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The color associations are useless, they're not only varying with cultures, they're varying with individuals, but most importantly they vary in relation to othe

The color associations are useless, they're not only varying with cultures, they're varying with individuals, but most importantly they vary in relation to other colors. What's true is that that certain colors "harmonize" better with others, but little of value can be said about any one color in isolation.

leeoniya 7y ago
i'm on the side of color theory in terms of visual harmony. just not on the definitive psychology side of it.
- weinzierl 7y ago
  > I'm on the side of color theory in terms of visual harmony. I have this unpopular opinion that a lot of color theory in terms of visual harmony - like much of psychology - is a bunch of p-hacked pseudo-science;-) The most telling sign for me is that the relationship between harmonic colors most often are (and have been for a very long time) defined by certain simple angles in a color wheel. While the specific angles have always been the same (like 180 degrees for contrasting colors) the underlying color wheels have changed drastically[1]. Even today the angles are most often interpreted in relation to the hue circle of the HSV (or HSL) model which takes a very simplistic approach to hue angles compared to perceptual models like CIECAM. Fortunately not all designers fall for this quackery. I especially like the summary of the chapter about color harmony from Linda Holtzschue's book "Understanding Color: An Introduction for Designers": > * No single factor determines color harmony. All elements of a color composition contribute to the overall effect. > * The complementary relationship between hues is a strong basis for harmony, but it is not the only basis. Any hues used together can be made to be harmonious. > * Even intervals between colors contribute to harmony. Even intervals are pleasing whether between colors of different hue, different value, different saturation, or any combination of these qualities. [1] https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/vismixmap.html https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/vismixmap.html

leeoniya 7y ago

i'm on the side of color theory in terms of visual harmony. just not on the definitive psychology side of it.

weinzierl 7y ago
> I'm on the side of color theory in terms of visual harmony. I have this unpopular opinion that a lot of color theory in terms of visual harmony - like much of psychology - is a bunch of p-hacked pseudo-science;-) The most telling sign for me is that the relationship between harmonic colors most often are (and have been for a very long time) defined by certain simple angles in a color wheel. While the specific angles have always been the same (like 180 degrees for contrasting colors) the underlying color wheels have changed drastically[1]. Even today the angles are most often interpreted in relation to the hue circle of the HSV (or HSL) model which takes a very simplistic approach to hue angles compared to perceptual models like CIECAM. Fortunately not all designers fall for this quackery. I especially like the summary of the chapter about color harmony from Linda Holtzschue's book "Understanding Color: An Introduction for Designers": > * No single factor determines color harmony. All elements of a color composition contribute to the overall effect. > * The complementary relationship between hues is a strong basis for harmony, but it is not the only basis. Any hues used together can be made to be harmonious. > * Even intervals between colors contribute to harmony. Even intervals are pleasing whether between colors of different hue, different value, different saturation, or any combination of these qualities. [1] https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/vismixmap.html https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/vismixmap.html