SELL NO W TH

CO LO R

FA B E R

N e w Yo rk L o n do n
M c G RA W - H IL L B O O K C O M PA N Y, I N C .

1 9 4 5
TH I S i s a book about color an d people I t has been wr i tten .

to be of pract i cal benefit to modern business to assure the ,

e ffective development o f consumer products merchan dis ing , ,

advertis ing packages di splays

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M ost books on color w ill be found long o n theory and short

o n practi ce Th is perhaps is becau se color i s emoti onal in
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i ts appeal and tends to in sp i re a personal and subj ect ive

vi ewpo int Yet wh ile the so cal led art ist i c aspects o f color may
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be elus ive the facts o f mass human react ion are otherwi se
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For color in in dustry today may be engi neered w i th ”

remarkable certa inty once the m ethods are known and

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appl i ed with i ntell i gence and care .

It i s ev i dent that when you p i ck the righ t colors you sell a

lot o f merchan d ise o r influence a lot o f people ; when yo u ”

p i ck the wrong colors you pile up unsold i nventori es an d see

the publ i c turn i ts back .

To management this mean s that color problems must be

ri ghtly an alyzed and esti mated that customers and markets,

must be kn own .

T o those charged with the deta i ls o f styl in g the creative ,

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hun ch must be supported by a re al understanding of
human wants and desires .

It is the i ntent of thi s book to present facts rather than

Opinions and to set forth pri nc i ples t hat have the support o f
extensive research and sales record To accomplish t hi s it .

has been necessary to gather all poss ible data from the sc ie n
t ifi c investigator an d to study the sales exper i ence of numerous
industries Wi th such ev idence at hand the more tempera
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mental aspects o f color may be thr o w n in to c learer light

and a better and surer con trol real ized .

v ii
v iii P REFACE
American bus iness knows the value of color Yet i t also is
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aware o f certain hazards and risk s If color i s to bu ild profits

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if those who use i t are to find success in the ir e fforts a more
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accurate knowledge o f the public heart and m ind must be

achi eved .

A good bit of such knowledge w ill i t is hoped be foun d i n

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the pages o f this book .

F AB E R BI E RE N .

N E W YO R K ,
M a rch, 1 945 .
CO N TE N TS

Pre fac e
C H APT ER
—Wh t I I
1

P u b l ic Taste a s t?

C H APT ER 2
Th e se Are the C o l o rs Th at P e o p l e Pre fe r

C H A PT E R 3

Sc ie nc e O ffe rs an A n swe r .

C H APT E R 4

Th e se Are the Th in gs Th at P e o p l e Bu y .

C H A PT E R 5

Giv in g the P u b l ic Wh at It Wa nts .

C H APT ER 6

Practic al R e se arc h T e c h n iq u e s

C H A PT ER 7

Gl o rify in g H u man D e sire s .

C H A PT ER 8

The H u man N atu re o fV isio n

C H APT ER 9

M o re Po we r to A dv e rt isin g 1 04
 CO NTENTS
H
C APTER 10

Pac kage s D isp l ays

, , I nte rio rs . 116

H
C A PT ER 11

The Art o f C l
o or C on ditio n in g . 1 28

C H A PT ER
—P l
12

C l
o or E n te rp rise a in an d Fan c y 1 40

C H APT ER 13

The Psyc h o l o gy o fC o l o r 1 59

C H APT ER 14

The R o man c e o f C o orl 1 73

C H A PT ER 15

The S p e c ific atio n o f C o l o r . 1 90

APPE N DI X A
A R e v ie w o fSale s R e c o rds 2 09

APPE N DI X B
A C h e c k L ist o f C o l o r Stan dards . 2 22

A n n o tate d B ib l io gra p hy 2 29

I nd e x 235
 —
PU BL IC T AST E WH AT IS IT?

A GO O D many years ago Henry Ford rema ked that he r

wouldn t gi ve a dollar for all the art i n the world Those w i th

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a flair for the aesthetic and the cultural may cons ider these
words harsh i ndeed C oming from a capable i ndustr i alist
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however they hold practical elements o f good sense After

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all the problem o f bus i ness i s to sell merchand ise o r otherwi se

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to infl uence customers and m arkets To take the att i tude that
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business ought at the same t i me to elevate the artist i c d is

cr i mi nat i on of i ts public i s bes ide the po i nt for anythi ng more
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uns table and fugitive than good taste would be hard to find
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Bus iness has o n e great vi rtue in th i s regard it tr ie s i ts

best to satisfy people If many of i ts products are deemed
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ungai nl y by some current standard they are at least salable

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o r they would not be made The art i st o r the des i gner w h o

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argues that such merchandise i s bad may speak outs ide hi s

provi nce The businessman wants to know what he i s about
. .

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For hi m to say that beaut iful merchand ise i s that wh i ch sells ”

i s n o t poor philosophy nor i s i t really deserving of rebuke

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No doubt the salt box hous e the homespun garments the

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furniture rugs and textil es o f the New E ngland Yankee were

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i n defin i tely bad taste i n the judgment o f tho se Tori es who

were lucky enough to be more opulent and sophi st i cated .

S uch more o r less pr i mi t i ve i deas o f art conce i vably brought

forth smi les from noble lad i es and gentlemen who had prome
n a d e d thr ough the lofty paneled halls of E ngl i sh ma n s i ons Yet
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as the centur i es passed the s i mple Yankee has proved to have

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had truly good taste for the thi ngs he loved and cher ished have
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1
2 SELLI NG WITH COLOR
survi ved P oss i bly the lovi ng and cherishing helped to endow
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them wi th an un mistakable human beauty to be apprec i ated ,

by other generat ions .

However there is hardly much need fo r r o m a n c in g i n this

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book on color and people The facts a r e evident : if yo u woul d .

satisfy some hi gh i nd ividual i sm with color realize th at your ,

pleasure will not necessarily be the pleasure o f others O n .

the other hand if yo u would s tyle merchandise for mass

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markets decorate bui ldings to attract crowds design a dverti s

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i ng and displays to appeal to millions then you must submerge ,

i ndividu al p ersonal notions i n the bigger sea o f human life

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You must think objectively and not subjectively .

The difference i s this : color i n the fine ar ts gives expression

to the creative spir it of the individ u al artist C olor in i ndustry .
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i nevitably mor e democratic attempts to comprehend and to ,

satisfy the des ires Of the public at large .

MarI< e ts an d C o l o rs ,

As a first practical cons ideration there are two d ist i nct ,

markets fo r color to be served through two distinct m ethods

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C all o n e high fa shion and the other mass .

In the high fashion mar ket there is more of a show O fwealth

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the di fference between and 352 being O f minor co u se

q u e n ce
. The people her e are discr iminating show excel l ent ,

taste and strive for an i ndividu ality that they s e ldom u n

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fortunately achieve In dress they have ephemeral likes and

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dislikes worrying more about the cut Of a mater ial than about
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its wearing qu al ities To be different i s something o f a cre do

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with them al though i n the attempt to achieve this they , ,

may al l look strangely alike .

They are extremely conscious Of color coo r dination and

harmony Using the head rather than the heart they will
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buy apparel more for the sake O f vogue than for the appeal
color may hold upon their emotions In consequence they .
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are individual s t yle leaders and good prospects for the manu
facturer who would rather sell few things at a large uni t
pr ofit than many things at a small ma r gin .

In home decoration the high fashion market i s one that ,

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follows advanced trends E verythi ng purch as ed must fit i n .

with a well or der ed ensemble P r oducts must matc h o r at

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 PUBLIC —
TASTE W H AT IS IT?

least blend concordantly C ho i ce here i s dictated not by

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emot ional i mpulses but rather by conventions establ i shed by

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magazines i nteri or decorators departm ent stores and

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makers of more costly m erchandise High fash ion buyers are .

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l i terate well tutored i n what goes on i n a changi ng world

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and suffi ci ently fin anced to r ide high o n new tides .

While th is market i s small i n s i ze i t is a profitable one and ,

wi ll pay a good pr ic e for th i ngs exceptio nal From the manu .

fa c t u r e r s standpo i nt i t i s a market o f speculat i on and r isk

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for i t demands novelty original i t y and untr i ed ventures

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As far as color is concerned here are the pr i nc i ples that seem

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to apply .

.1 C olor e ffects must avo i d the commonplace .

.2 O ff shades w ill appeal i f they are carefully c oord i nated

with related products .

.3 Individual colors must fit in w i th well conceived notions -

o f e n se m b le d wardrobes and e n se m b le d i nteriors .

.4 The s t yling effort must contemplate the whole picture

rather than i ts single parts This means that t h e manufacturer
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has a big job to tackle i n keeping abreast o f color trends i n

many lines of merchand is e .

