The Complete Color Harmony

32

   

Job no:59657 Title : Rockport-Complete Colour Harmony Client : Provision

Scn :

#

175 Size : 171.45(w)228.6(h)mm Co : M8 Q O/P: V

Dept : DTP D/O : 04.10.03 (Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.02 Co: CM0)

p32

8 8

Job no:5

Scn :

#

1

Dept : D

text

Special Effects for 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

palettes and brushes outdoors.

Today’s technological advances in

printing have left no new colors to create,

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 special effects can trans-

form the way we perceive 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 Global Color

Popularity Report. Since icy grays con-

tain none of the warmth associated with

gold tones, silver implies an aloofness that

sets it apart from the mass market. After

all, we say the rich are born with silver

spoons in their mouths, not gold.

CompColorHarmp001-049/.qxd20/8/04 12:56PM Page32