COLOUR COMBINATIONS

TITLE / QUESTION

The aim with this report is to look at colour combinations and to investigate what meanings/emotions/memories they are charged with in the western society, what common factors are there and how much is common belief. Do we need to be aware of the things hidden in various colour combinations in order to get the correct message through when we are making our own design or what happens if we challenge them?

(I don’t have a clear question or title yet, help me!)

AN ABSTRACT

The focus of this report will be colour combinations and the various feelings/meanings/associations we have connected to them in the western society. The research might go back a bit to get an historical and cultural connection and overview.

I want to gain a wider understanding of the impact of certain colour combinations, and their origins.  Through interviews and experiments I want to see what common factors I can find and how much is individual ideas. I want to investigate if a designer needs to understand colour combinations in order to make good design that sends out the intended message and how much a designer can challenge existing rules and beliefs but still make good design. I want the final report to be written in a very readable way that easily informs people about the basics of colour combinations, most of the texts I have found myself so far has been very hard to read and full of scientific calculations that takes away the fun of reading them and might scare many designer off. 

Interesting points at the moment

One interesting thing I found, that very much relates to design practices, is the fact that colours are categorised into Additive colours = RGB and Subtractive colours = CMY but then there is also Artist primaries Red, Yellow and Blue which is used as the basis of most colour theories. A designer use all three, first when starting a project on a sketch basis they probably use RYB then when working on screen with the design they work in RGB, finally when they might send it off to a printer they have to change it into CMYK.  (This may not be relevant to conclude in the end)

The terms used when talking about colour combinations, that the two colours can whisper, speak and shout to each other when placed together is an interesting thing and it depends on where they are placed in relation to each other in the colour wheel.

POSSIBLE CHAPTER HEADINGS

Introduction

A short introduction to colours and colour combinations

1?

The relations between different colours, the facts about colour that whisper, speak or shout at each other. 

2?

Stating if colour combinations are charged with emotions/meanings/special associations, and what they are.  Examples.

3?

Investigating the things associated with colour combinations is common beliefs or sometimes individual.

(I haven’t got a clear picture of this at all, help me!)

ACTIONPLAN

First I have to read more about the subject myself. Then in order to put together useful interviews/a survey and experiments I have to research methods that I can use. The interviews/survey and experiments will be vital to this report and I think that it will take up a lot of time of the overall research.  Along with all the reading I think that visual research where I just simply gather information and images with camera and my eyes will just as important for the final report and to help me with my experiments. It can all easily be linked in with my studio work and I have already decided to make a series of little booklets.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AT THE MOMENT

Ambrose, Gavin and Harris, Paul. (2005) Colour.  Singapore. AVA Book Production Pte.

Krause, Jim. (2002) Colur Index. China. Regent Publishing Services Ltd.

Albers, Josef. (2006) Interaction of Color. Singapore. Yale University Press.

Munari, Bruno. (2008) Design as Art. Great Britain. Clays Ltd, St Ives plc.

Feisner Anderson, Edith. (2001) Colour. Hong Kong. Laurence King Publishing Ltd

Wong, Wucious. (1997) Principles of Color Design. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Bergström, Bo. (2008) Essentials of Visual Communication. China. Laurence King Publishing.

Otto & Olaf, Marti, Nacho. Colour and layout. China. Harpers Collins Publishers.

I have to carry out some extensive search on the Internet from articles, blog posts or essays. From now on I will keep my eyes open to anything relating to the subject and have my camera at hand all times for my visual research. Then to add to all the reading I need to get an idea of how to carry out my experiments and interviews with people so I will need to look at this in various sources.