.5 As sw iftly as any o n e i dea be c omes acceptable ( and

thereupon grabbed for mass mar kets ) the new thi ng mus t be ,

O ffered to overcome the ennui O f those who presume t o lead

the communi ty and who have the c a sh to do so .

.6 Trends i n hi gh fashion markets move at a fairly rapid

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rate It i s important to watch sh ifts in p r e fe r e n c e b o t h to

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capitalize r ising demands and to avoid leftover i nventor i es .

Wide color ranges are desirable to cater to the vagar i es o f ,

S ophisticated taste .

But a great number of high fashion buyers are graduates -

from mass thi nki ng j ust as adults are the enlargement o f

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children R emember that the schoolgirl who once i n sisted

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upon dress i ng exactly like her classmates may o n e day b e

come the woman who w ill grow pale at seeing the duplicate
o f her dress or hat i n a cocktail lounge Yet the mass taste .

may rest quite easy with her i n things less personal than an
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evening gown or a suite o f parlor fur niture a fountain pen ,

for example or a M ickey M ouse doll whi ch may catch her

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as the eternal chi ld .

 SELLING WITH COLOR
However i t i s the mass market that i s o f major i mportance
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to the average modern business ( and that forms the chi ef

interest o f this book ) How are mill i ons to be satisfied with
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color? What are the patterns Of their desires as they cr owd the
stores and catalogues O f the nation? Wh at i s the magi c that
rockets o n e color to i ncredible h eights of volume while ,

another staggers and falls by the way ?

C onsider now the mass buyer as distinct from the hi gh

fashion buyer Her budget i s lean There are matters mor e
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pressing than taste S h e will perhaps loo k at the p r ice first

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examine the quality second and then grant third place to ,

her emotional feeling However let this emotional feeling .

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be compelling enough and she w ill fling open her purse with
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almost reckless abandon .

Having budgets to think about the mass buyer 15 not able ,

to cater to whi ms o r t o be t o o fussy about e n se m b le d ward

robes O r rooms E very i nvestment wi th her is a s i zable one
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and q u ite naturally everything she buys must have a con

sp ic u o u s beau t y$ I t m u st s ta nd o u t by itself long b efore it m u s t fit

in w ith a ny th ing else H o w Otherwise would the neighbors know

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that she had purchased something new ?

Understand th is characteri stic i n human beings o n e that —

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i s really soci al and economi c i n i ts basis and you will better
appr eciate the essential difference betw een the high fashion -

and the mass market buyer high i ncome and low income
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In apparel the normal p r ospect ive wearer will weigh colors

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style and material against the practical question O f wearing

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quality with simple elemental colors in predominance In

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home fur nish i ngs she will readily ac c e p t g au d y hues that all
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bespeak frank delight to the senses whether or not they wil l ,

fit together .

Thu s for a second set o f principles compare this with the

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o n e pr eviously given .

1 In low i ncome markets the color range must be simpl e

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compelling and r i ch or bright

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2 O ff shades strange and subtle colo r s a r e not wanted

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3 Indivi du a l hues and hue effects must stand out by them

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selves in unblushing glory .

4 The styling effort seldom has to contemplate coordina

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tion with other mer chandise While it is perhaps desirable .

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 PU BLIC TASTE —W H A T I S IT ? 5

coordinati on shoul d never be attempted merely for i ts o wn

sake if i t means the compromi se of frank clean colors ,
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5 P ast sal es records are more i mportan t than are style

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prognost i cat io ns M ass buyers are followers n o t leaders

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6 S tyle trends are slow i n movement L o w i ncome buyers

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seldom weary o f the colors they l ike best The ir fancies .

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havi ng an almost i ns t i nctive basis are not subject to radi c al ,

changes R estr i cted color ranges are therefore best and these
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should be carefully checked through research ,

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D e sign an d C l
o or

It may be sa id that H i the s t yl i ng o fconsumer merch and ise ,

advert i sing or d i splays the element of des i gn seems to stim u

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late mental processes in the buyer wh ile the respo n s e to ,

color i s largely emot ional While th is reacti on i s n o t in v a r i

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able O f course i t i s typ i cal O f the att i tude that most persons
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ass um e in spend i ng the ir money o r i n be i ng swayed to do so .

T o understand th i s i s to know why color i s a more sensitive

thi ng to handle than is shape o r form ,
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The streamlining O f an automobile has c ompletely changed

i ts aspect i n the per i od o f a few years These i mprovements .

have been prai sed an d accepted Is i t that men and women .

crave newness If so then t h e questi on should be l i m i ted to

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design F o r th e attempt to do equ a lly radical thi ngs wi th

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color h as pers istently failed Form i s somethi ng fo r the brain

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to appreciate and the brain may be educated C olor how

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ever i s more like religi on It i s i n the blood an essent i al part

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Of the psychi c make u p Of an i ndivi dual The buyer may

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rel ish the new fender lines and radiator gri lle but thank you , ,

he will prefer the color to be black or maroon blue o r green , .

S urely if you gi ve h im an automobile the li kes o f which he

hasn t seen before then he ought to complement his pur chase
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with an equally unique hue p ink o r beige o r some u n c o n

v e n t io n al color But no Though the m i nd be converted
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sp iri t revolts at such heresy .

S O i n the case o f a radio a ki tchen m ixer a hun dred new

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products that wo ul d seem to cry o u t fo r a singular color

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treatm ent the Old favori tes remai n i nvi olable M any a .

manufacturer who had a revolutionar y p r oduct has seen it

gather dust on a dealer s shelf because i t wasn t the right red
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6 SELLING WITH COLOR
or b lu H e sp it e all protestat i ons as to i ts remarkable and
astounding utility E xperience has shown again and again
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that form and funct i on are not to be seen apart from color .

Appearances superficial or otherw i se are at all time s vi tal

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The matter of design doesn t seem to st ir much recalci trance

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i n human beings M ake i t e i ghteenth century Federal S wed

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ish pr i mitive modern and surround i t wi th a bit Of roman

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t ic ism and the average head will lend nodding attention

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There will be one reservation however let not the des i gn ,

be too abstract o r too unr eal A rose by any other shape will
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never sell so well But make the flowers o r the plaids or the
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m tr ie s reasonably sensible and they may be submitted

g e o e ,

under al most any guise o f per iod o r vogue L ikewise reform .

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the aspect of a lam p a washing machine o r a plow ; i ncrease

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their utility and the new shape may prove a real i ncent ive to
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purchase .

Not so i n the case o f color Here the liberal bear i ng of the

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consumer m ay change to haught y defiance You are getting .

t o o personal It i s your privilege to take liberties with patterns

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and proportions and lines ; but color is her endowment and ,

you would do well to respect i t .

These Observations are well confirmed by s al es exper i ence .

To refer to a s u rvey among dealers in linoleum and colorft

pri nted hard surface fl oor coveri ngs the large majori ty o f
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consumers enter a store having a defin i te color i n mind A .

woman is not i nclined to be fussy about design L e t her prefer .

a part i cul ar pattern but not its hue and she w ill refuse to buy ,
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But let the color be pleasing and any Obj ections she mi ght ,

have to the des i gn will promptly melt away Yo u may swi tch .

from o n e design to another i f the color i s right ; but no amount

o f pleading o r coercion w i ll effect a sh ift from one color to

another regardless O f des ign

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H u man H e ritage
There are a number O f account i ngs for publ i c taste i n color .

S everal o f them will be discussed 1 n thi s bo ok S ome trace from .

histor y others from psychological research still others from

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the very phys iolo gy O f the human eye brain and body , ,
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Yet the d u st raised by those who whack about at spir itu al

and aesthetic val ues very O ften clo u ds an easy per ception of
 PU B LI C TASTE - WHAT IS IT ?

fact The artist will say that color and feel i ng are o n e that
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some weird gyrations of th e spir i t are to be given cred i t The .

businessman rather lo st i n the domi ni ons of beauty will s i t

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at one s ide and let hi s more parti cular associates decide for
hi m S O the styl i st e ffuses wh il e the businessman perspires
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In the constant struggle to do t hi ngs d ifferently and to per

form tr i cks that outsmart competition o n e mi stake after ,

another i s made and unsold i nventor i es p ile up i n a heap .

It i s as though i nd u stry wo u l d fashion a dress for its public

by standing O ff at a d is t ance and guess i ng about measure
ments What this pe rson or that pe rson thinks i s to be the
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guiding rule That t h e body Of soc i e t y i s ent irely capable o f

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being we i ghed and o f having i ts dimensions encompassed by

a tape measure seldom enters i nto the reckoning .

