The man bent over his guitar,
A shearsman of sorts. The day was green.
They said, “you have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are.”
The man replied, “Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue guitar.”
-Wallace Stevens (1879-1955), The Man with the Blue Guitar
About Blue:
The word for blue didn’t exist in many cultures. The ancient Greeks had no term for the color blue.
Until the invention of synthetic color people only had a few substances to create blue paint. Blue does not appear in a prehistoric rock paintings.
Today blue can be a positive color, however in ancient Europe it was despised and often feared.
Famous Logos Using Blue:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Ford Motor Company and Facebook
Thank you to Anne Varichon’s Book – Colors, What They Mean and How to Make Them, for supplying content and inspiration. See what McKenna Design Group has been up to.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture in color is worth millions.
Color has an important role in our daily lives since it has the power to communicate without words. Humans also naturally associate color with a mood since it can be hard to put words to what we are feeling. The most recognizable brands in the world rely on color as a key factor in their instant recognition.
Color engages and increases participation more than something in just black and white. Tests indicate that a black and white image may sustain interest for less than two-thirds a second, whereas a colored image may hold the attention for two seconds or more1. Color can improve readership by 40 percent2, learning from 55 to 78 percent3, and comprehension by 73 percent4.
Color is rooted in human history and culture. Color can have a big impact on User Experience. It is important to know the deeper meaning of color so you know how and when to use it appropriately. The next 2 weeks follow us to learn fun and interesting facts about your favorite colors.
(1) The findings were reported in the May 2002 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, published by the American Psychological Association (APA) “The Contributions of Color to Recognition Memory for Natural Scenes,” Felix A. Wichmann, Max-Planck Institut für Biologische Kybernetik and Oxford University; Lindsay T. Sharpe, Universität Tübingen and University of Newcastle; and Karl R. Gegenfurtner, Max-Plank Institut für Biologische Kybernetik and Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen; Journal of Experimental Psychology – Learning, Memory and Cognition, Vol 28. No.3., 5-May-2002
(2)”Business Papers in Color. Just a Shade Better”, Modern Office Technology, July 1989, Vol. 34, No. 7, pp. 98-102
(3) Embry, David, “The Persuasive Properties of Color“, Marketing Communications, October 1984.
(4) Johnson, Virginia, “The Power of Color”, Successful Meetings, June 1992, Vol 41, No. 7, pp. 87, 90.
McKenna Design Group is a full-service marketing communications and technology firm in Chicago. Hire us and we'll develop integrated, results-driven solutions. Our promise? Return on Experience.® We build a brand so customers advocate for you.
