Living Colorfully in 2024
“Color wheel”, Created by author using Midjourney
AI Disclaimer: I used ChatGPT to help me structure this week’s post and fill-in some details that I didn’t quite remember from my color theory and art history classes.
You wake up in the morning, bursting with energy. Yellow sunlight streams through your windows. You sit up on the corner of your bed, placing your feet on your pink shag rug. Stretch. You grab your favorite blue jeans and pair them with an orange band t-shirt.
You rush down the wooden stairs, brew your cup of coffee, and watch the cream swirl into the chocolatey brown abyss. Sip. You grab your tan reusable bag, silver keys, and rush out your indigo door.
You wave down a yellow cab. As you walk across the grey sidewalk you see the lilac crocuses blooming in your neighbor’s front yard. The skies are clear blue, not a cloud in sight. You see the passing reflections in the glass skyscrapers, the red hot dog stand on the corner, and the budding green trees in Central Park.
To live colorfully.
What in the world does that even mean?
It means that our lives are saturated with color, from the clothes we wear to the spaces we live in. Understanding how we can leverage color begins with exploring its origin.
Color blends science, art, and culture together.
Cultural Perceptions
Grace Fussell states, “In art and anthropology, color symbolism refers to color’s ability to signify meaning and communicate intangible ideas and emotions. If you’ve ever “had the blues” or been so angry “you saw red,” then you’re already familiar with the concept.” (The Meaning of Colors in Cultures Around the World).
Different cultures perceive and value colors in diverse ways.
For example, in ancient Egypt, blue was considered the color of the heavens and hence very auspicious. In China, red has long been associated with good luck and happiness.
It’s extremely important in the interior design industry to understand your clients and how color impacts them. When I have an initial conversation with a client, I always ask them the following two questions:
What’s your favorite color?
What’s your least favorite color?
These two simple questions help me immediately understand how to design for them, what colors to lean into and which colors to avoid. This also helps clients get the most out of a design session, so you aren’t recommending design elements that they’ll have an adverse reaction to.
Here’s a basic chart outlining colors and their meanings across four cultures.
Colors have been assigned various symbolic meanings throughout cultures and history, affecting art, design, and marketing. However, the study of color psychology and its effects on human behavior is relatively modern.
How do colors affect us?
I’m not talking about tracking the changes of your mood ring.
Stay tuned…
Scientific Understanding
The science of color began with the understanding of light. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) was one of the first to theorize about the nature of light and color. However, it was Isaac Newton's experiments in the 17th century that laid the groundwork for modern color theory.
Created by author using Midjourney
Newton demonstrated that clear white light was composed of seven visible colors by passing light through a prism.
Wait, who’s Roy G. Biv?
The seven colors, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet (ROYGBIV) would shape how we define and see color forever. Dramatic? Maybe.
“It is said that he (Issac Newton) actually only observed five colours, but added orange and indigo, to align the number of colours with the number of notes in the musical scale.”
“What are the Colors of the Rainbow?”
Scandal! I’m low key offended that pink didn’t make the list.
This catapults me back to my 9th grade science class, where my friend group made a ridiculous ROYGBIV rap describing the color wheel. To avoid further public humiliation, I’ll avoid sharing that here.
Shout out to Mr. Henderson, who put up with it at the time. We were real lyrical geniuses.
Art and Pigments
Bringing Color to Your World, Color Marketing Group
Long before the scientific understanding of color, humans were using color for art and decoration. Natural pigments have played a significant role in the history of art and coloration. The usage of natural pigments dates back to prehistoric times —it’s time to channel our inner caveman!
These pigments are derived from various natural sources like minerals, plants, and animals.
Our ancestors discovered color by experimenting with the natural world.
How cool is that?
Here's a deeper look into 8 notable natural pigments:
Red Cow & First Chinese Horse
1. Ochres: Among the earliest pigments used by humans, ochres are naturally tinted clays containing iron oxide. They range in color from yellow to deep orange or brown. Prehistoric cave paintings, such as those in Lascaux, France, prominently feature ochres.
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer
2. Ultramarine: Originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder, ultramarine was one of the most expensive pigments during the Renaissance. Its brilliant blue was favored by many artists, including Michelangelo and Vermeer.
Click on the image to buy this on Amazon, if that’s your thing.