Yet color i s less an en i gma than i s co mmonl y supposed .

When i t i s stud i ed not as i ndividual feeling and expr ession

but as m ass psychology and mass react ion i ts mysteries are ,

rapidly unfolded and i ts harsh re al ities ex p osed Yo u may .

become a great artist by O ffering your o w n creative i mpulses

at the shrine of humanity ; but you will hardly sell mer chan
dise o n the same pri n ci ple Far more than prophecy i ndustr y
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needs aesthet i c soci al ism an ardent attempt to glorify and

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enhance those urges for color whi ch are i nherent in all beings .

P eop le are i nart i culate ; the ir tastes are s i mple They walk in .

an endless quest o f beauty You touch the i r emotions and —

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their cap i tal when you g ive expression to their fanci es when ,

you serve their des ires and n o t merely your own .

An d this be sure const i tutes great art tested b y any

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worthy standard .

When the hi story o f color i s revi ewed many valuable ,

lessons are learned E very so O ften a generation makes up i ts

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mi nd that richness and pur i ty of color are a v ul garism and

that proper taste will recognize no such simplicity : good taste
i s subtlety delicacy, refinement For h i gh fashion markets i t
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most assuredly may be ; but the tragedy o f this belief i s that

the loud ecstasies o f the few to o often lead the manufacturer
to heed the cry and to suffer accord i ngly for it i n mass markets .

Track down al most any merchandis i ng failure and i t w ill

pr ove to be a pink elephant that has wandered n o t from the ,

cottage but from the mans io n s O f good t aste

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 S ELLING WI T H C O L O R
The lesson never s eems to be learned C ulture is not what .

sells color i n big volume The longing within people i s not so

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pedantic al ly fashioned Yet despite very reliable evidence

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the i nsp ired guesswor k goes on and the creations O f stylists

schooled to fancy notions cont i nue to be rejected by humble
people who will have none o f them In an effort to lead the .

parade there i s a lot o f rushi ng down blind alleys only to find

that the ma i n column of m archers has gone O ff i n another
direction .

When o n e studies the history of color much i s learned Of ,

people This scholarshi p however i s seldom a habit o f the

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artist o r stylist who prefers to rest on hi s o wn conceit But .

the effort is wise training and wil l serve to reveal many o f

the facts and elements that make up human psycholo gy .

O f immediate enlightenment is the d i scove r y that mortal

love for color did not ar i se from s o me primitive hunger for
an aesthetic Opiate If anything has been p r actical to man it
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h as been the art of color There i s a paucity o f evidence that

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man once he came o u t O f a c av e to buil d a house felt the

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urge to make his environment pret ty and ornate (This .

attitude in truth didn t come i nto fashion until well into

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the fifteenth century A D ) What attracted him to color was

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the mystery o f his be i ng hi s love O f life and hi s fear Of death

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G o d fashioned the hues Of the rainbow ; what meaning might

they have ?

Thus o n e finds the early beginning o f a complex symbolism

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which related color more to the M ysteries than to artistic

fancy The E gyptian w h o cons idered hims elf an emine nt
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member O f the red race applied dye to his flesh to emphasize

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the distinction thereby founding the business O f cosmetics

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In like manner he used gems and p r e c m u s metals to fashion

amulets having definite and specific merits i n curing his ills ,

assuring abundant crops s a feguar ding him in battle an d

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transporting his soul safely across i nto the in fin ite ther eby
founding the craft o f the j eweler .

T O the ancient color s marked the four qu ar te r s Of the ear th

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a symbolis m recognized i n C hina Greece Ireland and , , ,

Amer ica In Ame r ica these color associations existed in the

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mythology o f p r actically every Indian tr ibe Thousands O f .

years ago acc ording to o n e fable the Navahos dwelt in a

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 S E L L I N G we
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o CO L O R

whi te that be i ng the color belonging to the M oon whose

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place i n the C h ald e a n s yst e m would be upperm ost ”

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C ompare this ancient practice i n archi tecture i n whi ch ,

color held speci al meaning and purpose wi th present day ,

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ideas of decoration and o n e eas ily appreciates that the ancient

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had someth i ng else in his soul besides a lovely color e ffect .

The r eligions of the world are thus r i ch with a telling color

symbolism There were specific hues to identify the chi ef
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deities o f the world Yellow and gold were for Brahma Bud
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dha and C onfucius ; green for Allah ; blue for the L ord as
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the appearance O f a sapphire stone ”

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In India the original four castes had color tokens : white fo r

the Bra hman priests ; red for the soldiers and warr i or s ; yellow
for the merchants and farmers ; black for the serfs and slaves .

In magic sorcery and divination an elaborate symbolism

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was developed by the ancient Gems bits O f cloth amu l ets

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char m s all with their particular effica cies were as much

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a part o f household equipment as the present day bottle of -

i odine i n the medicine cabinet .

In the practice o f healing color h as many odd traditions

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t o ponder over and many curious superstitions to think about .

Because disease c a me mysteriously o u t o f nature ( microbes

unkn own) the m agic o f color was called upon : black threads
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to cure e ar ache ; scarlet cloth to stop bleeding ; red flannel to

cure sprains sore throats and fevers ; yellow tu rnips for
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jaundice ; amber to help the kidneys liver and intestines ; , ,

amethyst fo r gout ; emerald for diseases o f the eyes ; garnet for

skin er uptions ; j ade for the pains of childbirth .

S trangely many o f these beliefs have survived The e ffi cacy

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Of red flannel i s st ill insisted upon by man y grandmothers in

the treatment o f sore throat Farmers o f E urope still wear .

gold rings when planting their grain Goats and cows are .

still to be fo u nd with red ribbo ns t i ed to their hor ns R e d o r .

blue talismans still hang from the doo rs Of houses to stop ,

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evil at the threshold The bride still wears somethi ng blue
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,

and the widow i s st ill draped i n black .

The i mportant po i nt to remember is that color has al ways

been close to l ife M odern business and styling err when they
.

assume that aesthet i c urges are what i nsp ire worship o f the
rai nbow There is no doubt but t hat color i s pretty Yet the
. .
 P U B L I C .T A S T E —
WHAT I S IT ? 1 1

frequent fai lure o f certa i n colors to sell certa i n merchan d i se

has deeper sign ific a n c e i than On e mi ght suppose As later .

chapters w ill str ive to cl ar ify the i n herent taste o f people fo r

,

color i s frank and unassuming Whether the reason is to be .

found i n the phys iology o f seeing i n the psychi c make u p of ,

-

the ind ividual or in the past hi story O f color expression makes

, ,

small d ifference The fact i s that public taste has within i t

.

many un iversal qualities responses that seem to be inherent

,

i n human nature To put too much stress o n an artistic view

.

po i nt i s to train to be c ome a cook by dealing with herbs and

sp i ces alone .

Those who style wi th color today are i nclined to thi n k to o

much i n terms O f i nsight feeling creativeness O nl y since the
, ,
.

fifteenth century has man d ivorced color from symbolism

and applied i ts glor i es for their o w n i ntr insic sake Take .

archi tecture and sculpture as examples R egardless o f the form .

o f Greek arc hi tecture , the colors applied to i t were generally

the same and al so were generally applied in the same way

,

to the same places S culpture was a matter o f carving e ffigie s

.

that subseq u ently must be pa inted and adorned in prescr i bed

hues The Greek c i tizen was shown no vague abstractions
. .

The decorat ions o n hi s temples were pictorial hi story His .

statues were gods o r the p e rso n ific a t io n s o f i mmortals N O .

work Of art then expressed the sp ir i t o f transpor tation time , ,

human i ty and the like as today s art sometimes does T h e

, ,
’
.

Greek and hi s ancient neighbors d id not think thus .

All this explains why pract i cally al l early color express i on

was s i mple and was comprised of s i mple colors E ach hue .

used was i n some way ident ified w i th the M ysteri es The .

indiv idual artist did n o t struggle to express h i s o w n vanity .

O n the contrary i t was his charge to adhere t o a symbolism

,

that all men understood S urely if the Greek was so sens i t ive
.
,

to for m o n e might have expected him to be equ al ly sensitive

,

to color However there i s l i ttle subtlety i n ancient color ( always

.
,

a bold use o f red green blue gold whi te black) s i mply

, , , , ,

because color was a defini t ion and not an i nsp i rat ion to the arti st .

Styl in g fo r the M asse s

T O repeat human taste st ill draws from these sam e or i g i ns
, .

