Color effect on Product Design

First Impressions

Color has an effect on how the product is perceived. A person’s subconscious establishes an impression about something the instant the object is seen. Before one has any chance to evaluate the product’s features, function, or feel, there is already a baseline established in the mind by its appearance. Color is a huge part of that impression.

Psychology tells us that certain colors have general associations to emotions. These can be overridden by personal preferences or experiences, but in general the positive associations are:

• Red – passion, attention, fire, vigor
• Orange – happiness, vitality
• Yellow – sunlight, youth, cheer
• Green – rest, efficiency, growth
• Blue – serene, trustworthy, cool
• Purple – royal, sophisticated, dignified
• Pink – feminine, youthful, sweet
• Brown – grounded, stable
• Silver – valuable, strong
• Gold – precious, warm
• Black – sophisticated, formal
• White – clean, pure, safe

Conversely, the same colors can have some negative associations, so choose wisely:

• Red – danger, irritation
• Orange – burning
• Yellow – sickness
• Green – decay
• Blue – melancholy
• Purple – sadness
• Pink – overly delicate
• Brown – unsophistication
• Silver – second-rate
• Gold – expensive
• Black – death
• White – fragile

In view of these associations, certain products have typical color schemes based on their use and surrounding environment. For instance, medical equipment is often white, with accents in blue. This would tend to give the product an impression of being clean and calming.

Braun - Oral B Triumph: clean and friendly

Imagine the same product in red and black- suddenly it seems aggressive and not something you’d want to put it your mouth!

Consumer electronics tend to play the sophistication and elegance card quite a bit, and as a result most are various shades of black, silver, with the occasional accent of color. If you’ve ever walked around the Consumer Electronics Show or even your local electronics store, the color trends are quite evident.

Its Black and Silver

Form

Color schemes also play a role in how the object’s shape is perceived. This is largely due to the amount of contrast that is visible across the object’s surfaces. Clever use of color can accentuate certain features, drawing attention to them, or minimize other features so aren’t readily noticed. In general, lighter colors show more contrast between light and shadow, so the eye will notice these features more prominently.

The converse is also true- darker colors show less contrast, and tend to be less noticable. While black isn’t going to make part of the object disappear, it certainly reduces its prominence. Take for example the model of a handheld gaming device below. The important features are the display and controls, found on the top bezel. The back and sides of the unit are black and are intended to ‘disappear’ in the cognative sense. The resulting shape, the blue bezel, is smaller than the over size of the product, so therefore the entire unit appears smaller.

Size perception goes hand-in-hand with color prominence. In general, lighter colors tend to make a feature look larger, while darker colors make it look smaller. Again, compare the two camera printer docks shown below. One is a model and one is a real product, but a quick glance at the product gives one the impression that the lighter example on the left is slightly larger. The dock on the right has less contrast in its overall color scheme, so it doesn’t look quite as large. Note also the lower portion of the dock’s case is black, again to make this area of lesser visual importance ‘disappear’ and give the impression that the unit is smaller than it really is.

Function

Color is also a part of some firmly established and universally accepted functional interfaces. The big three we’ve all known since childhood: red means stop, green means go, and yellow means floor it alert. Once color enters the picture as a user interface language, the surrounding product should be neutral, so as not to distract the user from noticing interface features. If you’ve got a control panel with a big red kill switch on it, the control panel had better not be red too!

Let the color be about the interface

Fashion

After the previous color effects are considered, color variations usually boil down to fashion and industry trends. Consumer products can edge out their competition with an offering of colors appealing to personal taste, not unlike color variations in vehicles. How does an industrial designer know color trends? Well, there are professional color consultants and marketing data that can drive a product’s color palette. Many times it comes from simple observation or the designer’s vision of the finished product. Online communities such as COLOURlovers can provide inspiration as well. The designer’s colors may or may not make it to market… but it is always worth exploring. Some notable examples of colorful tech:

Dell Studio Hybrid

What would products look like if the end user had control over the color palette? Perhaps this is the trend worth noting the most- the choices made by the person who laid out the cash to buy the product. Visiting a site like Colorware can give you a glimpse of some thought- provoking color schemes that would have never come out of the factory:

MASTERS IN ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING @ PUNJAB ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHANDIGARH

How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors

How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors

Do you feel anxious in a yellow room? Does the color blue make you feel calm and relaxed? Artists and interior designers have long understood how color can dramatically affect moods, feelings and emotions. It is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood and cause physiological reactions. Certain colors can raise blood pressure, increase metabolism or cause eyestrain.

