Getting the most out of color ch

There's a reason why stop signs are red and public swimming pools are painted blue. The choice of color is in many cases one of science, rather than art. Colors convey emotion and can carry as strong of a weight in first impression as any other factor.

Whether it is a single color or a rainbow of colors, the use of color can make a difference between being the most popular person at a reunion or that person wearing a suit made up of plaid pants, polka-dotted shirt and a neon tie. Not to say that plaid or polka dots are necessarily evil, but they have their time and place, and generally are like oil and water.

Before we take that trip down memory lane and the uncle that has no concept of a dress code, let's look at how colors have distinctly different emotions. The spectrum of color that the human eye can see is vast, but can be divided up into many different portions, depending upon what one is looking for. No doubt that you remember the elementary art class where you learned that there are warm colors and there are cool colors. Most got to hear that warm colors are like the sun and cool colors are like either water or night, depending upon the teacher you had. The mind generally regards bright orange as the hottest color and indigo blue as the coolest. But, these are only limited perceptions of what colors mean.

Now comes the question of whether to invite another person to the party. Colors generally run in pairs or small groups. Just like a group of close friends, certain colors work very nicely together, complimenting each other in some ways, yet sharing many bonds that make the group incredibly powerful. Choosing the right group of colors can be the key to making it all work out in the end, or seeing that old uncle with the plaid, polka dots and neon and all of his best buddies.

Great color combinations start and work in a triangle, for the most part. Let's take an age-old example. The primary colors of red, yellow and blue are a wonderful color combination. One of the reasons for this is that the combination balances itself out completely. Though a diverse group, it is relatively even in all of its color. This will convey a rounded image, one that looks at all angles, but has some flair to it. This is a complimentary combination.

Another example would be yellow, orange and red. This typical warm blend conveys a strong presence; one that commands attention. Red and yellow are two of the most eye-catching colors and adding orange helps to balance them out. The key to this color relationship is actually orange, and it should be the color of dominance, as the colors of red and yellow are the extremes with orange carrying most of the weight. If the primary color was red and yellow and orange were secondary colors, it would seem really awkward and heavy.

For a stand out, unexpected color combination, more attention needs to be given to the complimentary colors. One such example is the combination of navy blue, orange and lime. Navy acts as the primary color; orange, the accent color (complementary) and lime acting as a binding color. The lime offsets the stark contrast of the navy and orange, but is bold enough to still grab attention when needed. This combination yields many options for design.

If the relationship needs to be one of solid power, the choice of colors needs to be one more of contrast. Combinations consisting of black, white and a strong color such as red, can portray that rock solid feeling you may need. Black and white, being the starkest of contrasts, holds the most power, but in many cases, lacks a sense of color to seem well rounded. In this last case, that is where the red comes in.

When good color goes bad. Color combinations can be just as hindering as they can be helping. When colors that are too much alike have no contrasting opposites, many things can go wrong. The biggest is having the colors appear washed out. Much like having a crowd of a million people and trying to distinguish certain types, it becomes an almost impossible task to see the message. Also, just like the crowd analogy, combinations with too many colors can create the same effect. The best color combinations are sets of two or three colors. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between for great examples.

The blind fog:
One of the most forgotten rules of design is maintaining color contrast, especially with a couple colors. One in twenty men suffer from color blindness, typically red-green color blindness. This makes seeing the contrast in similar valued reds and green nearly impossible. One should take great care in trying to avoid setting up color combinations that would fall into this category. Besides, the red-green color combination is overused anyway, unless you like being grouped with Santa and the elves.

Thoughts on different colors and how they effect us:

Blacks: Bold, powerful and yet simple. Black is a color that has the most visual weight and carries the most impact. When combined with color, it brings a feeling of power and certainty to a design. When mixed with white, black has the strongest contrast and the most visual impact of any combination.

Whites: White is the purist color that is actually not a color. White can either be the absence of all colors or the combination of all colors, depending upon the color space you work. When working in print or other traditional mediums, white is the absence of color, but when working with digital mediums such as web, interactive or broadcast, white is the combination of three colors - red, green and blue. White brings airiness to a design, and can provide very strong visual contrast. Color combinations are almost limitless with white.

Browns: Brown is all about the earth and tradition. The color of the soil which spring forth life, brown is a color used to bring weight to an object or design.

Violets: Purple and its close sister violet are best described as sophisticated and elegant. A rare color in the spectrum, purple is a great color to use when trying to catch a person or group's attention. These two have a magical way of slowing the eye down. Color combinations are tricky with purple, but if used correctly, the combination can be one that garners a lot of great attention and mind time.

Blues: Purity is the first term associated with blue. Blue as the sea, or blue as the sky, it is a tone that like its sister green, is fresh and natural. One of the colors that will go with almost any color combination, blue is one of the most popular colors in design today. If using blue and needing to stand out in a crowd, look to marry it with colors like bright lime or bright orange, or even a yellow. Because blue is generally used as a darker tone, marrying it with a brighter color balances it out and gives it good all-around depth and contrast

Yellows: Yellow are commonly associated with light, but bold. Mostly used as accent, yellow is mostly used when trying to grab attention.

Oranges: Oranges are the hottest color perceptually. It is most notably associated with heat, but can be seen today also as a sign of fresh and bold. Orange is a great contrasting color and loves to shine against a darker tone.

Greens: Pure and fresh are the first things thought about when referring to the color green. Green is natural, clean and exudes purity and nature. From shades of lime to shades of turquoise, green in all of its variations is a color that can be seen in almost any environment. Great compliments are blues, yellows and oranges, although it will mate up to almost any color.

Reds: You like bold, persuasive colors. You are not afraid to be the first to try something. Red is one of the strongest colors, as society has placed it as a color of great importance. Stop signs are red, because the eye will be able to pick it out quickly and clearly. Red and its variations can go well with almost any color. One exception to this rule is the color green - for two reasons. First, it is generally associated with Christmas, and although a stark contrast between these two colors, they rarely work together. Second, color blindness. One thing seldom thought about in design is the need to be aware of others limitation in differentiating certain color combinations, especially red and green, which is the most common form of color blindness.