Launching the Imagination / Pg. 54-66 / 355

Composing With Color

"Composition may be defined as the combination of multiple parts into a harmonious whole. The effect of color on composition is profound. Color can shift visual balance, create a focal point, influence our emotions, and expand communication" (Ch.2, Pg.54).

I tried to sum this paragraph into my own words but it was put so beautifully that I couldn't change it. Its all true and really made me think about color in my own pieces. As we've talked about before, the darker or "cooler" colors tend to recede back in to a piece while brighter or "warm"colors tend to pop further out of a piece. 

I made two different visual examples to help explain this idea:

In the image on the left the blue square seems to be recessed, especially with a warm background like red.

In the Image on the right, the red square seems to be coming out of the page, especially with a cool background like blue.

"Through careful distribution, even the most disharmonious colors can work together beautifully."

"Proportional variation is another way to harmonize seemingly incompatible colors" (Ch.2, Pg.56)

Color is used to emphazise critical information. 

"Colors are never emotionally neutral" (Ch.2, Pg.58). Each color evokes an emotion and the placement and shape of that color in a colaboration with other colors helps carry that emotion to its destination. 

A color key is a dominant color. "When immersed in color, we enter an alternate world. In each case, color was used to heighten emotion rather than represent reality"(Ch.2, Pg.60).

"Colors are often assigned symbolic meaning. These meanings may vary widely from culture to culture"(Ch.2, Pg.60). 

I really like "Flag" by Jasper Johns, "Part of a series of images based on the American flag, this print presents a reversal of the usual colors at the top. If we stare at this flag and then shift our attention to a white sheet of paper, we will see the familiar red, white and blue. In this painting, an after image was used to suggest the contradictory nature of patriotism" (Ch.2, Pg. 61). 

"Color and value each have unique strengths" (Ch.2, Pg.61).

Color Can:

increase the power of a given shape

shift compositional weight

create a focal point

enhance the illusion of space

suggest volume

heighten emotion

Works Cited: 

Steward, Mary. Launching the Imagination: A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Design. 4th ed.

          New York, Ny: McGraw-Hill, 2012, 2008, 2006, 2002. Print.