Amber Houbara

May 31, 20196 min read

3.7.1 Assignment Three - Colour Me...

Updated: Jan 6, 2021

THE BRIEF -

For this assignment I was asked to -

I should produce a poster (297mm x 420mm) that celebrates a colour of my choice.
I should Choose a colour that has a meaning that I want to explore and celebrate
what this colour means to me and to other people?
celebrate that meaning in the design
working only with my chosen colour and its complimentary colours as well as black and white. also using black and white to play with the tints of the chosen colour.
pay attention for the visual dynamics and the meaning both need to be expressed.
at least 3 variations as well as the finished artwork

Choosing a Colour

I chose the colour pink. It is a very festive colour which I usually don't pick and usually tend to avoid since its so "Girly-like", But there are interesting shades and mystery about it that I would love to explore.

THE MEANING OF PINK

I started mind mapping about the meaning of pink to me, I came up with many things -

Optimistic

Fun

Love/ Romantic

Endless Possibilities

Empowering

Calm

Vintage

Sweet

Sunrise/ Sunset

Pink Clouds

Pink Moon

Pink Beach/ Pink Sand

Glam

Girly

Feminine

Blossom

Architecture

Flamingos

Classic

All images are taken from my Pinterest Board "Pink" will be attached below.

The meaning of the colour pink in the world

(to other people)

according to this article - https://www.bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-pink/

"Pink, a delicate color that means sweet, nice, playful, cute, romantic, charming, feminine, and tenderness, is associated with bubble gum, flowers, babies, little girls, cotton candy, and sweetness."

"The color pink is the color of universal love of oneself and of others. Pink represents friendship, affection, harmony, inner peace, and approachability."

I liked the idea of self love and inner peace!

"Pink is the official color for little girls and represents sugar and spice and everything nice. Pink is the sweet side of the color red. While the color red stirs up passion, aggression, and action, large amounts of the color pink can actually create physical weakness."

I myself would like to call it vulnerability rather then weakness.

"Both red and pink represent love. The color red represents heat and passion, while the color pink represents romance and charm. Hot pink is used to communicate playfulness, while light pink is used to communicate tenderness."

"Pink gemstones are believed to bring about serenity, relaxation, acceptance, and contentment, as well to neutralize disorder or soften frustration."

"Additional words that represent different shades, tints, and values of the color pink: salmon, coral, hot pink, fuschia, blush, flesh, flush, fuchsia, rose."

THE HISTORY OF THE COLOUR PINK AND POLITICAL MANNERS

Then I read this interesting article about the history of the colour Pink-

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-history-pink

"Pink has always been a spectacular contradiction. It’s simultaneously fresh-faced and sophisticated, alien (a 17th-century Chinese word for pink meant “foreign color”) and internal (from our mouths to musculature), and at home in both high and low culture. In Japan, it serves as wistful symbol of the slain samurai; in Korea, it’s interpreted as a sign of trustworthiness."

"In the West, pink has shifted from one extreme to the next over the last three centuries. Eighteenth-century fashion helped to popularize the shade, which was a favorite of the pastel-loving European bourgeoisie. Pink received a fuchsia facelift during the 1960s Pop Art movement and a neon-soaked ’90s revival, before settling down as the pale, “post-gender” center of every millennial moodboard. From Renaissance portraits to rose gold iPhones..."

"Pink rarely appears in nature, which may explain why the color only entered the English language as a noun at the end of the 17th century. But in other languages, the shade remains difficult to pin down. “In Japan, at least seven different terms are used for pink shades,”

I've realised it wasn't a real colour in the colour scheme, and that it wasn't even a noun before the 1700 in the English language. I learnt about the meaning of this colour in different cultures. It said Pink is rarely appears in nature, but I can recall a lot of plants and flowers that contain this colour including pink sand beaches and canyons. I guess in Japan it was pretty known since they have the spring and the Cherry Blossom period which is stunning and defiantly pink.

"Pink’s cultural significance can also vary widely between countries. In contemporary Japanese culture, says Nemitz, pink is perceived as a masculine and mournful color that represents “young warriors who fall in battle while in the full bloom of life.” In Germany, pink is “rosa”—a hue that’s “bright, soft, peaceful, sweet, and harmless,” she explains..."

I liked the refer of Japanese tradition for pink and how it is actually masculine and more then that, it has such a great meaning when the young men who loses the battle blooms of life in pink!

In Germany, which in my eyes resemble Europe in general, the meaning of pink is very harmless classic, sorry, bright, peaceful and sweet. which I can see on their architecture and cultural aesthetics when using pink.

"..Praised by proto-psychologists of the late 18th century, pink was recommended as the bedroom color of choice for the business-minded gentleman for a restorative and uplifting home base."

That was another interesting fact in my eyes. pink add so much energy to the bedroom, on one side, romantic and passionate, on the other side calm and soft.

"Then came the rise of digital aesthetics in the 1990s. “We discovered the mysteries of this former taboo color, its capacity to move us and frighten us,” says Nemitz. “It is thus a driving force in contemporary art.”.."

I agree and relate with this statement .

"“How often do you see pink in architecture or machinery?” asks photographer and performance artist Signe Pierce. “How often is pink presented outside of a gendered perspective?” Her digitally manipulated photography saturates everyday scenes with a spectrum of pink, in response the color’s hyper-feminization beginning in the ’90s. “The insistence upon socializing women to identify with a color that doesn't exist in the ‘real world’ is, to me, a testament towards the patriarchal hierarchies that work to keep women submissive in everyday life,” Pierce says."

That was shocking to me! I didn't know pink wasn't so "girly" before the 90's and more then that the psychology of how matching a non realistic colour to a sex is defiantly shocking and I completely agree.

The difference between cultures really interested me, so I was thinking why not exploring a little bit further with it.

https://www.oyster.com/articles/51411-why-these-7-colors-are-super-important-in-some-countries/

"In Japan, for example, pink relates more to men than women, although it's worn by both genders. In Korea, it symbolizes trust, and in Latin America, it's symbolic to architecture."

"For many years, pink was an unrecognized color in China until it emerged into the culture due to increasing Western influences—the Chinese word for it translates as "foreign color.""

"And in general, pink is said to be mentally stimulating, reduce violent behavior, and make people feel calmer and more controlled, which is why many prison holding cells are painted this color."

another interesting article about japan and the colour pink.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/05/our-lives/japans-national-obsession-with-the-color-pink/#.XHz6ci1L01g

COMPLIMENTARY COLOURS

That article led me to 2 further articles about "the colour of the year 2016" which was Rose Quartz (a kind of mineral pink) and Serenity (a light blue).

"Explaining the choice, the company cited “societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumer’s increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage.” "

From the article "Pantone’s Color(s) of the Year Have a Political Edge"

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/fashion/pantones-color-s-of-the-year-have-a-political-edge.html?_r=0

"In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design. This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumer's increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage."

https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-of-the-year/color-of-the-year-2016

image source - https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/fashion/pantones-color-s-of-the-year-have-a-political-edge.html?_r=0

When I started exploring, I already had few questions in mind-

1. which colour is the complimentary of Pink, which I've found straight away is light Green.

2. Would light blue or turquoise be considered complimentary to pink.

As seen in nature, light pink and light blue go hand in hand, in my eyes even more naturally then green. and I was wondering if I can use light blue in my design (or other shades of blue -turquoise)