132 Virtual World Design
Let’s look at some color-based phenomena that relate to these questions, and reect on how that might
inuence your design choices.
7.3.1 Who are you designing for? fiVe faCTors ThaT affeCT Color preferenCes
Every second of the day, people make decisions based on color. Decisions on the ripeness of fruit, the vitality
of a patient’s liver, or the appeal of a new hat, dress, or shoes are made on the basis of what color is perceived,
what that color means in the observer’s experience, and what attributes the observer gives that color. From a
virtual environment designer’s point of view, there are ve broad categories of human life that have an impact
on color choice preference and how you might use color in your designs. A virtual world environment designer
should be aware of these and how they will have an impact on the design and another person’s perception. Let’s
examine them one by one.
7.3.1.1 Cultural and Geographic Influences
The actual climate, the geopolitical structure of the country, its history, and the relative level of globalization
are all major factors in color preference. For instance, in the cool climate of Sweden, light, pale colors such
as sky blue, light yellow, and white are preferred, while in the warmer climates of Brazil, highly saturated
versions of green, yellow, and red are preferred. The color preferences of cool versus warm climates are
related to the look of color in the sunlight of those climates. Under the blazing sunlight of Brazil, colors have
to be saturated to have any impact, and under the softer light of Sweden, the paler colors rest easier on the
eye. Worldwide, the nations have wrapped color up in social and political representation. The orange and
green of Ireland’s ag represents the Protestant and Catholic groups. In the modern German ag, the black,
red, and gold tricolor represents the Republican democracy. In India, yellow symbolizes wealth, and the
world over for centuries, the color purple has represented royalty.
Over the last few decades, globalization has gradually inuenced the traditional use of color in many
countries. Western brides have traditionally worn white, and Eastern brides have worn red (in China, India,
Pakistan, Vietnam) for hundreds of years. This historical/traditional custom has been shifting in China, and
now you will see Chinese brides wearing white dresses with red decorations or accessories.
As a successful designer of a globally accessible virtual world, you always do your research to understand
the cultural meanings of color and how that information relates to what you are building. That knowledge
will serve you well when the time comes to design evocative palettes that will pack emotional as well as
informational content into the visual environment. Table7.1 presents the major colors (red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, violet or purple, black, and white) and some of their meanings and cultural afliations around
the world.
7.3.1.2 Gender and Self-Identity-Based Influences
Color and gender identication starts when we are babies. For most of the Western Hemisphere, pink is for
girls, and blue is for boys. However, in Belgium, pink is considered the more assertive color and is used for
boy’s clothing, while blue, which has long been associated with the Virgin Mary, is used for girls. A perfect
example of gender identication combined with political symbolism is the Transgender Pride ag, which
displays two light blue stripes, two pink stripes, and one white stripe in a horizontal composition.
For the most part, children’s cartoons, clothing, and toys, and sometimes their living spaces, are decorated
with bright primary colors such as spectrum red, blue, yellow, and green. As they age and start forming their
personal identities and tastes, children will experiment with color. In 2013, color palettes for teen products
were inuenced by fantasy, gothic themes, urban gaming, and television environments. Small wonder that
teens want to try out a Gothic Vampire bedroom or have multicolored grafti on the walls. Designing the
133Color, Particles, andSensory Spaces
TABLE7.1
Psychological Effects of Hue, Color Response, and Meanings by Global Location/Culture
