Publication Date

Spring 4-23-2010

School

School of Communication

Major

Visual Communication Arts

Primary Subject Area

Design and Decorative Arts

Keywords

Color psychology, graphic design, color perception, color preference, audience targeting, color schemes, advertising, packaging, branding, logos, hue, brightness, value, saturation, chroma

Disciplines

Art Practice

Abstract

Color filters humanity’s perception of the world and alters people’s relationship with their surroundings. It influences human perception, preference, and psychology throughout the lifespan. Color preferences appear in infants as young as three months old, and typically change with age. Some responses to color may be innate, and some may be learned from nature or culture. Cool hues are relaxants, and are generally preferred over their more arousing warm counterparts. Color is a subtle but pervasively influential element in graphic design. It permeates graphic representations in packaging, advertising, and branding. Slight variations in color can advance or devastate design effectiveness and have massive economic implications for companies and products. Whether audiences are conscious or unconscious of color’s impact, its hypnotic potential makes it a worthy asset for any visual communicator.

The researcher conducted a study to determine the point, if any, at which the joint effects of brightness and saturation cause a viewer to prefer a yellow color to a blue color.

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