colorstorming

I LOVE COLORS.

it proved interesting, i think, how different my expectation of a color given its name and the actuality of the color when viewed turned out to be. because i find that so bizarre, i've left both my in-my-mind's-eye expectations and then, if my emotional response changed once i saw the real color being referenced, also the revised statement of associations. eventually i began just looking the colors up initially, no expectations writing. probably much more effective, if less psychologically telling.

bright red: passion, either violent or romantic: all's fair in love and war. heart pumping blood through thrill or panic.

vibrant orange: hunger, excitement, casualness. (no relation.) supposedly enhances appetite, vibrates, looks joyful and fun. summery. shows a distinct lack of stuffy professionalism.

bright yellow: in my head: happiness, sunshine, spring and summer. baby chicks and rubber ducks and yellow birthday cake. again, lacking in staunch professional inclinations. if it tends a bit more toward green, it becomes manic. looking at it actually in the color bridge book, it looks a little more like school bus or road sign or taxi-cab than the yellow i was writing about.

earth brown: in my head: calm, reassuring, simple, or chocolate-rich and perhaps sumptuous. invokes doing-it-yourself and the satisfaction that can bring. the actual color in the bridge book, on the other hand, is almost indistinguishable from a neutral grey. given that, this has a sleek, more businesslike tint to it.

deep blue: oscillates between soothing and melancholy. calm and slow moving either way. supposedly blue is an appetite suppressant. looking at the book, it is very regal and luxurious, containing some idea of violet. a very classy color, not to be trifled with.

chartreuse green: springtime, new baby plants. filled with the idea of a fresh start and the beginning of growth and the idea of sustainability, of continually being reborn. could potentially be viewed as juvenile, probably inappropriate for important, serious content.

blue purple: i would definitely just call this purple. this is what purple means in my head. it has a richness, like velvet, and perhaps it's invoking the old idea of only royal blood being allowed/able to attain and wear purple garments. theatrical, dramatic, romantic. on the other hand, there are some real jerks in the world who would just call it gay.

charcoal grey: clean and smooth and classy. as a neutral, it is almost by default very versatile. the accent colors would be crucial in using this kind of grey, because on its own, it simply gives a slate (see what i did there?) on which to draw. a good corporate color. works similarly to black but in a way less edgy and melodramatic. on the other hand, it could be dull, polluted, and urban, if given the context of brighter "pretty" colors or white.

white: white is new, fresh, unstarted, pure. it has a perfect simplicity, and a minimalist charm. you may run into trouble using it as your predominant tone, however, unless you can successfully make it look completed and polished: it can look unfinished, by the same coin.

and lastly black: slick and complicated as well as flat and simple. you can play it up or down or in or out depending on with what other colors it is partnered. it has the clean, crispness of a night sky or a certain uncharted feeling.