Psychological Effects Africa Asia Australia Europe N. America S. America
Red
Hue effect: rousing
and motivating
Advances in visual
eld; implies
condence,
protection
South Africa:
mourning
Pan-African
ag color:
courage
China: good
luck
India: purity
Bridal color
Shinto/
Buddhism
Singapore: joy
Aboriginals:
the land,
earth
National ag:
bravery,
valor,
strength
Russia:
Communist
Beauty
Sweden:
highclass
England:
phone booth
Celtic: death
Cherokee:
success
Love, passion
Danger, stop
Jamaica: drunk
Aztec: blood
Combined with
white means
religion
Orange
Hue effect: exciting
and welcoming
Implies appetite,
social activities
Ancient
Egyptian
paint color
Happiness
andlove
India: saffron
is sacred
Middle East:
mourning
Ayers
rock/Uluru
at sunset,
dreamtime,
creation
mythology
Ireland:
Protestant
Netherlands:
House of
Orange
Autumn,
extroverts,
danger
Lascaux cave
Native
Americans:
kinship
Amusement,
food
Autumn,
Halloween
Safety
Sweet potatoes
Yellow
Hue effect:
encouragement and
radiant effect
Implies thinking and
memory
Egypt:
mourning
Pan-African
ag color:
sun, wealth,
justice
High rank
insociety
China: royal
color
Japan: courage
India: wealth
India: saffron
is sacred
Middle East:
mourning
National
color:
wealth,
seashore,
deserts
Aboriginals:
represents
the sun
Nazi yellow
star for
Jewsin
WorldWarII
Crime stories:
real and
ctional in
Italy had
yellow covers
Hope
Caution,
hazard
Cowardice
School bus
Aztec: food,
corn
Mexico:
mourning
Mayan color
fordirection
ofsouth
Columbian ag:
wealth of gold
Green
Hue effect: relaxes
the eye
Implies peace and
tranquility
Color of almost
every active
military worldwide
Pan-African
color found
in many ags;
earth, fertility,
Muslim
religion
India: Islam
China: cuckold
Iran: paradise
China:
jade-virtue
Indonesia:
forbidden
color
National
color:
forests,
eucalyptus,
meadows
Ireland: national
Portugal: hope
Scotland: honor
Spring season
Trafc: go
Aztec: royalty
Death in
countries with
jungle climates
(Continued)
134 Virtual World Design
color palette of a virtual environment for an adult client should take into account the color appeal that is
inuenced by the client’s gender. In general, studies have shown men prefer brighter and cooler colors, while
women prefer warmer and less-saturated colors, favoring tints rather than tones. Research has shown that
women will tend to have more diverse color tastes, while men will be more tolerant to more achromatic or
black-and-white palettes [8].
TABLE7.1 (Continued)
Psychological Effects of Hue, Color Response, and Meanings by Global Location/Culture
Psychological Effects Africa Asia Australia Europe N. America S. America
Blue
Hue effect: recedes
in the visual eld
Worldwide favorite
color; calming;
spiritual
The sky
On South
African ag:
Dutch and
U.K. colonists
Iran: heaven
China: spring
India: Krishna
Middle East:
heaven
National ag:
vigilance,
truth, loyalty
Greek:
protection
from evil
Holy Spirit
Virgin Mary
Cherokee:
defeat
Conservatism
Corporate
Uniform
Postal
HTML links
Mexico:
mourning
Columbia: soap
Mexico: trust
and serenity
Purple
Hue effect: calming
Implies spirituality
and creativity
Egypt: virtue
and faith
Middle East:
wealth
Thailand:
mourning
(widow)
Iran: future
omen
Weather map
color
indicating
extremely
hot weather
Royalty
UK: royal
mourning
Italy, Rome:
Caesar
First color in
prehistoric art
Purple Heart
medal
Mayan color for
religious
ceremonies
Aztec color
forroyalty
Black
Hue effect: context
driven
Implies power,
mystery, magic,
and death
Primary art
color
China: boy’s
color
Japan: wealth
Aboriginals:
the color of
the people
Mourning
Spain,
Portugal,
Italy: widows
Scandinavia:
bride’s color
Funerals
Death
Power
Rebellion
Anarchy
Aztec: war
Mexico:
widow’s color
Masculine color
for clothing
White
Hue effect: context
driven
Implies purication,
clarity
Primary art
color
On South
African ag:
Dutch and
U.K.
colonists
Japan: funeral
wear and
bride’s rst
dress
symbolizing
her “death”
asshe leaves
her parents
National ag:
peace and
honesty
Purity, peace
Mourning
color for
French
queens
Bridal color
Goodness
Clean
Cherokee:
peace
Aztec god
Quetzalcoatl
Source: Based on information provided by these sites: http://colormatters.com/, http://webdesign.about.com/od/color/a/bl_colorculture.
htm, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress.