Of course, your feelings about color can also be deeply personal and are often rooted in your own experience or culture. For example, while the color white is used in many Western countries to represent purity and innocence, it is seen as a symbol of mourning in many Eastern countries.

Why is color such a powerful force in our lives? What effects can it have on our bodies and minds? Continue reading to further explore the history of color including how it's used, the effects it may have and some of the most recent research on color psychology

Color psychology

Color psychology is the study of the effect that colours have on human behaviour particularly the natural instinctive feelings that each colour evokes. Colour preference is subjective however colour psychology reveals how each colour creates a collective emotional, mental and physical response in people as a whole.

Red for example will create feelings of warmth, movement, ambition, determination and sometimes anger! red may bring to mind sayings that have been passed down through the ages such as 'it was like holding up a red rag to a bull!

Color Psychology - The Psychological Effects of Color

While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, there are some color effects that have universal meaning. Colors in the red area of the color spectrum are known as warm colors and include red, orange and yellow. These warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility.

Colors on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colors and include blue, purple and green. These colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.

The Basics of Color Psychology

The eleven basic colors have fundamental psychological properties that are universal, regardless of which particular shade, tone or tint of it you are using.

Each of them has potentially positive or negative psychological effects and which of these effects is created depends on the relationships within color combinations.

Color psychology postulates four primary colors - red, blue, yellow and green. They relate respectively to the body, the mind, the emotions and the essential balance between these three.

The psychological properties of the eleven basic colors are as follows:

RED. Physical
Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity, excitement.
Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.

Being the longest wavelength, red is a powerful color, both in color psychology and in the spectrum. Although not technically the most visible, it has the property of appearing to be nearer than it is and therefore it grabs our attention first. Hence its effectiveness in traffic lights the world over. Its effect is physical; it stimulates us and raises the pulse rate, giving the impression that time is passing faster than it is. It relates to the masculine principle and can activate the "fight or flight" instinct. Red is strong, and very basic. Pure red is the simplest color, with no subtlety. It is stimulating and lively, very friendly. At the same time, in color psychology it can be perceived as demanding and aggressive.

BLUE. Intellectual.
Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.
Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.

Blue is the color of the mind and is essentially soothing; it affects us mentally, rather than the physical reaction we have to red. Strong blues will stimulate clear thought and lighter, soft blues will calm the mind and aid concentration. Consequently, in terms of color psychology it is serene and mentally calming. It is the color of clear communication. Blue objects do not appear to be as close to us as red ones. Time and again in research, blue is the world's favorite color. However, it can be perceived as cold, unemotional and unfriendly.

YELLOW. Emotional
Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity.
Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide.

The yellow wavelength is relatively long and essentially stimulating. In this case the stimulus is emotional, therefore yellow is considered strongest in color psychology. The right yellow will lift our spirits and our self-esteem; it is the color of confidence and optimism. Too much of it, or the wrong tone in relation to the other tones in a color scheme, can cause self-esteem to plummet, giving rise to fear and anxiety. Our "yellow streak" can surface.

GREEN. Balance
Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace.
Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation.

Green strikes the eye in such a way as to require no adjustment whatever and is, therefore, restful. Being in the center of the spectrum, it is the color of balance - a more important concept than many people realize. When the world about us contains plenty of green, this indicates the presence of water, and little danger of famine, so we are reassured by green, on a primitive level. Negatively, it can indicate stagnation and, incorrectly used, will be perceived as being too bland.

VIOLET. Spiritual
Positive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality.
Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority.

The shortest wavelength is violet, often described as purple. It takes awareness to a higher level of thought, even into the realms of spiritual values... a higher pursuit of color psychology. It is highly introvertive and encourages deep contemplation, or meditation. It has associations with royalty and usually communicates the finest possible quality. Being the last visible wavelength before the ultra-violet ray, it has associations with time and space and the cosmos.

Excessive use of purple can bring about too much introspection and the wrong tone of it communicates something cheap and nasty, faster than any other color.

ORANGE.
Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun.
Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity.

Since it is a combination of red and yellow, orange is stimulating and reaction to it is a combination of the physical and the emotional. It focuses our minds on issues of physical comfort - food, warmth, shelter etc. - and sensuality. For color psychology, it is a 'fun' color. Negatively, it might focus on the exact opposite - deprivation. This is particularly likely when warm orange is used with black. Equally, too much orange suggests frivolity and a lack of serious intellectual values.