C o lor s t yling fo r the masses i s not a problem to be solved by

 ‘
W IT H
‘

12 S E L L IN G CO L O R

h igh aesthetic spiri t so much as by resourcefulness i n under

standing the average mortal Those w h o have had experienc e .

i n the merchandising O f color well know that trends are d iffi

cult to force Yo u can lead people to almost any design shape
.
, ,

or form ; but unless color gains a ready and alm ost spontane
,

o u s acceptance it is al most certain O ffa ilure How necessary it is

,
.
,

then to pay more attention to your public and less to yourself $

,

It is the endeavor o f this book to l ist those principles which

will assure success in reaching mass markets through color I .

say that the problem i s not too difficult Yet before anything .
,

else it requires that the usual thinki ng processes be abandoned

,

for a more discerning vi ewpoint .

1 The mas ses o f people have simple taste i n color

. .

2 Their ideas o f refinement and elegance more concern

.

mo difications and glo r ific a t io n s o f element al colors than they

d o strange o r i ntermediate hues .

3 This mean s that variations Of pr i m ar y hues like red

.
, ,

g r een blue hold

,
more i nstinct
,
i ve appeal than do purples ,

yellow greens blue green s and the like which show too
-
,
-
, ,

much departur e from pr imitive qualities .

4 O riginal i ty w i th color is generally futile unless public

.

acceptance is i ndicated C reative s tyling therefore 1 s better

.
, ,

achieved through O bjective analys is than through personal

invention .

5 C olor t r ends i n mass markets change slowly ( in contr as t

.

with high fashion markets where shifts are more rapid )

-
,
.

S uch changes a r e likely to concern lighter o r darker values

O f elemental color s rather than y ar ia t io n s withi n the s p e c
,

trum For example a preference fo r red today will mor e likely

.
,

be followed by a p r eference for rose o r maroon o r p i nk than

by a preference for red violet or red orange - -
.

6 There i s never any assurance that an exclus i ve color

.
,

developed i n terms Of hi gh fashion w ill hold popular appeal ,

.

M as s markets do not always follow high fas hi on dictates but -

,

m ay move along w i th real i ndependence Fifth Avenue may .

O ften get no farther west than the Hudson R iver .

7 As a matter O f merchand i sing policy and because O f

“

.
,

the peculiarity O f human temperament i t is better to O ffer ,

many s t yles or patterns in few color range s than i t is to O ffer

fe w pattern s i n many color ranges .
 PU BLIC T A S T E é- WHAT I S IT ? 13

8 . Because o f the fna n k n e ss and i mpulsiveness shown by

most buyers 1 n low i ncome gr oups it is wi ser to be Obvious
-
,

than subtle in color select ion and arrangement In other .

wor ds i t i s safer to have the hue a little to o br ight than a

,

little too dim ( In high fashi on markets the rever se pol i cy i s

.
-

most e ffect ive ) .

9 In mass markets o v e r st ylin g i s far more dangerous than

.

u n d e r stylin g If creativeness is to be shown let such e f

. fort be ,

expended toward the enhancement of colors having good

s al es records A better red will us u ally accomplish more
.
”

than an extra hue of some sort promoted fOr some presumed

novelty .

1 0 Be caut i ous about any aesthet i c opinions Your public

. .

has good taste o r colonial furni ture and peasant textiles would
,

never have come into existence and have survived Be philo .

sophical to the extent that hi gh fash i on values i n color may -

be more ephemer al than low fashion v al ues Yo u perform the -

.

“ ”
most service sell the most goods create the greatest art
, , ,

when yo u satisfy the majori t y o f people T hi s need not be a .

process Of lowering anyone s d i gnity O n the contrary even ’

.
,

the simplest and plainest color ( and design) may be per

fe c t e d to a beau t y that w ill make i t worthy Of any museum .

The trick is to have the art exp r ession democrat i c rather than
aristocratic to conceive i t as a public rather than a pri vate
, , ,

ide al .

C l
o o r an d L an guage
There are some who hold the opinion that ordinary human
beings crave i ndividuality They support the theory that .

ind ividual per sonality i ndivi dual beau t y ind ividual this and
, ,

that are the crying need o f the average soul This delusion is .
,

o f course a carry over from the high fashion t ype o f think i ng

,
- -
,

where to be di fferent i s i n i tself a suffic i ent credo Yet there .

i s a massive we i ght o f evidence to show that for a given ,

amount o f e ffort o n e right color o r shape will sell more units

,

than a dozen color s o r shapes can do From the standpoint o f .

business economy ( and how seldom thi s there is

more profit i n concentrating o n few t hi ngs than o n many .

Yet the very setup O f most s tyling departments leads to

oppos i te endeavors A stylist i s not i nclined to make a best
.
14 SELLI NG WITH COLOR
seller better He studies hi s so called dogs bothers his
.
-
,

head over the low ends O f hi s lines and too frequently d ispose s ,

Of one specter only to sum m on up a few more .

In princi ple sound creat iveness wi th color attempts to

,

i ncrease healthy thi ngs and not alone to nour ish anemic ones .

To determi ne n o t to do certain thi ngs i s often the most p r o fit

able and progressive move i ndustry can make .

The problems o f color seem to stimulate t o o much over

thinking and not enough common sense and r ationalization .

It may be that I stress the point too taut but fo r some in e x ,

plicable reason the s i mple taste Of most people seem s to escape

compr ehension M any stylists left to themselves would u n
.
, ,

necessarily complicate the plainest O f facts .

Yet that people hold a modest regard fo r color is revealed

i n their own verb al attempts to describe it If language is an .

expr ession o f human hearts and minds then any notions , ,

about the subtlety o f public taste in color i s qu ite upset .

W hen people are i nterested i n something they gi ve i t a

—
,

name radio C ellophane and so o n When interest is negl i

, ,
.

g ib l
,
e the name remains u n formed The average person when .
,

asked to write down all the colors he can re c all will list about ,

3 0 or 40 An d out o f these 3 0 o r 40 almost half w il l be dupli

—
.

cates as far as generi c term s are concerned crimson ruby

, , ,

vermil ion for example be i ng descriptive O f red

, ,
.

Being so inarticul ate i n speaking Of color people are ,

naturally exposed i n their emotional preferences Wer e they .

at all exacting about subtle hues and modificati ons Of hues ,

the dict ionary would be packed full Of appropriate definitions .

( E ven as i t i s most colors

,
have borrowed i dent i fications : rose ,

vi olet orange peach emerald amber etc )

, , , , ,
.

O f real interest i s the fact that only about 1 8 colors can be

named by the average person wi th any assurance that other s
will know what he is t al king about $ An d these colors ( certainl y
not by accident) will be found to compri se the best sellers in
al most every l i ne o f mass market merchandise i n existence .

They are the hues that w ill arouse the most attention value
i n an advertisement o r a d i sp lay and sell the most packages .

Here they are : red oran ge yellow green blue vi olet (or
, , , , ,

p u rple) pink buff ( ivory or cream) flesh ( or peach) lavender

, , , ,

( or orchid ) brow
,
n m aroon tan wh
,
i te gray black
,
gold , , , , ,
 PUBLIC —
TASTE WH AT I S IT ? 15

s ilver While names such as be i ge ecru mauve and t h e like

.
, , ,

may be understood by a few elect they are lar gely meaning

‘

less to the public ( and generally do not sell well in mass

markets ) .

It must be that S 1 m p le colors being memorable are there

, ,

fore marketable O d d colors be i ng forgettable are the r isks

.
, ,

and specul ations o f business .

Having this phenomenon as a clue the answer to consume r

,

styling is to be tersely stat e d : P eople at lar ge have definite

color preferences Though the se preferences may change they
.
,

are almost always Of an elementary order The task of styling.

i s to glo r ify these d e s1r e s with every possible skill and original
ity The art and business o f color are o n a so u nd and enlight
.

ened basis when the appr oach is Objective and when human
wants are carefully analyzed measured and anticipated
, , .
Cha p te r 2

T H E SE AR E TH E CO L O R S T H AT PE O PL E PR E FE R

CO L O R may be discus sed from several vi ewpoints When .

o n e think s o f it in te ms O f people however O f human ex

r , ,

r ie n c e and sensation there is little need to discuss matte s

p e , r

O f physics and chemistry becau se they will onl y ser ve to

,

confuse the i ssue C olor is greatly like flavor and Odor ; they
.

all have physical origin in some sort o f stimulation Yet to .

anal yze the chemical composition O f sugar o r the oil o f a r ose

i s by no means to define sweetness The latter is a hu man .

i nterpretation a psychological thing It is sen sation and

,
— .

sensation rather than wave lengths o r molecules or atoms is

what should concer n those who use color (o r taste or O dor ) in
mer chandising and adver tising .