135Color, Particles, andSensory Spaces
Over the last few decades, the rigid color preferences dened by gender differences have been fading;
you now see men wearing sport uniforms from the secondary or tertiary palettes, such as purple, orange,
and teal. Do not be afraid to push the color envelope. Sometimes, clients just need to be shown that the right
shades of lime green and magenta will actually enhance their blue and red color scheme, giving the overall
design more impact.
7.3.1.3 Educational and Socioeconomic Influences
Consider the difference in the colors of the website for McDonald’s restaurants and the Per Se restaurant in
New York. The McDonald’s website impacts the eye with bright primary colors like red, green, and blue.
The Per Se website has sliding image panels in muted browns with gold highlights. Dinner at McDonald’s
will cost about $20; the tasting dinner with wine at Per Se will cost much more. All around, in everything
you buy, every advertisement you see, a carefully chosen color scheme is used to market those goods and
services. You should begin to make it a habit to notice how color is used for that purpose and be aware of
the ways you can utilize it in your virtual world design. Generally, the higher the economic class and edu-
cational level of the customer, the more sophisticated and nuanced the palette used for representing those
goods and services will be. Complex colors like mauve, teal, and celadon green are used to create the idea
of rarity, preciousness, and good taste. Simple colors like red, blue, and black are used to create the feeling
of strength, solidity, and power. For instance, if you are building a virtual world dedicated to opera, consider
a sophisticated palette with tints and tones of colors such as you might see in a French rococo painting by
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and if you are building a virtual world dedicated to Formula 1 racing, you could use
a palette from the high-energy images of Pop Art artist Roy Lichtenstein. The tints and more complex colors
of the Fragonard will denote sophistication, and the bold primary colors of the Lichtenstein will create power
and movement in the visual eld.
7.3.1.4 Chronological and Generational Influences
The age of your client will inuence color preferences in a couple of ways. Color preferences are inuenced
by past experiences in the childhood and teenaged years [9]. If someone had happy experiences as a teenager
sipping cherry coke in a hometown pastel-colored sweet shop, the person will most likely enjoy pastel colors
his or her entire life because of the fond memories. These specic color preferences will be subjective, client
by client, but there are also age-related cross-cultural preferences that develop based in the client’s genera-
tional color history. You should think of your client’s cultural age as well as the chronological age. Is he or she
a Millennial (born 1980–1996), a Generation Xer (born 1964–1980), or a Baby Boomer (born 1945–1964)?
The color palettes of these three generations are very different. A boomer may fondly remember the pop
colors of a Peter Max painting, while a Gen Xer favors the colors of his or her rst video game. By under-
standing the history of color and how it applies to your client’s cultural group, you will easily nd common
ground with the client for discussion about the color palette of the design. Figure7.3 shows a chart of some
colors from each decade, derived from images of the popular culture in that decade.
Today’s children and young adults have more color choices than ever, and many of them enjoy experi-
menting with color in their graphics programs and games. Undoubtedly, they will grow up expecting this
customization in their virtual environments and be very sophisticated consumers, able to enjoy many com-
plex color schemes.
7.3.1.5 Psychological and Experiential Influences
Finally, you should remember that color, above all, is a subjective preference. Your client’s childhood memo-
ries and collective experiences, good and bad, will affect the client’s likes and dislikes for color. Knowing
136 Virtual World Design
Color by Decade: 1950 - 2000
1960s
soft warm colors
bold psychedelics
1st James Bond movie / 1st Dr. Who episode / Peter Max / Star Trek on TV
1970s
strong, warm
earth tones
M*A*S*H* TV show / Star Wars movie / "Roots" miniseries / VCRs available
1980s
lighter softer colors,
sophisticated style palette
Pac-Man / Rubik's Cube / CNN / PCs from IBM / Miami Vice TV show
1990s
bolder deeper
new digital color
Hubble Telescope / Internet / Hale-Bopp comet / Pathfinder on Mars
2000s
lighter, realistic
digital color
Wikipedia / YouTube / Smartphones / Tablets / Google Street view / Facebook
1950s
softer, warmer colors
Color TV / DNA discovered / Disneyland opens / Elvis / "The Cat in the Hat" / LEGO toy bricks
FIGURE 7.3 (See color insert) Chart of color palettes by decade (1950–2010) based on color samplings from pop
cultural images from these times.
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