PINK.
Positive: Physical tranquility, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the species.
Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation, physical weakness.

Being a tint of red, pink also affects us physically, but it soothes, rather than stimulates. (Interestingly, red is the only color that has an entirely separate name for its tints. Tints of blue, green, yellow, etc. are simply called light blue, light green…etc.) Pink is a powerful color, psychologically. It represents the feminine principle, and survival of the species; it is nurturing and physically soothing. Too much pink is physically draining and can be somewhat emasculating.

GREY.
Positive: Psychological neutrality.
Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy.

Pure gray is the only color that has no direct psychological properties. It is, however, quite suppressive. A virtual absence of color is depressing and when the world turns gray we are instinctively conditioned to draw in and prepare for hibernation. Unless the precise tone is right, gray has a dampening effect on other colors used with it. Heavy use of gray usually indicates a lack of confidence and fear of exposure in color psychology.

BLACK.
Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional safety, efficiency, substance.
Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness.

Black is all colors, totally absorbed. The implications of that for color psychology are considerable. It creates protective barriers, as it absorbs all the energy coming towards you, and it enshrouds the personality. Positively, it communicates absolute clarity, with no fine nuances. It works particularly well with white. It communicates sophistication and uncompromising excellence. It creates a perception of weight and seriousness (it is a myth that black clothes are slimming). Black is essentially an absence of light, since no wavelengths are reflected and it can, therefore be menacing; many people are afraid of the dark.

WHITE.
Positive: Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency.
Negative: Sterility, coldness, barriers, unfriendliness, elitism.

Just as black is total absorption, so white is total reflection. In effect, it reflects the full force of the spectrum into our eyes. Thus it also creates barriers, but differently from black, and it is often a strain to look at. It communicates, "Touch me not!". And in terms of color psychology, white is purity and, like black, uncompromising; it is clean, hygienic, and sterile. The concept of sterility can also be negative. Visually, white gives a heightened perception of space. The negative effect of white on warm colors is to make them look and feel garish.

BROWN.
Positive: Seriousness, warmth, Nature, earthiness, reliability, support.
Negative: Lack of humor, heaviness, lack of sophistication.

Brown usually consists of red and yellow, with a large percentage of black. Consequently, it has much of the same seriousness as black, but is warmer and softer. It has elements of the red and yellow properties. Brown has associations with the earth and the natural world. It is a solid, reliable color and most people find it quietly supportive - more positively than the ever-popular black, which is suppressive, rather than supportive.

Color psychology can be applied to branding, packaging, web design, interiors, product design and uniforms, as well as personal application to your home and wardrobe

Placebo effect

The color of placebo pills is reported to be a factor in their effectiveness, with "hot-colored" pills working better as stimulants and "cool-colored" pills working better as depressants. This relationship is believed to be a consequence of the patient's expectations and not a direct effect of the color itself.Consequently, these effects appear to be culture-dependent

Blue public lighting

In 2000, Glasgow installed blue street lighting in certain neighborhoods and subsequently reported the anecdotal finding of reduced crime in these areas. This report was picked up by several news outlets.A railroad company in Japan installed blue lighting on its stations in October 2009 in an effort to reduce the number of suicide attempts,although the effect of this technique has been questioned

Use of color to create ambiance

Color has long been used to create feelings of coziness or spaciousness. However, how people are affected by different color stimuli varies from person to person.

The hues in the blue range have been shown to have the highest preference amongst people.There is evidence that suggests that people tend to prefer certain colors depending on the ambient temperature. People who are cold prefer warm colors like red and yellow while people who are hot prefer cool colors like blue and green.

A few studies have shown that cultural background has a strong influence on color preference. These studies have shown that people from the same region regardless of race will have the same color preferences. Also, one region may have different preferences than another region (i.e., a different country or a different area of the same country), regardless of race.

Children's preferences for colors they find to be pleasant and comforting can be changed and can vary, while adult color preference is usually non-malleable.

Light, color, and surroundings

Light and color can influence how people perceive the area around them. Different light sources affect how the colors of walls and other objects are seen. Specific hues of colors seen under natural sunlight may vary when seen under the light from an incandescent (tungsten) light-bulb: lighter colors may appear to be more orange or "brownish" and darker colors may appear even darker.

