Speaking Through Color: How Color Choices in Artwork Influence Our Thinking

Artists use their artwork to communicate ideas to an audience. In the area of graphic design it is especially important to communicate ideas effectively, using not only the content of the piece of artwork, but its color palette as well, considering that the goal of many design pieces is to sell a product or idea. It is already established that color influences human emotion, but how does that emotional response enhance the effective communication of artwork, and does that make color the most important aspect of a piece? My presentation will begin with an introduction to basic color theory so that basic concepts of color are understood. This will lay groundwork for the rest of my presentation, which will deal mostly with color in the context of psychology and art history. Classic posters from Jules Chéret and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as well as a painting created by Mark Rothko will be analyzed for the use of color in each piece. Finally, posters created by myself will be shown and a brief explanation of the process used to create the posters will also be given. These posters will illustrate how different color palettes affect human emotion and show that the element of color, alongside concept, should be considered first and foremost when creating a piece of artwork