Aristotle had this to say : S imple colors are the p r oper

colors o f the elements i e o f fire air water and earth
,
. .
, ,
”
, ,
.

“
They owed their or igin to d iffere n t strengths Of su nl ight and
fir e ligh t
,
”
a belief that was championed for some eighteen
centuries It was Newton however who in 1 666 felt j u stified
.
, ,

concluding that whi te light is not simple but is compr ised ,

O f many rays wh i ch the prism can separate

—
.
,

A purely psychological attitud e color as person al sensa

—
tion rather than as phys i cal energy was slow i n arriving In
‘

tr uth only i n the past cent u r y has color been intelligently

,

analyzed and i nterpreted from the human st a n d p o in t p h ysics , ,

and chemistry aside S cience being quite O bjective in its

.
,

vi ewpoint has not al ways acknowledged the fact that despite

, ,

the composition o f bone and tissue and the atomic str u c ture
o f all matter there is a vast di f
,
ference between a dead man
16
1s SE L L I N G WI T H CO L O R

s i gnificant as the next Yet when the human eye l o oks at the
.

spectrum (o r the rainbow) these wave lengths are auto ,

m a t ic ally sorted o u t into neat bunches each havi ng a sort o f ,

“
family resemblance Thus S elig Hecht writes C olor vi s ion
.
, ,

may be defined as the capacity O f the eye to divide the vis i ble
spectrum into a series o f regions whi ch produce qual itatively
di fferent sensory e ffects .

Why the hu man eye and brai n see i ng m any wave lengths , ,

should sort them o u t and i nterpret them as representing few

sensations is somethi ng o f a mystery However o n e o f the .
,

first of the new truths is thereby reve al ed : i t i s human to see

color i n simple terms to be attracted to major regions rather
,

than minor parts i n the spectrum This fact has direct applica .

tion to merchandising and will be emphas ized i n later chapters .

To the psychologist there are s ix pri mitive or primary

sensations : r e d and green yell ow and blue white and black , ,
.

These c olors are unique and they bear no resemblance to ,

each other This agai n is somewhat mysterious but perfectly

.
, ,

evident in human experi ence V ariations i n the sequence .

,

red yellow green blue and back to red are hue variations
, , , ,
.

An intermediate color like orange w ill look something like

red and somethi ng like yellow But red and yellow w ill not .

necessarily look like orange S O wi t h violet whi ch may be .

,

comp r ised O f r e d and blue .

A further Observation is that al l modifications o f a s i ngle

hue may be represented by a tri angle wi th pure color o n one ,

angle whi te o n the second and black on the t hi rd for all

, ,

perceptible colors may be formed by graded m i xtures o f

these thr ee elements .

This i s color sensation $ It has nothi ng to do wi th the

physics O f light o r the chemistry o f pigments It i s human .

psychology the way i n whi ch the eye and m ind react to

,

vi sual stimul i .

L ook at the ill ustrat i on o f the Tr i angle C ons ider t hi s a

'

d i agram and a summar y Of how you and all other persons

see color .

1 F irst o f all you disti ngu i sh the qual i ty of hue The

.
,
.

unique parts are red yellow green and blue whi ch in , , , , ,

mixture produce all the p ure colors Of the spectrum P ure

,
.

colors rep r esent o n e primary form o f sensation .

 TH ESE AR E CO L O R S TH AT PEOPLE PR EFER 19

2 The second pri mary form is whi te White i n sens ati on

. .

i s also unique and does not in the least resembl e any pure
color (red yellow green or blue )
, , ,
.

3 The third pr i mary form i s black An d aga i n black

. .
, ,

looks nothi ng l ike wh i te o r any pure color .

4 When these three pr i m ary forms are combined four

.
,

are produced as i ndicated on the Tr i angle , .

T he l
co o r T r ia n
gl e . All v f m
se n sa t io n s o f c o o r a r el to be l
c assifie d in se en or s .

—
White and pure colors produce what a r e called tints whitish
colors such as pink lavender peach S uch tints appear to
, , ,
.

have both pure color and white i n their make u p When -

.

black and pure colors are combined shades are produced , ,

such as bro w n Ol ive maroon These as well appear to have

, , .
, ,

both black and pur e color i n the i r composition Black and .

whi te s i m ilarly produce gray another unique and i nter ,

mediate type O f sens ation Finally a combination o f al l three

— —
.
,

pr imar ies pure color whi te black produces what is called , ,

a tone such as tan The tone i ncidentally becomes the most

, .
, ,

n eutr al o f all color form s .

so SE L L I N G 671 m CO L O R

These po i nts may seem academi c Yet realize that a clear .

,

concepti on O f them has taken a consider able time The .

sci entist has had much diffi culty i n divorcing color as sensa
—
tion from color as energy wave lengths and atom s .

To be pract i cal one must understand that color from the ,

human vi ewpo i nt settles down to an all embraci ng sim p lific a -

tion ; fo r desp i te all subtleties and vari ations seen by the eye
, ,

every color sensat ion can be classified as one Of these seven

forms $ These are the seven boxes o fthe mind and i nto them go a ,

multitude o fvisu al experi ences to be given re al sense and or der .

It naturally follows ( to be confirmed by the merchandising

O f colors i n mass markets ) that the color s peo ple like best ar e
those which stand as the noblest representatives Of the seven
forms This means vi vi d reds and blues sheer whites deep
.
, ,

and concentrated blacks clean cut pastels rich shades soft ,

-
, ,

grays While these may appear to i nclude almost everythi ng

.
,

they are n o t so man y i n number as might be thought E very .

lucid example Of form i n color may be matched by dozens

O f examples O f borderline colors O ff shades of whi te blac k , , ,

and gray Odd tones o f i ntermediate h u e s h igh fashion colors

,
fl
-

a ll appreciated by cultured taste but refinements that never

, ,

seem to appeal to t h e m asses ( for apparently good scientific

reason) :
Pre fe re n c e s C o or l
At least 50 author i tat ive tests have been made O f human
color pr eferences The literatur e is so complete and the r es u lts
.

are so uniform that one i s hardly able to question the con \

c lu sio n s reached S hould the reader be interested in the

.

It i lw y s a v i t t th i k f l i t m f p
a s co n en en o l w h it
n o co o r n er s O u re c o o r , e,

b l k g y ; ti t h d t
ac ,
ra En ,
h f th
s a i f i ly p ifi i it d fi iti
e, one . ac o e se s a r s ec c n s e n on

an d w ill h l p t l ify y d i i f t h bj t f l A th
e o c ar an sc u ss o n o i e su ec o co o r . no e r se r e s

O ft m er d b y th
s u se i ti t d th t h e sc e n l gi t si t an fh ligh t
e ec no o s co n s s s o u e, n e ss ,

an d t ti
sa u r a ; h v l
on ord h m ue, (M ll ) H i th q lity
a u e , an c ro a u n se . ue s e ua

th t d i ti g i h
a s np t l
u s h est s d e c ra g c d L i
ar a c e r ,gh t re ,
o r an e, an so on . n e ss

( m
so t im
e b ig h t es ) d rv l f t
n e ss t h an l t iv l ig h t
a u e re erd k o e re a e n e ss o r ar n e ss

o f l
a c o o r as c o mp d w it h t h t p f w h it g y b l k
ar e l S t ti n
e s e s O a e- ra -
ac sc a e . a u ra o ,

p i
urt y d ,
h m
an tc m t h
ro t f t
a ar e l t iv
er d g s fd ap tre e rf m o re a e e re e o e ar u r e ro

t
a n eu r a l g y T h pi k i ra . d l f hi gh l igh t
u s, n s a re v l m co or o n e ss o r a ue, ar o o n

is a re d l f l w v l B igh t d h f ll h m ( t ti
co o r O o a ue . r re p ity ) as u c ro a sa u r a on or ur ,

w hil ft g y i h
e a so , (p i
rab ly fs th m
r o se h d
o ss v l p O d ) e sa e u e an a u e as u r e re

w ould h v w k h m a e ea c ro a .
 THESE AR E CO L O R S THAT PEOPLE PREFER 21

details o f such investi gat ions let me refer hi m to two excell ent ,

articles one by J P Guilford in the journal (j E xper im en tal

,
. .

P sych ology for June 1 93 4 and the other by H I E ysenck i n

, ,
. .

the Am er ican jo urnal of P sych ology for July 1 941 Here he w ill ,
.

find comprehensive reviews and references by the score ,

.

To give some order to thi s matter Of color predilection ,

consider first the reaction O f babes In the first mont hs O f .

life i t is di ffi cult enough to learn to see to fix both eyes on the ,

same Obj ect and to make sense o u t Of vi su al experience

,
.