MASTERS IN ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING @ PUNJAB ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHANDIGARH

Color theory

In the visual arts, color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combinations. Although color theory principles first appeared in the writings ofLeone Battista Alberti (c.1435) and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (c.1490), a tradition of "colory theory" began in the 18th century, initially within a partisan controversy around Isaac Newton's theory of color (Opticks, 1704) and the nature of so-called primary colors. From there it developed as an independent artistic tradition with only superficial reference to colorimetry and vision science.

Introduction

For a long time, now, there has been a problem that fledgling designers have run into on a constant basis. This problem seems insignificant to most, but in actuality it is quite possibly the most important factor in a design or piece of artwork. Yes, you guessed it...I'm talking about the issue of COLOR.

Color can be a touchy subject. Sometimes artists use colors that evoke certain emotions. Other times artists use colors simply because they like the way they look. While any design instructor will tell you that the latter reason is completely wrong, I tend to disagree. In my personal opinion, color always has meaning. This meaning can be, as I mentioned, an emotional one or it can be a personal preference on the part of the artist himself, but it ALWAYS has purpose behind it.

There is nothing wrong with choosing a color because you like it because, after all, it is your work. However, when choosing a color you still want to make sure its use does not conflict with what you are trying to say with your work. Proper use of basic color theory can help you decide what colors match, as well as what each color makes people feel.

Wheel
The color wheel has earned a place in the hearts of many artists and designers across the globe. Not because its the perfect tool, but because everybody, at some point, has had to make one of their own as part of a ridiculous art class project.

The wheel's construction is actually quite simple. You have your 6 basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Then, depending on which wheel you're looking at, you have extra, "in-between" colors that are mixes of the basic colors.

There are names for all of these colors, which are important to know. The following is a list of all of the names of colors and what they're good for.

Primary Colors: Red, Yellow, Blue. These 3 colors are the base colors for every other color on the color wheel. This is why they're called "primary." When you mix two primaries together, you get a secondary color.
Also note the triangular positioning of the primary colors on the color wheel, and how the secondary colors are next to them.
Primary colors are useful for designs or art that needs to have a sense of urgency. Primary colors are the most vivid colors when placed next to eachother, which is why you'll notice that most fast food joints use primary colors in their logos, as it evokes speed.

Secondary Colors: Orange, Green, Purple. These 3 colors are what you get when you mix the primary colors together.
They're located in-between the primary colors to indicate what colors they're made from. Notice how green is in-between yellow and blue.
Secondary colors are usually more interesting than primary colors, but they do not evoke speed and urgency.

Tertiary Colors: These are those "in-between" colors like Yellow-Green and Red-Violet. They're made by mixing one primary color and one secondary color together. There can be endless combinations of tertiary colors, depending on how they're mixed.

Complementary Colors: Red and Green, Blue and Orange, Purple and Yellow. These are the colors directly across from eachother on the color wheel. Don't let the name fool you, they rarely look good when used together. They're called "complementary" because, when used together, they become extremely vibrant and have heavy contrast.
Complementary colors are useful when you want to make something stand out. For example, if you use a green background and have a red circle on it, the red will jump off the page and be almost blinding.

Analogous Colors: Red and Orange, Blue and Green, etc. These are colors right next to eachother on the color wheel. They usually match extremely well, but they also create almost no contrast. They're good for very serene-feeling designs and artwork where you want viewers to feel comfortable.

Color temperature

There are plenty of other names and titles that refer to different aspects of color, but this is where it starts getting complex. If you want to know more about color, read on.

Warm Colors: Colors such as red, yellow, and orange. These colors evoke warmth because they remind us of things like the sun or fire.

Cool Colors: Colors like blue, green, and purple (violet). These colors evoke a cool feeling because they remind us of things like water or grass.

Neutral Colors: Gray, Brown. These aren't on most color wheels, but they're considered neutral because they don't contrast with much of anything. They're dull and uneventful.

Value: Usually refers to the amount of black in a color. The more black a color has, the darker its value.

Brightness: Refers to the amount of white in a color. The more white a color has, the brighter it is.

Saturation: Refers to the amount of a color used. When a color is at full saturation, it is extremely vibrant. When a color is "desaturated," a large amount of color has been removed. Desaturated colors tend to be close to being neutral because there is so much gray in them.

According to Method

RGB Color: This is color based upon light. Your computer monitor and television use RGB. The name "RGB" stands for Red, Green, Blue, which are the 3 primaries (with green replacing yellow). By combining these 3 colors, any other color can be produced. Remember, this color method is only used with light sources; it does not apply to printing.

