Color

As we went around taking the photos, I immediately noticed a lot of red everywhere. In the room there was the fire alarm, posters with gasmasks, and outside there were danger signs and other signs that used red to get attention. But the large majority of red I saw was for dangerous things. Red is a very intense, eye catching color so it makes sense to me that it would be used for signs that need attention (stop, danger, fire, etc) but also found it strange that the only non-threatening red thing we saw was a Coca Cola bottle. Again, the intense and eye catching characteristic make consumers see the bottle and be interested in buying it, but after paying attention to all the other uses for red, it almost seems like "danger, do not drink this." It is interesting to see the very different ways the same shade of color is used.




Another thing my group noticed with the colors are how they can be used to mimic what is being advertised. This pawn shop used green and gold, the colors of money. Instead of red to get attention, or a regular blue, they used the color of money so when people read the sign, they also get the color connection. Instead of the color expressing a mood, it is portraying what is being sold.

I had never noticed that color could be used for such different meanings in such different ways. I have always chosen colors based on what looked attractive to me, not for what mood I want to express or what I am representing. Now I understand color a little better and can start using it in a more thought-out way.