S ome author i ties declare that touch an d form are dominant

in i n fants and that a re al love for color does not become
,

evi dent unt il well after the second year Then color percep .

tion begins to rival form percepti on R S taples exposed d isks . .

to i nfants and me as ured the duration o f visual concentrat ion .

The babes looked longer at colors than they did at neutral

tones Their favorites judged by certain eye fixa t io n s and
.
,

reachi ng efforts were red first then yellow green blue

, , , , .

App ar ently the i nfant i s most attracted to br i ghtness and r i ch

ness O f hue .

In small children a l i ki ng for yellow begin s to drop away,

and to keep dropping wi th the years Now the preference i s .

for red and blue the t wo universal favorites which maintain

, ,

the ir fascination throughout life The order i n childhood .

,

therefore i s red blue green violet orange yellow

, , , , , ,
.

With matur i t y comes a greater lik ing for hues O f shorter

wave length ( blue gr een ) than for hues o f longer wave length
,

( red
,
orange ye llow) The order now becomes blue red
,
.
, ,

green violet orange yellow An d i t remai ns thus the eternal

, , ,
.
,

and international ranking .

That color preferences are almost identical i n human

beings o f both sexes and in per sons o f all national ities and
cr eeds is substantiated o n every side .

T R Garth found that American Ind i ans preferred r e d

. .
,

then blue violet green orange yellow

, , , , .

Among Filipinos the order was red green blue violet , , , , ,

orange yellow ,
.

Among Negroes the order was blue red green v i olet

—
, , , ,

orange yellow the same as for practically everybody else

, .

E ven among i nsane subjects S E Katz found almost the ,

. .

—
same r a n kin gsj blue green red vi olet yellow orange , , , , ,
.
22 SE L L I N G WI T H CO L O R

Green was best liked by mal e i nmates and red by female , .

Warm hues seemed to appeal to morbid patients and cool ,

hues to the more hysteri cal ones .

There seem s to be good reason therefore for o n e author i ty , ,

“
to say that there i s su flfic ie n t agreement upon color prefer
e n c e s to i ndicate a bas i c b i ologi cal cause o f likes and dislikes
,
”
for colors .

BL U E GR E E N VIOL ET ORANGE YE L L OW
Av e ra
ge r an k in gs l
Of c o o r p r e fe r e n c e fo r o v er O b se r v e rs .
(After
E ysenck .
)

( It so happens however that w h i

,
le red and blue are,
al ways ,

pr edominant blond racial types general ly prefer blue and

—
,

br unet racial t ypes generally prefer red a point that will

later be d iscussed when an attempt will be made to explain
,

why ) .

To summar ize the whole p i ct ure E ysenck tab ul at e d al l ,

resear ch i nvolving some ind ivi dual tests Blue ranked .

fir st then red green vi olet orange yellow In a simil ar

, , , , ,
.

recapitulat i on for sex d ifferences the order was the same , ,

except that men put orange i n fifth place yellow i n s ixth , ,

while women put yellow in fifth place with orange i n s ixth .

( To the ladies yellow i s not qu i te so bad as orange )

,
.
 T H ESE A R E CO L O R S THAT PEOPLE PREFER '

23

It must be remembe red o f course that the color preference , ,

-

tests o f the psychologist are for so called abs olute cho i ces -

color for the sake o f color and wi thout reference to pal pable
-
,

thi ngs A later chapter o n sales records will show what

.

happe ns when the selection of hue has to do wi th products

and when practi cal cons iderati ons rather than mere aesth eti c ,

fancy come i nto play

,
.

This scient i fic work however i s truly val uable not al one , , ,

for the hue rankings that i t d iv ulges and for the universali t y
that i t finds i n human love o f color but for the many side ,

lights that i t throws o n emot i on al propens i t i es Here fo r .

,

e x am m e 1 s a fur t h er l i st O f research facts that have direct

,

be ar i ng o n t h e problems Of sell i ng color and i nfluencing

people .

1 I n absolute cho i ce pure r i ch colors are generally

.
, ,

preferred to modified ones ‘

2 The three most preferred hues are blue red and green ;
.
, ,

the th r ee least preferred a r e vi olet orange and yellow These

—
.
, ,

are the so called max ima and mi ni ma and all i ntermed i ate
-
,
“
or mixed pur e hues ar e not liked so much
”
,
.

3 However o n e blue ( or red o r green etc ) i s n o t meces

.
, ,
.

“
sar ily equiv al ent to a nother i n pleasantness This means .

that every region i n the spectr um has i ts best example whi ch ,

will to be commerci al sell better than i ts i mmed i ate adj a c e n t s

, ,
.

4 Al though di fferent backgrounds w ill affect the visual

.

aspect o f colors this does not seem to have any seri ous in flu
,

ence o n color preference rankings -

.

5 The major i nte r est Of people is pure color This q u al i ty

. .

is al ways more dominant than whiteness blackness o r gray , ,

ness i n a color In fact modified tints and shades follow the

.
,

same general order of p r efer ence as fo r pure colors .

6 S at u rated o r pure colors however appear to be best

.
, , , ,

liked i n smal l areas In larger areas a preference i s i nd i cated

.

for lighter tints .

7 C olors tend to appear stronger as t he ir areas are

.

i ncreased Judgments o f val ue o r l i ghtness however rema in

.
, ,

fairly const ant reg ar dless o f area , .

8 Women are more i ncl i ned to be tolerant o f mod i fied

.

colors than ar e men who tend to be more loyal to viv idness , .

“
Guilford writes It would appear that both men and women
,
24 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R

prefer the Iigh t e r colors to the darker and that thi s tendency ,

i s str onger fo r women than for men a nd that both pr efer the ,

more saturated to the less saturated the e ffect o f chroma being ,

more strongly felt by the men ”

.

9 There i s some evidence O f two dist i nct systems O f color

—
.

p eference o e being mo e primitive than the other c ertain

r n ,
r

people preferring saturated colors and others preferr i n g softer

tints and shades .

“
10. O n the average agreement between ranki ngs o f
,

colors is a s high as agreement be t ween tests Of i ntelligence ”

( E Y S E N C K ) .

C o orl C o m b in atio n s

A good deal o f research has also been devoted to the beauty

o f color combinat i ons Here however the psychologist has
.
, ,

less to contribute to the problems o f styling h i s the cur i ous .

notion O f many technical minded i nvestigators ( a noti on -

based upon their controlled tests ) that the beauty Of o n e color

may be enhanced through juxtaposition with its complement .

As a matter o f fact i ts appeal may merely be comprom i sed

, .

O n this point Guilfo r d has again O ffered the best and most
practical guidance and his conclusions wi ll be given o n
,

followi ng pages Good styling i s nearly al ways a process o f

.

glor ifying o n e thing While so called balanced color effects -

—
.

are often suitable for packages d i splays and poster s because

—
, ,

o f their startling qualities i n vision they too Often fail at selling

consumer mer chand ise probably because the buyer s dominant
,
’

preference is confused and a choice of heart i s distracted .

In working wi th children M f Imada found that color ,

preference was not haphazard even though good discrimina ,

tion was not as yet highl y developed Given black cr ayons .

,

the youngsters were i nclined to draw concrete things vehicles , ,

buildings When the same children were given color ed

.

crayons the i r fancies were more i nsp ired to attempt human

,

be i ngs anim al s and plants R e d wi th yellow and red wi th

, ,
.

blue were favored comb i nations .

In s i milar experi ments An n Van Nice Gale found yellow

,

popular 1 n c ombination with red vi olet or blue The combina - .

tion o f blue and green al so was l iked C on t rast natur al ly .

, ,

was more exci ting than an alogy o r subtlet y .

26 SE L L I N G WI T H CO L O R

colors were rated as pleasant p art i cul arly i n the regi on of ,

green .

With the scales further increased i n saturation pleasure in ,

blue gr een and vi olet seemed to pick up ; while yellow

, , ,

orange and yellow green remai ned lower i n appeal

,
-
.

At very high saturation the preferences na turally agree ,

w i th those observed by pract i cally all i nvestigators who have

worked wi th pure colors .

The abo ve tests thus serve to compare the relat ive beauty
Of an assortment o f pure colors aga inst grayish ones and to
reveal the natural liki ng for r i chness over weakness i n color .

A second approach Of Guilford was to determine what

happened when colors of the sam e hue were exhibited i n various
tints shades and tones Here are further results
, ,
. .

Wi th grayish tones as against pure tones the purer forms ,

are liked better .

Wi th light tones as agai nst dark tones the lighter tones are ,

liked better .

