For week 4 of visual language, we were tasked with listening to "The Secret Lives of Color" podcast, as well as experiment with a color palette to create four different pieces that represent different aspects of ourselves.
The podcast was very informative and fun to listen to. Kassia St. Clair gave such a thorough, interesting rundown of each color, and really opened my eyes to how color permeates our everyday lives without us knowing. One of the sections that stood out to me were the dye extraction methods. I never knew how colored fabrics were actually created in the ancient world, and hearing how these different species were harvested really showed how hungry humans are for color. I learned that much of our attitude towards certain colors could be explained by the method of extraction; for example, since obtaining purple dye was so difficult, the scarcity of the color elevated its status to represent royalty. It wasn't until purple was able to be mass produced synthetically that it lost its title. I also found it interesting how colors could evoke measurable effects on our physical and mental states. I've always felt that specific colors characterized certain moods better than others, but after learning that colors could actually influence the way we act and think to a larger degree than I thought was very shocking. The podcast definitely peaked my interest in the history of color, and serves as a reminder to place more emphasis on color usage in my designs.
With that in mind, I began to create the four pieces of my color palette assignment. Here is a color palette that I obtained from one of my photos. I feel that it is a pretty accurate reflection of how others perceive me: calm and quiet.
As you can see, the colors are mostly shades of muted blue, purple, and magenta, with a lighter shade of black. Looking at these colors, I already had a certain mood in mind for my four pieces. I wanted to depict very peaceful and dreamlike scenes, since the blues and purples seem like very surreal, atmospheric colors. Because the shades are not bright, I also wanted to make the images seem a bit wistful in a way.
With a combination of simple shapes and the pen tool, I created a set of four images that I am very happy with. I feel that the color palette and content fit me well. The colors are not loud or bight, but rather soft and muted. Each image has a dreamy, surreal feel to it, almost like a storybook.