User:DeannaConnell

=Analytical Writing=

Statement of Intent
I am interested in is the effect of color and color combinations on the human psyche. Since color theory is strangely no longer a required part of my major (Media Arts and Animation) there is a whole spectrum of knowledge that I find fascinating that I might not encounter otherwise. Answering things like: What works? What doesn't? And why?

I'd also like to do a study on video games in two major distinctions: those for the sake of game play (i.e. Katamari Damacy) and those for the sake of story (i.e. most RPGs). Of course, there will be some example games that fall between the two extremes, and opinions of game reviews (as sources) will vary. Answering things like: What makes a game lean toward one or the other? How do differing opinions rationalize their point of view?

Overview

 * One paper on color theory (~5,000-6,000 words optimistically or a ~2,000 word paper and visual demonstration)
 * One paper on video game focuses (length to be discussed)

Rationale
I hope to really find something that catches my attention other than schoolwork and to expand my knowledge base. Now I have a reason to truly devote time to research. Plus, it's relevant to a possible future-field of work, which is a bonus.

Publication
I'm not really interested in publication. The video game paper might do well in the school's magazine, but unless my work is exceptional, that is all.

Schedule

 * Week 2: Bulk research, basic outline
 * Week 3: Gather sources, fill in any needed quotes
 * Week 4: Flush out details, theories
 * Week 5: Compile
 * Week 6: Writing
 * Week 7: Writing
 * Week 8: Some extra research
 * Week 9: Bulk writing, video game paper research, workshop!
 * Week 10: Edit, finalize, write video game paper (2nd paper canceled due to tech issues)
 * Week 11: Turn in, hopefully.

Anticipated Problems
Major issues I might encounter:


 * 1) Procrastination: Seriously, I'm probably the worst procrastinator ever. The only real solution is to just sit down and do it and stop whining about it.
 * 2) Scope of projects: Might be taking on too much here, so will have to consult with the instructor about the overall plan of action.
 * 3) Other homework and time management: Things often get hectic, and it's not always the fault of my procrastination. I need to set a realistic amount of time for each course and stick to it, despite my dislike of schedules.

Week 6 Project Review
An assessment of my work so far: limited, but building up. I have acquired a few sources and have decided on a structure. I will divide my paper by color and attempt to mention both culture and biology for each. My colors will be in a pretty basic scope and should follow a fairly logical order; Red (mention of pink), yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, brown, and a small distinction of shade and color (black). I plan to weave a “story” throughout the paper, incorporating moments of various videogames, ending with a scene from actual life. This will sort of mirror my search for a definitive answer as to “why,” only to find that the only answer is “none.”

As of now, this planning is the bulk of what I have accomplished. I have selected some specific videogame scenes and environments I will use for certain and outlined them. I’ve also discovered that getting into the science of color is pretty heavy, almost dull stuff, so I will attempt to liven it up and present it in a more entertaining matter. I still really need to work on my time management, but I feel far more comfortable with were I am now than previously.

Before Or During Week 6

 * Dividing paper between culture and biology.
 * Dividing by color might be fun.
 * Video game examples?
 * Some discussion of the fact that there are no definitive answers.


 * Shift due date for due date for color theory.
 * Shrinking video game paper.

Project
Author's Note: Due to some unfortunate technical issues, like scrambled/corrupted data etc. I'd like to apologize for the quality of my final composition; reworking most of this beast last-minute was not planned and a real pain. I had to cut out the 'green' section due to time constraints, but am willing to re-add it if asked for. Otherwise, enjoy. :)

The Psychology of Color, In Color

I never really liked the traditional color combination for Christmas. Red and green, green and red, when one dominates the other all is well. But in even amounts? Forget it. With that said, I always love the harmony of orange with blue. They are compliments, like the aforementioned pair, but... they are just different.

But why?

‘Why’ has sent me on this little search for knowledge, a search for something deeper to the very thing that makes life so real; color. I started with color theory, but quickly discovered that that was not where my answers were. So, pondering and puzzling over were to look next, hand-held gaming device firmly planted in my hand, it dawned on me. The reaction that these colors invoke was more than science or theory, it was something deeper rooted into our cultures and hard-coded into our systems.