These O bservati ons seem to a pply to all i ndivi dual hues ,

with the exception o f yellow D ark grayi sh yellows seem to .

,

have more appeal than deep rich yellows (which are i n , ,

reali t y mustardy and O live i n character ) L ight grayish

, .
,

yellows however will be preferred as they approach clarity

, , .

Ver y p al e yellows are liked best O f a ll .

Guilford also Observed that cool colors are l i kely to find

their best appeal at low levels yellow and orange at hi gh ,

levels R eds are also preferred as they become lighter

. .

Wi th a color such as blue a p ure tone is well liked at a ,

fairly dark and saturated level In a grayish form o f blue .

,

however a light tone i s preferred to a deep o n e

,
.

“
We might suggest as a general rule that there is a
tendency for colors to be pr eferred at tint levels wher e they
can be most saturated Thus colors normally light (orange
.
,

yellow) are pleasing i n pale tints ( ivory bu ff peach) C olors , , .

norm al ly dark ( blue ; violet ) are pleasing in deep tones ( navy ,

wi ne ) V ar i at ions O f red are more likely to be erratic

. .

These points may be a trifle difficult to grasp for Gu ilfo r d s ,

’

control methods have rather str i ct order insofar as scientific

col or o r ganization is concerned He goes about an important .

business T o the author s knowl e d ge he i s the first man ever

.
’
,
 THESE A R E CO L O R S THAT PEOPLE PREFER 27

to make a practical and comprehensive stu dy O f color harmony

i n all its var i ations of f
rint shade and ton e — a study that , ,

i ndustry i s forced to cope wi th every hour o f the day An .

an al ysis O f sales records for example is comparable to the

, ,

thi ng Gu ilford i s do ing In Guilford s case however the

.
’

, ,

larger world Of color exper i ence ( all neatly plotted and

arranged ) i s surveyed as against the more o r less heterogene
,

o u s collection o f samples considered i n most styling efforts .

“
Gu i lford has d r awn charts to explain these affective
val ues o f i ndividual hues and one o f them is illustrated
”
,

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
MUNS E L L CH R OMA ( Saturatio n )
T he v l a ue o f red an d its v a r ia tio n s . T he li ne in d ic a t e s t h e
v
d i isio n b e tw e e n lik e s an d l
dis ik e s C o . l o rs to t h e r igh t a n d l e ft a r e
p l e a sa n t

l
a n d u n p e asa n t .
(After Gu ilfor d .
)

It i s very l ikely that a complete set Of these charts will be

published i n the future They would prove useful i ndeed and
.

would Offer industry a ver y neat and very comprehens ive

p i cture o f human likes and d i sl ikes .

The chart reproduced i s fo r the color red and the arrange ,

ment i s acc ord i ng to M unsell Tints shades and tones as .

, , ,

well as the pure hue i tself are i ncluded To quote Gu ilford , .

,
“
F o r any color sample whose hue i s red hav i ng determ i ned ,

its M un s ell value and chro m a o n e can easily read o ff its ,

28 SE L L I NG WITH CO L O R

mo st probable average value for l ik in g or d i sl i king Thus a .

,

red O f M uns ell v al ue 7 and chr oma 1 0 ( briefly desi gnated as

R would have an expected affective value o f and
M unsell R would have an expected a ffective value of
The heavy l i ne at i ndicates the division between likes
and dislikes C olor samples to the right o f it a r e all pleasant ;
.

those to the left with the exception o f the colors very close
,

to black are unpleasant

,
”
.

Thus for this par ticul ar hue bright pinks and strong pure
, ,

reds are most appe al ing The weakest and most unpleasant
.

region ( around consists o f grayish reds O f medi u m o r

medium deep value
-
.

As to his ch ar ts Guilford wr i tes : The practical value o f

,

these iso h e d o n charts should be very apparent Assuming .

’

that we can Obtain i n this manner the intrinsic affective

val ues Of colors for the masses Of buyi ng customer s it should ,

be relatively simple to set up a series o f charts o n e fo r each

,

Of the twent y M unsell hues let us say O nce any particular

,
.

color sample i s evaluated o n the M unsell system a glance at ,

the appropriate chart would tell h o w well the average person

likes i t P redictions fo r single i nd ividu al s cannot be so accu
.

r a t e ly made as for groups O f course ,

but in these days com
,
”
m o d it ie s are made to please the masses .
Cha p te r 3

SCIE N CE O FF E RS AN A SWE RN

G UI L F O R D writes I think that i t is more than a figure

,

o f speech to say that living t i ssue particular ly brain t issue

, ,

generates color s and pleasantness o r unpleasantness just as

other collections o f matter generate the phenomena o f heat ,

o r magne tism o r electr i city

”
,
H o w else can o n e account for
.

color preferences ?

While science p r etty well d isregarded the psychological

and human aspects of color for many gener ations it recently ,

has begun to acknowledge that the beauty of color may arise

from more corpor eal sources than spir i tual o r aesthetic feeling .

“
Assu m ing that there may be something in the glands ,

many investigators have set to work and the results have been ,

exciting i ndeed The difference between the live man and the
.

dead o n e is finally be i ng determi ned .

There are good causes and reasons for color l i kes and dis
likes for rac i al preferences for dozens of reactions that make
, ,

color the most fascinat i ng o f al l natural phenomena This .

material has been hard to get It is found i n widely se p arated

.

places both here and abroad It has seldom been assembled

,
.
,

revi ewed and interpreted You cannot find a complete book

, .

about it ( although the author now has o n e i n preparation) .

Yet the attempt to explain color i n biological rather than

,

esoteri c term s to trace i ts reality in sensation to thi ngs

,

phys i c al and physiological i s proving to be a valuable con

,

tr ib u t io n to the caus e Of color commerc i al o r otherw ise ; for

,

i t gets i ns ide the clock so to speak and sees what makes the
, ,

c h im es r i n g .
 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R

Understand that the exp lana tion of color prefer ence is new
t o sc i ence so new in fact that you wil l not find o n e color
,

authori ty in a hundred who can speak wi th any coherence

about i t Ask yourself why you like blue ( if it so happens that
.

you do ) Then realize what a di ffi cult but intr iguing pr oblem
.

it would be to write a sensible or even plausible an swer .

L ight an d L ife

Because light is essential to all l iving things o n e may ,

naturally expect color to hold real significanc e In the lowest .

forms of animal life the humble amoeba makes its way in and
“
o u t O f light seeing wi th i ts entire organism and gener ally
”
,

choosing a shady spot n either too bright nor too dim A

, .

more advanced cousin the euglena wi th light sensitive cells

, ,
-

cluster ed at the base o f i ts feele r s wriggles her e and there ,

fo r t h at degree o f bri ghtness best suited no doubt to its , ,

existence .

The starfish with eyespots on i ts arms can see through

, ,
“
its skin if these eyes are somehow nipped o ff in battle The
”
.

earthworm nocturn al i n its habits answers the warnings o f

, ,

receptor cells scatter ed on the wal ls o f its body and stays clear
o f daylight u n l ess it i s flood ed o u t o f the ground The c la m
,
.
,
“
wi th eyes on the inner lip o f its siphon retr eats qu i c kly
”
,

into its shell when a shadow passes An d so it goes o n up the .

,

scale o f light sensitivity .

S ensitivi t y to color however is to be found o n higher rungs

—
, ,

o f the ladder o f life in the turtle the octopus the fish the
—
, , ,

snake reaching high perfection i n the bird ; b u t fo r some

reason o r other it is missing again in most mammals such as
, ,

the horse the cat the dog ( but not the ape )
, ,
.

Among i ns ects Bertholf and other autho r ities have found

,

a range o f vi sion quite di fferent fr om that o f man Whereas .

man sees that span of electromagnetic ener gy extending from

red to violet the insect begi ns to see at yellow (red and orange
,

being mer e darkness ) ; and it keeps on seeing thr ough green ,

blue i nto ul traviolet and beyond E N Gr ise w o o d had fruit

,
. . .

flies responding to wave lengths almost as fine as X rays -

,

radiant ener gy with Whi ch the i nsects surely had no e xp e r i

ence i n natur e .
 SCI ENCE O F FERS AN A N S WE R 31

Aga in , finds light regulating certain fam iliar hab i ts o f

one

crawl ing and flyi ng pe3 ts the cockroach scamper i ng away ~ -

as fast as i t can the moth throwi ng caution to the w i nds

,
.

