Color Essay

1392 Words3 Pages

Color can be a semiotic resource. It has many uses in the cultural association of signs. Some features that contribute as a signifier are saturation, purity, modulation, value and hue. Red can signify danger, green can stand for hope. In most countries black is a sign of mourning. However, in some parts of Europe, brides wear black for their wedding. In China and some other Eastern Asian countries, white is considered the color for mourning. While in America and most of Europe, white is a sign of purity and warn by brides. These contrasts of cultural semiotics make color partly unpredictable. In order for the color to function as a sign, there must be a consensus of meaning. In most cases there is not a consensus that is shared by all societies. There are some regularities and this is what makes color function as a semiotic resource. The challenge is understanding the motivations and interests of different groups. Some colors translate well and some do not. Finding these regularities within groups and applying them as semiotic resources is a challenge (Kress, 2002). Some associations to color are universal and these connections could spread as communication becomes more global (Eiseman, 2000).
Color is an important resource in visual communication. Color has many functions. It can be used to classify people, places and things. The colors of a flag can designate a nation. Corporations and universities use color to distinguish identity. With maps, colors can distinguish water, land, etc. They can mark and identify separate elements. The colors become icons. Color can convey an interpersonal message without language. This can be expressed in the colors that we wear such as ‘the power tie’ or colors that indicate safety and warning. C...

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...d make quick decisions. Color can be the attention grabber they need. This can translate to increased business (Zviran, Te’eni & Gross, 2006).
The effects of color help to understand how audiences may perceive visuals used in business communication. The use of color has become more prevalent in business as the costs of including color graphics has decreased. Color is often used in business communication to represent categories. Some examples would be charts and presentations. A summary of empirical studies on the effects of color by The Program of Research for Investigating Management Information Systems was reviewed in this article. The studies show significant time improvements in business related activities when color was utilized. Also that the use of color improves: recall, search-and-locate tasks, retention, comprehension and decision making (Hoadley, 1990).

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