Color and shapes have the ability to invoke emotion, set themes and be a tool of non-verbal communication. Let’s review some examples of color:
Red is hot. It’s a strong color that conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare.
Orange radiates warmth and happiness, combining the physical energy and stimulation of red with the cheerfulness of yellow.
Green is the color of balance and growth. It can mean both self-reliance as a positive and possessiveness as a negative, among many other meanings.
Blue is the color of trust and peace. It can suggest loyalty and integrity as well as conservatism and frigidity
Purple is the color of the imagination. It can be creative and individual or immature and impractical.
The color psychology of pink is unconditional love and nurturing. Pink can also be immature, silly and girlish
The color brown is a serious, down-to-earth color that relates to security, protection and material wealth.
From a color psychology perspective, gray is the color of compromise – being neither black nor white, it is the transition between two non-colors.
Gold is the color of success, achievement and triumph. Associated with abundance and prosperity, luxury and quality, prestige and sophistication, value and elegance, the color psychology of gold implies affluence, material wealth and extravagance.
Shapes have equal Inaudible qualities. Take these for example:
The beginning of any visual symbol is the dot or point. Before anything else can be created, a dot must be made. The dot is a symbol of the self and beginning.
The line is a symbol of boundary and division. A straight line represents infinity because it can continue in either direction indefinitely.
The use of the spiral in sacred art can be traced back to the most primitive societies. The spiral has been one of the most used shapes in religious and magical symbolism. This may be because the spiral occurs often in nature: animal horns, the human ear, snail shells, and fern fronds.
The circle is the universal symbol of unity and infinity. Many scholars believe it was most likely man’s first symbol. The circle is symbolic of all cycles: the seasons, life and death, the movement of the planets; the self, eternity.
Triangles represent strength and all things/concepts with a triple nature. The downward pointing triangle is a feminine symbol; the upward pointing triangle is a masculine symbol.
The square is a symbol of stability, honesty, justice, shelter and safety; limitation, security, and permanence.
The combination of color and shapes influence our lives on a daily basis. We take cues from street signs, directing and instructing us. We are sold goods and services through adverts that strike emotional chords within us. This dynamic is vital in branding design and must be considered from the very beginning of any creative pursuit.