Again, the aching question of why seared itself into my mind. Why do people feel how they feel about colors? Looking down at the game console still humming music up at me, recalling scenes from environments made by digital artists. I wanted to know why I loved-or hated- those colorful worlds so.

Thus the merging of a passion of mine in video games and a curiosity in color began. This essay is a journey through man-made worlds and the human subconscious: color psychology exemplified in video games. Red seemed like a good place to start.

''Beads of sweat gather beneath the plates of steel wrapped about me like a second skin, a second chance. Looking down, and consequently at my armor, would only add to the psychological torment, cast color from this environment a reminder of blood on the silver plates. Swallowing hard in a terrified gulp and almost gasping for air, my heart is racing and I haven’t even encountered my foes yet.''

''The heat was unexpected-- fighting demons, sure, scaling towers and avoiding traps, I was prepared, but the sheer heat of this place would drive me mad before too long. The smoky crimson sky stared mockingly down at me, casting this entire world in an angry red hue. Its master and my enemy was indeed the ruler of wrath.''

''Here I was, alone in Oblivion, scarlet rivers of lava running by my side, maroon hued weeds growing in the rusty dirt I tread hurriedly. Everything here screamed danger, but it was empowering with a vibrancy grassy plains just couldn’t match and musty dungeons would never see.''

- The Plains of Oblivion, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.

Red is a color of many faces and connotations, often negative but always seeking your attention. Easily the color of excitement and power, hues of red have come to be perceived as anything from zeal to extreme danger. It is a heated color reminiscence of fire, earning its connection with anger or passion from a face’s red-pink flush. Stimulating the body and giving it energy, it even increases blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate very quickly.(1) And crimson is of course the color of blood, making it a popular choice if trying to convey vitality. A triumphant Roman general would even have his entire body painted red in honor of his achievements.(2) Industrialized nations associate the most focus grabbing color with stop, danger and an overall “pay attention!(3) while Far Eastern countries also relate it to luck and many older cultures as a sign of beauty. It is often observed that being surrounded by red will cause a reaction, some emotion in general whether truly justified or not(4), or at the very least make you hungry.

After being exposed to the full-frontal assault of saturated red, perhaps some soothing pink would be in order. Essentially red and white in varying degrees, the color pink is a well-known symbol of love, kindness, and romance. Even though bright pinks are almost as stimulating as pure red, they seem to go about their reactions in a more sensitive manner.(5) Specific shades of this offshoot have been observed to have a physically tranquilizing effect, often adorning the walls of old jail cells or visiting team locker rooms. Pink is universally the color of happiness and is sometimes seen as even lighthearted. Optimists are often accused of seeing the world “through rose-colored glasses.” One small word of warning, it’s still a red. Long-term exposure has been proven to cause greater agitation than even its parent color!(6)

Other than red or pink, what color always attracted my attention most? After looking about, it was as obvious as the highlighter on my desk: yellow.

''My gentle winged companion came to perch vigilantly on my shoulder, tiny body puffing with the effort of catching my steps. Under the golden sun there was no mistaking those amber rooftops, beacons to the weary travelers and fun-seeking youth. With one tiny glimpse along the treetops and my body just jolted into action, grin spreading across my countenance as we neared.''

''Out of breath but not out of excitement, we had stopped to rest in a honey-hued shadow beneath the blond towers, a visitor center. Eyes wide and mouth gaping, the awe of such a massive place was redoubled, being so much bigger than my home town.''

And it really did live up to its name.

''Chirp chirp! Quivering with excitement, my friend’s sandy chest spat out the exclamation anxiously. Drawing my attention back to earth, I tensed. My rival, a scowling red-head, had stumbled across me, anger seeping out across the open square… The energy in the atmosphere decided there was only one way to settle this.''

