Colour Theory and Association

While the way my text pieces look aren't the main part of the work, - the words themselves are most important - the colours I use are often chosen for a reason, whether that be because I like them or because they have some kind of meaning, either to myself or to wider society.

There are many reasons why colour can have the impact it does.

Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite. When used in the right ways, color can even save on energy consumption.

Colours can be effective in catching someone's attention, or even encouraging certain thoughts, if used well. Colour harmony is the way in which colours are used so that they work together effectively.

In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it cannot organize, what it cannot understand. The visual task requires that we present a logical structure. Color harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order.

Some basic formulas for colour harmony include colour schemes based on: analogous colours, complimentary colours and colours in nature.

Colour context considers how colours behave in relation to other colours. For example, Colour A may look brighter when paired with Colour B or duller when paired with Colour C.

For my text pieces, colour association is important. While I often just choose colours I like or think go well together, I sometimes choose certain colours based on their connotations. Our brains naturally try to make connections between things we see - for example, you may have noticed that some cars look like they have faces. This is because our brains try to turn objects into something familiar. This is true for colours as well. We naturally feel comfortable when colours remind us of familiar things, like the colour blue might remind you of the sky or the sea, and green might remind you of plants, vegetables and trees.

We might associate colours with natural objects, like the ones mentioned above, or there may be psychological/cultural connotations instead. Natural associations are often timeless and universal while psychological associations may vary from country to country, region to region and generation to generation. This is because nature has existed since the beginning of time, and hasn't changed much since then. Trees and water and stone and blood have always existed and always been the same sort of colours. However, contemporary contexts change rapidly and so the associations we have with those are more likely to change quickly too. Some of the sources for these associations may include: political associations, cultural and historical associations, religious and mythical associations, liguistic associations and contemporary usage/trends.

https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory