Throughout American culture, many objects are utilized as symbols. Take, for example, a dove representing peace, or a heart representing love. However, there are also more subtle symbols that have gradually gained their place in American culture as representing common or universal themes in society. Different colors can easily portray a message or symbol to others – simply based on what each color has regularly been correlated with other the past years. Although relying on color as a symbol is not as obvious as relying on straightforward images like the dove or heart, designing the use of colors to portray certain ideas is more commonly found than one might assume.
Almost every American knows the classic tale of The Wizard of Oz – with the characters, Dorothy, her friends and the two opposing witches. In the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, Wicked – which is “The Untold Story of The Wizard of Oz” – designers rely on color psychology to help the audience recognize the personalities of the two opposing witches, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the South). For anyone who has seen Wicked, color psychology was clearly used when the costume designers chose the costumes used for the two witches’ characters. For Elphaba – the Wicked Witch of the West, clothing in shades of black were used, while oppositely, for Glinda – the Good Witch of the South, clothing in shades of white or bright pink were used [see image below].
Since Elphaba was portrayed as the “bad” character, at least moreso in The Wizard of Oz, black in her costumes was used to symbolize an ominous look. The color black is often used to dress “the bad guy” in American films or theater productions, since it also symbolically portrays the sense of mystery, seriousness or even death. On the other hand, Glinda was often dressed in pure white or bright pink costumes. White is often associated with purity and peace, while pink is often associated with spring and femininity. Although it is subtle, the color for such characters’ costumes is a crucial element in costume design because would the characters be perceived the same way if the Wicked Witch of the West came frolicking out in a hot pink dress, while the Good Witch of the South came dragging out in a plain black robe?
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
By golly, they've found Jesus!
For any individual who has browsed for anything online, pop-up advertisements or flashing advertisements on the side of the page are almost guaranteed to bombard the individual’s online experience. Common interruptive advertisements include “clicking here!” to be blown away by optical illusions. But before one becomes a victim of such advertising of optical illusions, one should be aware of the tricks that color can play on us, such as those presented in Josef Albers’ book, Interaction of Color. Albers discusses the color illusion of the after-image/simultaneous contrast and how it can cause unique psycho-physiological experiences.
Referring back to the bothersome online advertisements, an example of the after-image/simultaneous contrast color illusion is seen in the commonly seen “See Jesus!” optical illusion [see below].
Viewers are instructed to focus on the four dots lined up in the middle of the seemingly random-looking image for 30 seconds. Afterwards, viewers can close their eyes, or divert their gaze to a white wall, and lo and behold, an image of Jesus will suddenly appear! Albers provides the explanation that it is innate in our human nature to be inevitably prone to fall for such color deception tricks. The nerve ends on the human retina receive colors, and staring at one particular color for a long time will fatigue that particular color’s sensitivity. Therefore, after staring at the four black dots in the Jesus image for 30 seconds, there will be an automatic shift when attention is taken off of the four black dots – when viewers either close their eyes or divert their gaze to a white wall.
The significance that color deception plays in everyday life is not related to clicking on online advertisements to get a quick entertainment thrill. Ideas such as the after-image/simultaneous contrast emphasize the role that color interaction has in society. Interaction of color is often a determinant of how people perceive things that they encounter in their life, which brings up the interesting fact that no human – even with a trained eye – can prevent falling for color deception.
Referring back to the bothersome online advertisements, an example of the after-image/simultaneous contrast color illusion is seen in the commonly seen “See Jesus!” optical illusion [see below].
Viewers are instructed to focus on the four dots lined up in the middle of the seemingly random-looking image for 30 seconds. Afterwards, viewers can close their eyes, or divert their gaze to a white wall, and lo and behold, an image of Jesus will suddenly appear! Albers provides the explanation that it is innate in our human nature to be inevitably prone to fall for such color deception tricks. The nerve ends on the human retina receive colors, and staring at one particular color for a long time will fatigue that particular color’s sensitivity. Therefore, after staring at the four black dots in the Jesus image for 30 seconds, there will be an automatic shift when attention is taken off of the four black dots – when viewers either close their eyes or divert their gaze to a white wall.
The significance that color deception plays in everyday life is not related to clicking on online advertisements to get a quick entertainment thrill. Ideas such as the after-image/simultaneous contrast emphasize the role that color interaction has in society. Interaction of color is often a determinant of how people perceive things that they encounter in their life, which brings up the interesting fact that no human – even with a trained eye – can prevent falling for color deception.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Paris Hilton as the 21st-century zeitgeist of America
When it comes to summing up the status quo of the present-day, the word “trend” or “mainstream” may come to mind. However, the Germans had originally devised the word, “zeitgeist,” which is defined as the general sociocultural tone of an era, or “the spirit of the times.” Imagine American society decades or centuries from now. What would be the zeitgeist of today’s American society? Although many things can fit as an appropriate answer to this question, there is one single object (or in this case, person) that can, unfortunately, represent America’s present-day society: Paris Hilton. The American socialite probably appears just as often in the news as any other concern of today’s society such as international warfare/terrorism, epidemic diseases or environmental issues. More likely than not, the image of Paris Hilton will live on even centuries later from now because the heiress so easily portrays the supposed highlight of present-day America: consumerism.
The concept of “zeitgeist,” is constantly changing – making it quite similar to design. Design is constantly changing, and the change is based on how previous design has been effective or ineffective in society. For example, with today’s society’s increased awareness of people’s physical handicaps and disabilities – at least compared to the level of awareness that was present a century ago – designers have since altered designed items that were once only adaptable towards the non-handicapped population. For example, what was once a normal stairway in a train station [see left image below], is now a revamped and improved design of a stairway/ramp that is accessible for any person – handicapped or not.
(Left: Personal photo)
(Right: http://gtrcontracting.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/fail-owned-stairway-fail1-150x150.jpg)
All designs, like zeitgeists, hold places in history where future designers can refer to, learn from, and even improve. If Paris Hilton’s position in the zeitgeist of American society could be portrayed as an object in the history of design, Ms Hilton would be comparable to the design of a stairway that heads directly into a wall [see right image above].
The concept of “zeitgeist,” is constantly changing – making it quite similar to design. Design is constantly changing, and the change is based on how previous design has been effective or ineffective in society. For example, with today’s society’s increased awareness of people’s physical handicaps and disabilities – at least compared to the level of awareness that was present a century ago – designers have since altered designed items that were once only adaptable towards the non-handicapped population. For example, what was once a normal stairway in a train station [see left image below], is now a revamped and improved design of a stairway/ramp that is accessible for any person – handicapped or not.
(Left: Personal photo)
(Right: http://gtrcontracting.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/fail-owned-stairway-fail1-150x150.jpg)
All designs, like zeitgeists, hold places in history where future designers can refer to, learn from, and even improve. If Paris Hilton’s position in the zeitgeist of American society could be portrayed as an object in the history of design, Ms Hilton would be comparable to the design of a stairway that heads directly into a wall [see right image above].
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