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Introduction
When you enter a room, see some-
one walking toward you on the street, or
look up at a billboard while stuck in a
traffic jam, the first thing you notice is
color. The yellow walls in a child’s room
make you smile, the red of a woman’s
coat catches your eye, the orange back-
ground of an advertisement grabs your
attention.
As Walt Disney so aptly put it, we live
in a “wonderful world of color.” Color
combinations can dazzle, soothe, or charm.
In the bird kingdom, a male peacock’s
stunning plumage of iridescent blues and
greens quickens the heartbeat of potential
mates. Tiffany’s signature blue box can
have the same effect on humans.
Colors have such strong associations
that even a black-and-white rendering of
a brand’s logo instantaneously calls specific
hues to mind. You don’t read Coca-Cola
without thinking red, see Wal-Mart’s smiley
face without picturing yellow, or view an
Hermès product without recalling its dis-
tinctive burnt orange.
And the more sophisticated the color,
the more ownership a brand has. Most
high-end customers can’t look at a burnt-
orange object without thinking of Hermès.
Color is also egalitarian. We can all use
and enjoy a wide spectrum of colors in our
lives, no matter what our income level or
profession. As legendary interior designer
David Hicks once said, “Color can achieve
more in people’s lives than any other ele-
ment and at the least expense.”
It’s hard to believe that white was not
only the best-selling bedding color at one
time, but the only color. In a society that
prizes individualism, we now take great
joy in choosing color schemes for our
sheets, homes, clothes, and cars.
But everyone needs a little help.
That’s where the experts come in. Con-
sumers of all products are looking for
guidance in choosing color palettes that
will harmonize with their lives. While many
decisions about colors are emotional, based
on immediate visceral reactions, coming
up with inventive combinations of hues
is a more practiced art.
Most people are unaware of the
science of color, which starts with the
twelve-segment color wheel as a road
map to effective combinations. Direct
opposites on the wheel are complemen-
tary. Adjacent colors clash. Warm colors
appear to come forward. Cool colors
recede.
Colors also have psychological and
physiological effects on our bodies. Reds
make people jumpy. Greens calm us
down. In a red room, time seems to fly.
A pink room effectively lessens anger.
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Reactions to colors are so strong that
coffee sipped in a blue mug will actually
seem cooler than the same liquid served
in an orange cup.
We use color every day to inform
and sell. Red tells you to stop your car.
Silver suggests exclusivity. Spas feature
sea greens to reinforce feelings of serenity
and antiseptic cleanliness. Sugar companies
put blue on their packaging because it
connotes sweetness.
Innovative uses of color can open
the door to product and market expansion
as well. Hair dyes were once directed at a
limited market of women of a certain age
for covering gray, or as a vehicle for going
slightly blonder or darker. Today, teens and
men have enormously boosted hair-color
sales. The antiquated message of “Does
she, or doesn’t she?” has been replaced by
“Why haven’t you?” And not-found-in-
nature color effects are a badge of honor,
whether subtle or dramatic.
Other new avenues for color devel-
opment involve chromatherapy and cus-
tomization. Just as interest in aromatherapy
caused an explosion in sales of scented
products, chromatherapy presents new
opportunities of its own. Ultra Baths, for
example, is one of several companies that
have installed colored light systems in their
tubs. Just touching a button illuminates the
interior of the tub in one of seven different
colors to cure what ails you. Blue calms,
violet stimulates your immune system,
and red reportedly helps migraine and
rheumatism sufferers.
Similarly, pharmaceutical companies
use color to boost product efficacy. There’s
a reason Prozac is a soothing green and
tranquilizers a sleepy blue.
Many chichi boutique hotels already
allow guests to customize the color of the
lighting in their rooms by flicking a
switch. In the near future, we will be able
to get whatever color we’re in the mood
for anywhere at any time.
In many instances, color is the only
thing that differentiates products. Why
do you buy one wastebasket instead of
another, or select a certain toothbrush
holder? Sometimes we pick colors that
will blend in, other times those that will
stand out.
The wrong color can also doom sales.
Mass-market bakers in the United States
once attempted to sell colored bread, but
soon found that consumers were very
happy with their crusty brown loaves.
Overall, adults are far more adven-
turous and sophisticated about choosing
color today than they have ever been.
The Information Age ushered in by the
Internet, along with technological advances
in special-effects finishes, has opened a
whole new world of color options to
even the casual observer.
In paint selection, for instance, cus-
tomers used to play it safe by choosing
the palest tints on paint-chip color strips.
Now they gravitate toward the opposite
end of the cards, which features more
saturated and complex hues.
Women are also making gutsier
color choices for their wardrobes.
Rather than buying complete outfits
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each season, they’re opting for items in
the latest fashion palettes to update what
they already own. Shoes and handbags
were once a black, brown, and beige
business. Today, the big money is in
color—and the wilder, the better.
This book is designed as a guide for
anyone interested in the field of color, from
graphic, interior, and fashion designers to
artists, craftspeople, and flower arrangers.
Not only is the science of color explained,
but innumerable harmonies are also sug-
gested to fit every mood and end use.
Sections on the psychology of color
and color-trend forecasting will be of par-
ticular value to advertisers and product
designers to aid them in subliminally
communicating with target markets.
The days of simply relying on colors
that have been successful in the past are
long gone. Take advantage of the color
harmonies and imaginative variations in
this book to launch your own creativity.
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