17 ms·
Ask HN: Why Everything Is Purple?
Websites, brands, logos, most new videogame characters, details that don't really fit.
- themodelplumber 4y agoThe colors of the Ukrainian flag have blended together in our minds and they are taking over everything.
- jstx1 4y agoThat would be green.
- themodelplumber 4y agoDepends on your blending model, there are probably hundreds that produce purple don't come in here with your green ;-)
- jstx1 4y agoMy kindergarten education has betrayed me...
- themodelplumber 4y agoI mean it makes sense. If your only tool is fingerpaints, then every blend model will probably start and end with RYB...
- ggm 4y agoIt was being used by Cadburys chocolate, Silk Cut Cigarettes, and the women's movement (purple, white and green are the colours of the suffragette movement) for years before the Interwebz. The book "Mauve" is worth reading. A great story of the birth of modern pharma from the roots of dye-making in the UK and Germany I think it's possible that its a self re-inforcing memetic quality: because some successful re-branding has taken Mauve-Lilac-Purple on board, its busting out.
- sebastianconcpt 4y agoYes many legit users from years ago. But in the last two years it exploded. It's a blatant exaggeration. Soon we'll have Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman forced to purple. A lot of brands are purpling themselves all they can.
- ggm 4y agoThe reasons people go to colours can be varied. If you told me there are good colour fast, sun resistive purple dyes now, and that its a hue in times past which failed in public use, but now works, I could believe it. Yellow and gold has had it's day, but in Australia, you cannot go past "green and gold" as a subliminal signal "it's australian" and red-white-and-blue is very very old school here, we have far lower tolerance for flag-patriotism than the USA. Canada is stuck on red and white, for similar reasons. If the mounties had been uniformed in Purple, things might be different north of the border. People used to talk about the "pink dollar" being coded language for product which was gay friendly. Maybe purple is a newer walk to a shade/hue which is undefined in that space and so can appeal to people of all kinds. Undefined, but with strong roots in the womens sphere, its been a colour of womens services in all kinds of ways for decades (centuries even) It's said 75% or more of significant purchases in families vest in women's decision making, not withstanding the inverse balance of income. Maybe purple-ising the logosphere is in part a reaction to attract womens discretionary decision-making powers?
- jstx1 4y agoIt's the color of the year - https://www.pantone.com/uk/en/color-of-the-year-2022 https://www.pantone.com/uk/en/color-of-the-year-2022
- iamben 4y agoBlue is serious and business, red is danger or a warning, green is eco and earthy, yellow is fun, etc. Purple is the "we're a brand, but we're not stuffy and serious!" colour.
- ffhhj 4y agoDesigners got bored of everything about electronics being blue... next bluish tone in the color wheel? Purple.
- TheCapeGreek 4y agoI just like it.