- Goldenrod City, Pokemon Crystal

Yellow really is the happiest color, with positive associations ranging from a nice summer day to the Cheerios’ box in the supermarket. Often related to optimism and warmth, the term “sunny disposition” comes to mind quite naturally. While red is the more energetic color, yellow is considered far more spontaneous and swift, quickly stimulating the brain and nervous system.(7) With the increased mental stimuli, it promotes clear thinking and applied imagination, which is why it is often used for legal pads.(8) It is the most visible color on the spectrum and fatiguing to the eye,(9) making it a popular choice to denote caution, like the yellow light in a traffic signal. Furthermore, too much of the color can overload the aforementioned mental systems, causing anxiety. People often lose their tempers and babies are more apt to cry when surrounded by brighter yellow hues for too long.(10) During the tenth century in France, the doors of traitors and criminals were painted yellow, probably to draw negative attention to the inhabitants.(11)

Fittingly, mixing the last two colors lead right into my next, orange.

Orange is a perfect marriage, having everything its two parents could ever want. Dynamic, flamboyant, and friendly, it meshes the energy of red and the happiness of yellow to suggest the positive connotations of both colors. In fact, most attributes of red and yellow are present in this color to a lesser degree.(12) In China and Japan, orange is even used to symbolize happiness and often times love.(13) Being highly visible when concentrated and a contrast to blue, it too is a popular choice for important notices such as construction signs or clearance sales. More or less, muted tones of orange settle into a comfortable, inspiring warmth nostalgic of a winter day spent by the fire. It is also very seasonal, attributed to Halloween and Thanksgiving, the latter holiday very fitting for this appetite stimulating color.(14)

The depth of the earth can be found the orange-gray mix,(15) brown. As familiarity and stability resonate, browns are universally accepted as the grounding aspect of nature. Lighter browns are dry and arid, deeper hues are much more fertile. Often tied to commonality and humility, a traditional mindset going back to peasantry, it is considered a warm versatile neutral in contemporary terms.(16) It is truly timeless and a consistent reminder or home.

''A chill shot through my spine, dreary, dreaded, cold. Around me was nothing unusual, nothing stranger than what I had encountered before. Yet, something horrid hung over this place, inky blue shadows staring at me from the dusty, dirty umber shelves. This ancient library had something lurking in it, though all signs pointed to simply “abandoned.”''

''Gusting and tearing through the black rafters and sweeping with a silver hues, the daylight peaking down from the rotten green roof shuttered. Oh, I hoped this place wasn’t cursed.''

I needed something vital here, a book of legend bound in regal reds.

''If only life was black and white. Perhaps then it would be less eerie to creep across the gray blue floor and endure the oppressive midnight walls. More terrifying drama would be preferable to this growing depression and heartache. My eyes felt sad, exhausted, the uplifting cerulean patches of daylight unable to break the bleak dark ceil hue. This place is draining me with heartless abandon.''

''Suddenly, a burst of energy swelled in my chest. Red, in a land of blues, stood warming the brown shelf beneath it. The shelves really were brown. Grasping the deep crimson binding, life was renewed and eyes strained awake. Real frustration at my fear came and went as the journey retracing my steps out seemed so short.''

- Ancient Library of Magic, Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean

Blue is the color that most likely has the least negative associations with it to this day. The color of calm, peace, and integrity, focusing on blue is proven to reduce your pulse, respiration rate and lower your blood pressure.(17) Much like fire and water, nearly any quality given to red shades can be reversed and attributed to blue hues. Stretching limitlessly out as the sky, ocean, and life giving water, there is an openness to blue that is still seen as trustworthy, dependable, and committed.(18) Lighter blues are often more carefree and innocent, reminiscent of a summer sky, while darker blues like navy are consistent and loyal.(19) However, not all blues are of positive persuasion. The exceptions of depression and melancholy are best exemplified through Pablo Picasso, whose ‘blue period’ was not only a time of struggle financially, but emotionally as well.(20) Even in the English phrase, ‘feeling blue’ is an another way of saying being downcast.

Had I found my answer?

''Majestic cityscape cloaked in orchid light stretches on for miles triumphantly, proudly, flickering with silver lights in a soft display. Below my platform in this upper class district sank the dark and dank, the solemn plum twisting a tale all its own. What was down there? What creatures, cultures, chaos hung in the underworld?''

''Imagine street fights and Jedi knights, a musty saffron and crimson world full of so much more life than here. Or maybe they are even better off than those atop the world, who exist so comfortably as is. Mayhap even a jungle existed along the undercarriages of the buildings, where off-worlders go to hunt Wookies or Rancors.''

