a feeling of physical and mental relaxation. It helps relieve depressive and nervous states and lowers anxiety levels. Transmite sensações de regeneração, autocontrolo e harmonia.
Facts:
- Libya is currently the only nation to fly a solid green national flag.
- The color green is used in night vision goggles because the human eye is more sensitive to this color and has the ability to discern more shades of it.
- NASCAR drivers share an aversion to the color green. The prejudice allegedly began after an accident in Beverly Hills, California in 1920 that killed defending champion Gaston Chevrolet. It was the first time in the history of racing in the United States that 2 drivers died. Chevrolet drove a green car.
BLUE
Blue is seen as trustworthy, trustworthy and committed. As the color of the ocean and the sky, blue is assumed to be a constant in our lives. Assumed as the color of the spirit, it invokes peace and triggers, in the body, the production of chemicals responsible for the feeling of calm.
Effects: soothing and sedative. cool. Facilitates intuition.
Facts:
- Blue is the color less segmented by gender, it pleases both men and women.
- It is the most chosen color of toothbrushes.
- Owls are the only birds capable of visualizing this color.
- People tend to be more productive in blue rooms.
- Mosquitoes are twice as attracted to this color as to any other color.
PURPLE
The color purple personifies the balance between stimulating red and calming blue. Often associated with mysticism and royalty, the color purple is preferred by eccentrics and creatives and most adopted by teenagers.
Effects: elevate. Calms the spirit and mind. It gives a sense of spirituality. Stimulates creativity.
Facts:
- It was the color used in the first man-made dyeing pattern.
- It is the color of the highest denomination banknotes – €500
PINK
Bright pinks are fresh, fun, and exciting as opposed to bright pinks that carry an energy similar to red; they are sensual and passionate without being too aggressive. They soften the passion that red emanates by resorting to the purity of white that results in soft roses associated with romanticism and the blush on the girls’ faces.
Effects: like red, bright roses stimulate energy and contribute to an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. They incite action and encourage confidence.
Facts:
- Pink encourages friendship and counteracts aggression and ill will.
- As soon as it was proved that the color pink has a calming effect, many sports clubs started to paint the lockers and/or changing rooms of the visiting team in this color.
- Studies on the color pink indicate that male weightlifters tend to lose strength in pink rooms while female athletes in the same sport in a room painted the same color seem to gain even more strength.
- Sweets presented in pink boxes or served on pink plates taste better because pink stimulates our voracious appetite for sugar.
ORANGE
Orange, a close relative of red, provokes more controversy than any other color. It is common to cause strong positive or negative sensations and orange, even orange, is either loved or hated, in a more pronounced way than with other colors. Fun and whimsical, orange radiates warmth and energy.
Effects: Stimulates activity. Stimulates the appetite. It encourages socialization.
Facts:
- The instrument panel lights on older Subaru models were orange.
- The Dalai Lama and other monks see colors in the orange spectrum because in Buddhism, it stands for transformation, courage and the spirit of sacrifice. It is the color of enlightenment, the highest degree of perfection.
- We associate orange with safety and danger, which is why it is used in life jackets. By the way, did you know that the “black box” of airplanes is actually orange? Precisely for the same reason it is used in life jackets: greater contrast with the blue of the sea.
- Copper orange was the color trend of the year 2015 in decoration according to the Colors Futuressurvey carried out by Akzo Nobel.
