Yellow is ANYTHING but Mellow!

    Being my favorite color, I decided that yellow would be the best color to compare in two different cultures, aka the U.S. and China. I figured Eastern vs. Western world associations and meanings would be interesting. Doing a little background research, I found that back in the 20's 'yellow journalism' referred to sensationalist journalism, which distorted news to make a profit, giving yellow a negative connotation. However, that's about the only dirt I could find on yellow (because it's so awesome). To Americans today, the color yellow is a way to stand out and grab someone's attention and is usually associated with being positive. It is perceived as happy, vivacious, joyous, upbeat, warm and inviting. Just think of the sun! Aside from that, most Americans think of how it relates to transportation! Taxis, school buses and warning signs oh my!

 

    Researching China, each color is associated with a direction and one of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water). I learned that yellow is associated with earth and the center. I thought this was interesting, because green or brown would be earthy for us Americans and a centering color would seem to be calming- like a pastel or soft yellow- not a bold and bright one. But, I guess it makes sense seeing as China has given yellow a great deal of prominance, which seems to have started during the Ming dynasty (late 1300's) and continues through today.  So, to the Chinese, yellow is seen as a a royal color, in the way that Americans think of gold (which is also a pretty rockin' color).

    Yet, although yellow is imperial to most of the Chinese, it is also highly symbolic for Buddhist monks' whose robes are yellow. Since they live simplistically, they see yellow as the color closest to earth, and therefore, it signifies humility and selflessness. I thought that this was fascinating that a color could have two drastic meanings such as these two.

 Interestingly enough, they also assoicate yellow with mourning. While I will not wear black to funerals, I also don't think I'll be showing up in all yellow looking like a giant lemon drop. I would consider it disrespectful because to me, yellow is a happy color- which in my mind does not fit with a funeral or mourning. So, I found it intriguing that one culture could associate yellow with these very different meanings. But, one thing is clear, both of our cultures LOVE yellow!

 

Check out my sources:

 

http://www.colorsystem.com/projekte/engl/63chie.htm

http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/colors/2/

https://spectacularvancouver.wordpress.com/2006/11/27/chinese-culture-five-elements%E2%80%A6five-colors/

http://hubpages.com/hub/Colors-and-Their-Meanings-in-Chinese-Culture

Clean Up Your Dirty Mouth

I came across this ad for orbit in People magazine. I thought the color was really effective in drawing my attention.  The geometric design was also very eye-catching and utilized the color scheme effectively. The gum featured in the ad was spearmint, which is normally associated with the color green. Therefore, the green packaging implies that the gum is fresh, innovative and the packaging is environmentally friendly. I thought the use of various shades, tints and saturations of green also made the gum’s packaging interesting to look at, but not overwhelming. There is a consistent pattern that is used which makes the product seem more appealing to a younger audience. Plus, by using monochromatic colors for the packaging, it looks very clean and modern. And, since green has been shown to increase hunger and impulse purchases, I thought that green packaging was a smart way to persuade consumers to do both. So the color green has successfully been used in a commercial application! 

Aesthetically Pleasing Wrapping Paper

In shopping for my cousin’s bridal shower, I stumbled upon this wrapping paper.  I thought it was so cute and it displays many elements of design. There is repetition of the candles themselves as well as their striped, polka dotted and zig zag patterns. The ground space between the candles varies, but it also follows a pattern. This pattern created a balance between the candles.  Also, there was contrast in the color for some of the candles.  The candles with a blue negative space and orange positive space are one example.  While there are many different patterns, one unifying feature that all the candles have is a yellow flame. These bright yellow flames drew my attention to the top of the candle. Similarly, the candles with horizontal stripes drew my attention to the sides. With so much going on on this wrapping paper, the black negative space provided a nice contrast to the brightly colored candles. So as much as this wrapping paper utilizes the elements of design, I’m still using it to wrap birthday presents soon!