3. Malachite and Azurite: These are copper carbonate minerals. Malachite provides a rich green color, while azurite is used for a deep blue. They were commonly used until synthetic pigments became available.
According to Master Pigments, “Azurite is often pseudo-morphed to a green mineral, malachite, and the two are always found together.”
Cochineal bugs are covered in white wax while infesting cacti, but a hard pinch will reveal the carminic acid that’s abundant in their bodies.
4. Carmine: This vibrant red pigment is made from cochineal, a type of insect. Cochineal dyes were used in Central and South America for centuries before being brought to Europe in the 15th century.
Between 1967 to 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gradually approved cochineal extract and carmine. Cochineal insect derivatives still add color to various yogurts, cakes, candies, and meats. (Cochineal, a red dye from bugs, moves to the lab).
Perhaps, suddenly, my New Year’s Resolution is cutting out yogurt, cake, candy and meat…
Tyrian Purple was not an exact colour, but varied significantly from a warm reddish base through to cool bluish one.
5. Tyrian Purple: This ancient and prestigious dye was made from the secretions of sea snails. It was notoriously expensive to produce and often reserved for royalty.
As stated by Tyrian Purple, The Color of Royalty, “All these snails had to be collected by hand, crushed, salted over three days and then boiled for ten more. Only then would they release the rich purple colour. To ensure the dye didn’t wash out of the fabric, a mordant (a liquid that combines with the dye to render it holdfast) was needed. The most popular of these was urine.”
Ewww.
I’m pretty sure the lingering smell of the sea, fish, and urine, on the dyed fabric would be a hard pass for me.
This is a shibori indigo pattern from artisan at Tarum Bali, Indonesia. Photo by Dimaz Fakhruddin on UnSplash.
6. Indigo: Derived from the leaves of certain plants, indigo has been used for thousands of years to produce a deep blue dye.
It became an incredibly valuable resource in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.
Demand for the dye fueled trade wars, propelled the slave trade, and partially financed the American Revolutionary War, according to the article “What Is Indigo and Why Is It in the Color Wheel?”.
Madder roots
7. Madder: A plant-based pigment, madder has been used for centuries to produce red and pink dyes. The roots of the madder plant contain alizarin, which provide the distinctive color.
Madder was grown as early as 1500 B.C. in Central Asia and Egypt. As stated in this Natural Pigments article, “Cloth dyed with madder root pigment was found in the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun (King Tut) and in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Corinth.”.
Image © by Robert Fuchs, University of Applied Sciences, Cologne
8. Egyptian Blue: One of the first synthetic pigments, Egyptian blue was made by heating a mixture of silica, lime, copper, and an alkali. This process dates back to around 2200 BCE.
Found in many tombs, the picture to the left showcases the use of Egyptian blue on Pharaoh Ay’s (1323-1319 BC.) tomb.
These natural pigments were not just colorants; they held significant cultural, economic, and symbolic value. Their extraction and preparation often involved complex processes, making some of them expensive and highly sought after… even if they smell like urine.
The transition to synthetic pigments in the 19th century marked a significant shift, making a wider array of colors more accessible and affordable. However, natural pigments continue to be valued for their unique qualities and historical significance.
Technological Advances
“Rapidly Evolving Technology”, Created by author using ChatGPT
The opening of trade routes in the 18th century, combined with advances in technology and science, allowed for greater experimentation (or accidents).
In 1704, the German color maker Johann Jacob Diesbach created Prussian Blue by accident in his laboratory. This became the first truly synthetic color.
The story goes that the blue came from mixing the cochineal insect with other ingredients.
Remember those red little bad boys?
If you’d like to go down the rabbit hole of Prussian Blue, check out this article titled, The Color That Changed the World.
The industrial age brought about new ways of creating and using colors, especially with the synthesis of chemical dyes in the 19th century. This revolutionized the availability and variety of colors in fabrics and other materials.
Think about how far we’ve come! With the computer and digital technology industry at an all time hyperspeed, it’s hard to imagine that TVs were black and white only 70 years ago.
Get Coloring, Friends!
In the coming weeks, I plan to do a deep dive on each color, showcasing the best qualities of the color, how to design with it, and why it evokes certain emotions in each of us.
7 colors = 7 weeks of content. Buckle up!
Perhaps the ROYGBIV rap will come out after all… I’m only joking.