''“Come on, let’s get going. We have to find her.” The calm voice of the soldier broke me from my trance. “I’m beginning to think something happened to you when we crash-landed, with the way you space off.”''

''“It’s… nothing. Let’s go.”'' - Taris, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Purple is a child of mixed blood, so to speak, meshing the excitement of red with the calm of blue to strike a harmony that is often considered nurturing and passionate, nostalgic and even romantic. The nonphysical properties of it extend far past that, however, since drifting off in daydreams in a common occurrence when surrounded by paler hues.(21) It is a negotiator of colors, well liked but often full of mixed messages. In being mysterious, purple transcends to spiritual attachment, often a preferred substitute for black in mourning garb in several cultures.(22) Deep, rich hues of this color have long been associated with wealth, power, and royalty due to the sheer difficulty to produce in pre-industrial times.(23) This cultural inheritance is still seen today, though mainly as tradition rather than reality. With very little purple occurring naturally, it can often take on an exotic or fake connotation, simply adding to the allure or repellent of application.(24)

So really, why do people feel how they feel about colors? I had traveled time, space, universes, and the World Wide Web in search for my answer. Still, there really is no one solution that presented itself, not even through the thousands of words written and thousands more sifted away.

Yet, I feel my time well spent here, now, with a curiously satisfied. Beyond science, theory, and stereotypes, we all have a subjective view of color, effected by our biology, cultures, personalities and life experiences. It is our nature, to be different in the same state of humanity.

SOURCES

1 Smith, Kate. "All About the Color Red." Sensational Color. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. 

2 Ramsey, William. "Triumphus." 1875. MS. University of Glasgow, London. LacusCurtius. 8 Jan. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. .

3 Karwowski, Waldemar. International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors. Boca Raton, FL: CRC/Taylor & Francis, 2006. Print. pg. 1518

4 Robertson, S. (Editor). Contemporary Ergonomics 1996. Boca Raton: CRC, 1996. ISBN 0748405496 pgs. 148-150

5 Sutton, Tina. The Complete Color Harmony. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport,, 2004. Print. pgs. 168-9

6 "Color Matters - The Effects of Color on the Body." Color Matters - Everything about Color - from Color Expert Jill Morton. Color Voodoo Publications, 1999. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. .

7 Smith, Kate. "All About the Color Yellow." Sensational Color. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. 

8 Sutton, Tina. The Complete Color Harmony. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport,, 2004. Print. pgs. 158-9

9 Cherry, Kendra. "Color Psychology - Yellow." About.com. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.

10 "Color Matters - Vision." Color Matters - Everything about Color - from Color Expert Jill Morton. Color Voodoo Publications, 1999. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. .

11 David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace. "Trivia on Facts, History, and Meanings of the Color Yellow | Trivia Library." Trivia on Movies, Music, TV, Sports, Science & More | Trivia-Library.com. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. .

12 Sutton, Tina. The Complete Color Harmony. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport,, 2004. Print. pgs. 160-1

13 Smith, Kate. "All About the Color Orange." Sensational Color. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. 

14 Pawlik-Kienlen, Laurie. "The Subconscious Psychology of Color: How Different Reds, Greens, and Blue Hues Affect Mood and Emotions." Cognitive Psychology. 5 May 2008. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.

15 "Some Experiments on Color", Nature 111, 1871, in John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (1899). Scientific Papers. University Press. .

16 Sutton, Tina. The Complete Color Harmony. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport,, 2004. Print. pgs. 170-1

17 Sutton, Tina. The Complete Color Harmony. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport,, 2004. Print. pgs. 164-5

18 Smith, Kate. "All About the Color Blue." Sensational Color. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. 

19 Sutton, Tina. The Complete Color Harmony. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport,, 2004. Print. pg. 23

20 Cirlot,1972, p.6

21 Sutton, Tina. The Complete Color Harmony. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport,, 2004. Print. pgs. 166-7 22 Smith, Kate. "All About the Color Purple." Sensational Color. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. 

23 Varichon, Anne Colors: What They Mean and How to Make Them New York:2006 Abrams Page 161 24 Cherry, Kendra. "Color Psychology - Purple." About.com. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.