Color Harmony Compendium

30 Color Harmony Compendium

Special Effects of Color

Necessity may be the mother of

invention, but it is our continual quest

for change that leads to innovation. This

principle has governed color research

over the ages.

In ancient Egypt, Cleopatra couldn’t

exactly send a slave to the drugstore for

a new lipstick. So the Queen of the Nile

turned instead to her cosmetic wizards,

who transformed flower blossoms and

fine clay into a cornucopia of lip and

cheek rouges and crushed ant eggs

into eyeliner.

Artists spent centuries as veritable

prisoners in their studios until the inven-

tion of pigment tubes, which finally

allowed them to paint en plein air. The

Impressionists’ extraordinary marriage

of color and light would have been

impossible had they not taken their pal-

ettes and brushes outdoors.

Today’s technological advances in

printing have left no new colors to cre-

ate, so where do we turn for the next

wave in color innovation? Just as the

ever-changing sunlight on a landscape

inspired the Impressionist painters,

metallic, opalescent, and fluorescent spe-

cial effects can transform the way we per-

ceive color. These shimmering finishes

catch our eye in subtle or dramatic ways,

capturing and reflecting light while adding

surface interest and a fresh dimension to

the spectrum.

The psychological implications of

these special effects also offer designers

a new avenue for reaching out to their

target markets. Fluorescents pop with

an energizing youth and vitality, while

metallics and opalescents speak quietly

of refined taste and exclusivity.

Do you want to imply affluence?

From antique chalices and crowns to the

cry of “Eureka!” in the gold rush days,

shiny metallics have always held a special,

moneyed allure for both the obvious

intrinsic value of the ore itself and its

use as coin of the realm. But today, the

very mention of the word gold or silver

conjures images of power and success.

These colors adorn the best athletes in

the world at the Olympic Games and

are reserved for the most prestigious

customers by credit card companies.

Interestingly, even though gold is

the more precious of the two metals, silver

has greater appeal to luxury car buyers in

Asia, Europe, and the Americas, accord-

ing to DuPont’s annual