Color is More Than The Eye Can See
By: Adam Makary, JRMC Adjunct Facult
What is color?
If someone were to ask you that question – what would you say? How do you explain what magenta looks like or how turquoise feels?
Several things define what color is, but primarily, it is our psychological reaction to different wavelengths of visible light. In other words, it is how we visually perceive our reality. We will always have innate psychological reactions to certain colors, and some colors are often used in very particular ways, but that doesn’t make color use exclusive.
For example, red seems to be the color that we have the strongest reaction to; where one may use it as a depiction of hate and cruelty, another may use it to show passion and love.
The same is true for green. A luscious green field gives us hope and shows fertility, but sometimes, a green location can show up as mundane and lifeless. There are no set guidelines that say ‘this is how you use color’
but understanding the cognitive effects of it does help.
Recall director Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill (2003) series of films. Uma Thurman’s jumpsuit not only becomes iconic through its color use but gives the viewer a strong subconscious reaction to the character. Would her madness be better conveyed through beige attire or does the intense yellow of her suit more successfully evoke feelings of the hazardous? Certain colors invoking specific emotional responses have been ever-present in storytelling to this day. When it comes to using color, an artist’s greatest tool is not a
degree in psychology, but their ideas.
Let’s break it down a little further. There are three key elements to any color: hue, saturation, and value. The hue is the actual color. Is it red, orange, or green?
Saturation is how intense that color is. Is it extremely vibrant or is it a faded, paler color? The more desaturated something is, the closer it is to gray.
Finally, there is the value. If a color has a low value, then it’s darker than colors with a higher value.
If you change any of these elements, then you change the mood of the product, the advertisement or film, depending on what medium you are using.
In my opinion, one of the best filmmakers utilizing color schemes today is Wes Anderson. In his film Moonrise Kingdom (2012), the use of greens, browns and yellows means that the colors don’t greatly contrast each other, so it’s pleasing to look at. He uses something called an analogous color scheme because it’s calming, and it suits the film’s nostalgic tone.
Another common harmony can be found in the complimentary color scheme. Colors on the opposite end of the wheel complement one another, so you’ll often see red and green, blue and orange, or yellow and purple, together.
When you use colors that are in equal distance on the color wheel, you implement a triadic color scheme. Think McDonald’s, or superhero films, or candy packaging. Now you know why their branding is so eye-catching.
When you throw something in that doesn’t fit the scheme, this creates discordance.
Sometimes all this means is that you have one saturated color that doesn’t quite fit in. This can give the audience a focus and a resting point, or intentionally draw the viewers’ eyes toward something. One of the most important things to know about color is that the audience will notice something that doesn’t fit in. This is why game design uses bold and saturated colors for important objects.
If color can affect us on such an intrinsic level, then it can also be used to add context to an image. Most often, color is the visual counterpoint between imagery and sound.
It can be used to heighten the nature of our desires or to be the final twist of the knife. It sets the groundwork for the emotional state of anything we are about to visually consume.
So, the next time you’re looking at a color scheme, think of the psychological ramifications of that color, its associations and transitions.
The films you watch or the artwork you admire may reveal themselves to you more than words ever could.