Pure Power

Color is one of the most interesting and important elements in nature because the eye, the organ of one of the five senses of man, sees nothing but color. Form, as we call it, is seen only because one color is placed against another, and by its position and contrast makes a shape. It is the color of an object, as related to or contrasted with that of other objects, that makes the shape. Form is dependent entirely upon color; in other words, there is no form without color.

This being true, color is more important than form, and the understanding of it is more important in advertising than in any field of applied art, because advertising is naturally dependent upon the eye alone, both as to attention and as to interest. There is nothing in advertising to appeal to the ear, to the smell, to the taste, or to the touch. It is one of the arts, in short, in which sight is the only sense appealed to. Now you may quickly retort "What about television and the videos on the internet?" Think how often you actually listen to advertisements simply to hear them? What normally grabs your attention first? Your eyes. If your eyes like what they see, you will go back and pay attention to any audio that may be present. But on the internet, 99% of advertising is still purely visual.

Since the eye sees only color, and advertising must appeal to the sense of sight, it is one of the most essential, if not the most vital thing for the advertiser to know about. To know color means to know its source, the meaning of each element and the qualities that color tones stand for. Every tone of color has a separate meaning- yellow speaks a definite thing to those who understand it. Blue cannot say what yellow says- neither can red nor violet. Violet, orange and every other color means, each in itself, a definite idea.

If you know how to mix them, you can make of yellow, red and blue create any of the tones that you see in the spectrum chart. Let us deal next with these elements separately. First, with yellow, the one that is nearest like light to the eye. Yellow is the piercing, traveling, progressive, incisive color; in short it is known as the luminous element in color. It is then important that yellow should be used understandingly when you wish to get that effect. The yellow on the spectrum is twelve times as luminous as the purple -twelve times as strong in carrying light.

Violet or purple is the color of shadow, of darkness, of the night-the shadow quality of light. This color has always been used to express mysticism -churches use purple to express the sentiments of mysticism and solemnity. Royalty uses it, and always has-it is known as the "royal purple."

The second element in color is red. The primitive peoples use red to express fire, passion, temper, tumult. This is the reason there is no color known that affects the human intelligence in as quick and as irritating a way as red does. Red irritates the optic nerve; it is aggressive; it arouses the passions in people and brings out their erratic side and spurs people to action. "FIRE SALE" and "BUY NOW" are in bright red letters because you want the viewer to take action NOW.

The other quality, blue, is the opposite of red. Blue is the unfeeling, cold, formal retreating, unsympathetic color. Does not a light, clear blue suggest snow and ice to you? What would you think of "A Trip to Alaska" advertisement with orange, red or yellow for a background? Would you think of advertising "A Trip to the Equator" in the same colors as "A Trip to Alaska"?

Blue and yellow united make green. Do you see why green is such a popular color? If yellow is light, and blue is cool, cool and light appeal to us as a comfortable and pleasing place for summer or hot weather. Why do you suppose the grass and the trees are green, instead of orange and red? They were not made in those bright, strong colors for the reason that there is no continued comfort in them at the time when grass and trees are flourishing. Why do so many people use green wall paper and green hangings for the living room? They do so because green is restful. That is why birds and beasts naturally go to the green fields, with the trees and the blue skies over them.

Green rests, and I want to have you feel that this too is a factor, and that there is a reason why greens and blues are put together as much as they are. You see green more in furniture, carpets, clothes, designs, illustrations and advertisements than any other color. This is true also of textiles and of wall coverings.

Green, orange and purple, having two of the primary colors in them, are the binary colors. They are binary in their nature; they contain two elements. They are a little more interesting than the primary colors- more interesting than pure red, or pure blue, or pure yellow. The green is more interesting than pure blue and pure yellow because it has both light and coolness in it, because it is of a dual nature; in other words, its composition presents variety. Violet or purple is not elemental, and, therefore, has an added interest, although it is not as restful as the green.

Choose your colors wisely for your advertisements as well as your website, business cards, letter heads etc. Matching colors to the product is crucial to drawing people in to your advertisement. You would not use bright reds to advertise a baby lotion nor would you use pale blues and greens to advertise a hot sports car. Keep the colors in mind and you will be well on your way to attracting customers.

Donald DonOmite Hammond has been a freelance webdesigner and programmer for over 10 years. He has done marketing of himself and his products as well as customers' products on their websites. DonOmite is the author of a popular e-book The Psychology Of Advertising

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