CMYK Color: This is the color method based upon pigments. "CMYK" stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (its what the K stands for). Using these 4 colors, most other colors can be achieved. Unfortunately, CMYK cannot reproduce the same amount of colors as RGB can, which is why yellow-greens sometimes look a bit muddy when printed.
This is the method used by printers the world over, and is also a clever way of mixing paints.

Pantone (PMS) Color: This is yet another printing color method. PMS stands for "Pantone Matching System," and is a large list of specially mixed colors made by the Pantone Corporation. Instead of using CMYK to create colors, the pigments are created individually for purity.
For example, if I wanted to use a Red-Violet color, I'd pick PMS 233M. The color would be made exclusively for my project and would always print exactly how I want.

The only drawback to using PMS colors is that they're only useful for projects with few colors. They're also expensive.

MASTERS IN ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING @ PUNJAB ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHANDIGARH

What Is Color?

Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions. - Pablo Picasso

In 1666, English scientist Sir Isaac Newton discovered that when pure white light passes through a prism, it separates into all of the visible colors. Newton also found that each color is made up of a single wavelength and cannot be separated any further into other colors.

Further experiments demonstrated that light could be combined to form other colors. For example, red light mixed with yellow light creates an orange color. Some colors, such as yellow and purple, cancel each other out when mixed and result in a white light.

If you have ever painted, you have probably noticed how certain colors can be mixed to create other colors. Marion Boddy-Evans, About.com's Guide to Painting, has an excellent overview of color theory basics including how different colors can be mixed.

MASTERS IN ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING @ PUNJAB ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHANDIGARH

IMPORTANT WORDS RELATED TO THE COURSE OF 'PRODUCT FORM & AESTHETICS'

AESTHETICS: concerned with beauty and art and the understanding of beautiful things.

PERSPECTIVE: 1. the art of creating an effect of depth and distance in a picture by representing people and things that are far away as being smaller than those that are nearer the front.

2. a view, especially one in which you can see far into the distance.

RENASCENCE: a situation in which there is new interest in a particular subject, form of art, etc. after a period when it was not very popular.

Human brain

This article is about specialization of function between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. For specialization of brain function generally, see Localization of brain function.

The human brain is divided into two hemispheres–left and right. Scientists continue to explore how some cognitive functions tend to be dominated by one side or the other, that is, how they are lateralized.

A longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebral hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum. The sides resemble each other and each hemisphere's structure is generally mirrored by the other side. Yet despite the strong anatomical similarities, the functions of each cortical hemisphere are managed differently. For example, the lateral sulcus generally is longer in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere.

Broad generalizations are often made in popular psychology about one side or the other having characteristic labels such as "logical" or "creative". These labels need to be treated carefully; although a lateral dominance is measurable, these characteristics are in fact existent in both sides^[1], and experimental evidence provides little support for correlating the structural differences between the sides with functional differences.^[2]

The extent of any modularity, or specialization of brain function by area, remains under investigation. If a specific region of the brain or even an entire hemisphere^[3] is either injured or destroyed, its functions can sometimes be assumed by a neighboring region, even in the opposite hemisphere, depending upon the area damaged and the patient's age. When injury interferes with pathways from one area to another, alternative (indirect) connections may come to exist to communicate information with detached areas, despite the inefficiencies.

While functions are lateralized, these are only a tendency. They trend across the many individuals may also vary significantly as to how any specific function is implemented. The areas of exploration of this causal or effectual difference of a particular brain function includes it's gross anatomy, dendritic structure, and neurotransmitter distribution. The structural and chemical variance of a particular, brain function, between the two hemispheres of one brain or between the same hemisphere of two different brains is still being studied. Short of having undergone a hemispherectomy (removal of a cerebral hemisphere), no one is a "left-brain only" or "right-brain only" person.^[4]

Brain function lateralization is evident in the phenomena of right- or left-handedness and of right or left ear preference, but a person's preferred hand is not a clear indication of the location of brain function. Although 95% of right-handed people have left-hemisphere dominance for language, only 18.8% of left-handed people have right-hemisphere dominance for language function. Additionally, 19.8% of the left-handed have bilateral language functions.^[5] Even within various language functions (e.g., semantics, syntax, prosody), degree (and even hemisphere) of dominance may differ.^[6]

MASTERS IN ENGINEERING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING @ PUNJAB ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHANDIGARH