From the course: Graphic Design Foundations: Layout and Composition

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Color and meaning in layout

Color and meaning in layout

From the course: Graphic Design Foundations: Layout and Composition

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Color and meaning in layout

- One of the challenges we have as designers, is that design is often subjective. Color is the most volatile aspect in our toolbox. One person may love avocado green. Another may despise it. And these responses are very personal. If I suggest that your favorite color, orange, is bad, you'll take it personally. So, when dealing with color, tread lightly and allow others to have illogical responses. We give meaning to colors based on our own personal experience. I know that red means romance, love and Valentine's cards. But to someone else, it reads as anger, war, blood or danger. I have a special fondness for ochre because it was the tone of the wallpaper at my grandparents' house. But, I've never been able to persuade a client to use it. To everyone else, it reads as muddy yellow. There are however, times when the meaning of the color overrides the emotional response when the corporate color is a specific blue, that…

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