This i s light however not color spec i fically Yet color t o o

, ,
.
, ,

is i mportant and has d ifi e r e n t attract i on depending o n i ts

bri ghtness and i ts wave length Ants placed i n a box that i s .

illumi nated by a full spectrum w ill carry the i r unborn

progenies ( al ways kept in darkness ) from the ul traviolet and
“
vi olet r egi on i nto the red and infrared Not seeing red the
”
.
,

ant will per haps be under the delusion that hi s retreat i s t o a

d ar k and secluded p lace .

E xperimenting wi th night flyin g insects L C P orter and -

,
. .

G F P r ideaux found that brightness was a dominant factor

. .

i n attract i on power Next to this the more a source o f illu m i

.
,

nation approaches the blue end o f the spectrum the m ore ,

i nsects i t will gather ; and the more i t approaches the red end ,
“
the fewer i t will gather The substitut i on of yellow lamps .

for whi te lamps o f equ al candle power reduces the number

o f i ns ects attracted by approximately 5 0 per cent Blue
”
.
,

consequently is the preferred hue and red o r yellow the

, , ,

least noticed .

F o r daylight traps h owever Freder i ck G V osburg reports

, ,
.
,

For some reason a yellow trap will catch more Japanese

beetles than any other color This probably i s not a contra .

d i ction fo r a yellow surface i n daylight has a high relat ive

,

brightness and bri ghtness remember seems to be an e ffecti ve

, , ,

lure .

P l ants
A s i m i lar d i scr i mi nat i on seems to be shown throughout
plant l ife The general ly green color o f most plants must o f
.
,

i tself represent some bas i c law of preference in nature

,

possibly the need o f the plant to absorb energy from the

,

oran ge red par t of the spectrum At least extensive research

-
.
,

divulges that plants thrive di fferently o n di fferent types o f

radiation .

While research in the growth o f plants has been go i n g o n

for well over a cent ury most of the early i nquiries were ,

prejudiced by an al most occult convi ct ion of magi c In 1 91 8 .

,

however F S chanz noted that plants grew taller as the blue

, .
32 SE L L ING W ITH CO L O R

and ul traviolet end o f the spectrum was cut off He ra ised .

plants in beds covered by sheets o f glass C u c umber s and .

C hrysanthemums grew tallest under red light ; potatoes

and beets were weakest i n yellow light the i r fruit largest and ,

healthiest under blue vi olet light -

.

H W P opp in 1 92 6 us ing colored lights of equal intensity

. .
, ,

found that red pr omoted stem elongation while bl u e checked ,

it N P fei ffer under more controlled conditions found that

. .
, ,

radiation fr om the visible spectrum ( ultraviolet and i n frared

excluded ) caused the greatest diameter and height o f stem .

L eaf development was greatest under blue root development ,

w a s greatest when the violet end of the spectrum was m issing .

D r R B Withrow also found that for many plants orange :

. . .

r e d light stimulated the most response Under yellow green .

, ,

and blue cer tain plants did not grow tall nor did they flower
, ,

although the foliage was rather abundant ( S ome authorities .

feel convinced that blue radiation excites greatest response in

—
plants having reserve food supplies in tuber s and bulbs ) .

W H Hoover found red m o sh p r o d u c tiv e i n the growth o f

—
. .

“
wheat but not i nfr ar ed o r ul traviolet which contr ibute ,

nothing to the ass i milation o f car bon dioxide i n wheat ”

.

L ewis G Flint promoted active germination in lettuce seed

.

with red orange and yellow rays ; A C r e slas did likewise with
, ,
.

grass seed .

What such control means commercially is well expr essed

by D r Withrow He states that supplementary light and color
. .

may be used to caus e ear lier and i ncr eased flower ing in such
plants as the as ter S hasta daisy pansy D elayed flowering
, ,
.

may be produced i n the Chr ysanthemum In E urope go r .

,

g e o u s flowers and big juicy strawberr i es have been gro w n

commercially in hothouses where daylight is supplemented by ‘

red neon light The advantage fr om the standpoint o f business

.

i s either to produce a bigger and better bloom o r to get into

the market a few weeks before compet i tion an d thus com ,

mand a handsomer pri ce .

B irds, An im als, H u man B e in gs

I do not mean to go too far afield fr om the chief essay of
t h is book However I feel sure these notes o n colors i nsects
.
, , ,

plants animals and hum an beings are in teresting and will

, ,
 4 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R

w as found wi th an app arent emoti onal preference favori ng ,

any color mixture that con tained red .

In man the response to color involves many complex

factors few o f which have been thoroughl y analyzed It is
, .

“
believed however that spiritual o r aesthetic feelings may
, ,
”

someday fin d a scientific basis in things physiolog i cal Kurt .

“
Goldstein writes It is probably not a false statement to say
,

that a specific color stimulation i s accompanied by a specific

response pattern o f the entire organism which is the happy
” -

spr ingboard for a plunge i nto the myster i es o f human color

prefer ence .

T o begin with the affect i ve values o f color have t h r ee so

,

c al led maxima i n blue red and gre en and thr ee mini ma i n

, , ,

yellow orange and vi olet The three m ax i ma come pretty

, ,
.

close to the p r imar i es generally recogn ized i n certain color

theories champ i oned by the physic ist In fact the retina is .
,

thought by some authorities to contain nerves that respond

basically to blue red and green If t hi s be true there may
, ,
.
,

be definite physiologi cal reasons for the preference that most

people show for these three hues .

To speak of real fundamentals E R J ae n sc h came forth ,

. .

some year s ago wi th the theory that the human eye or iginally
was a br ain organ associated wi th thought and instinct O nly .

later in the course o f evolut i on d i d i t devote itself to the jo b

, ,

o f recording light st i mul i In a crayfish for exam ple the in flu

.
, ,

ence o f light and color are said to affect the p i tu i tary gland ,

which i n tur n b e stir s the hormones o f the creature and gets

—
i t to expand or contract its body cells thereby pro du c ing a
color change over i ts entire body This means precisely that
‘

.
, ,

something Of the sort probably transp ires i n the human or gan

i sm The eye rece ives the light and transmi ts i t to the brain
. .

The brain in turn telegraphs to certain glands which then

, , ,

get busy and cause reactions throughout the entire vascular

$

system .

S ome men perhaps more enthusi as tic at heart w i ll argue

, ,

that a phys i c al response to color d o esn t even need the human ’

eye $ Jules R omains some years ago ( w i th the applause of

Anatole France ) demons trated what he called paroptic per
c e p t io n
— the ability to see form and color by seal i ng the eyes
and exposing th e neck thr oat forehead o r chest M ore , , ,
.
 SCI ENCE O FFE RS AN A N S WE R 35

credible perhaps i s the observation that a bl ind man wi ll

, ,

respond to l i ght and fe el i ts stimulation even though non ,

vi sible heat rays are absent .

It i s undoubtedly true that the body has a radiat ion sense ,

for the different wave length s of light will vary i n the ir pene
t r a tio n o f human t i ssue Vi olet and ultravi olet radiation i s
.

sai d to act on the superfi cial layers o f the skin ; the region from
blue to red acts o n the blood ; whil e the rad i ati on of red an d
i nfrar ed affects the deeper layers o f fl esh .

M etzger Goldste i n and other i nvestigators have noted a

, ,

chan ge i n the tonus o f the body ( a condition o f tenseness i n

the muscles ) under different colors When the ar m s are . .

stretched straight o u t i n front o f the bod y and the eyes are

blindfolded exposure to red wi ll cause the arms to spread
,

away from each other E xposure to green and blue will cause
.

the arms to approach each other i n a seri es o fjerky mot ions

these actions not being consciously not e d by the subject
“
Go ldstein wri tes We fin d that green favors performance i n
,

general i n contrast to red The e ffect o f red probably goes

,
.

more in the direction o f an impairment o f pe r formance ”

.

Inter preting thi s statement Goldste i n believes that green ,

more or less lets the body be i tself lets i t act more spontane ,

o u sly wh ile red causes more o f an outside at t raction Green

,
.

and blue thus become the hues of the introvert red and orange ,

the hues o f the extrovert .

S V Kr a v k o v a R ussian scient i st has more to add He

. .
, , .

“
says We may consider it an established fact that the Color
,

sensit ivity o f o u r vision is dependent i n a defin i te way

o n the condition of the autonomi c nervous system
”
Kr a v k o v .
,

through extensive tests discovered that the sensi tiv i ty o f the

,

eye is to be influenced by stimul ation of the other senses L oud .

noises heat sugar , all seem to i ncrease the sens i tivi t y o f the
, ,

eye to green and blue colors and to decrease sensitivi t y to ,

orange and red The neutral point where no change is to

.
,

be noted lies in the yellow region o f th e spectrum Kr av k o v

, .

points out that fluctuations in the color sens i tivi ty o f the eye
may be connected wi th seasonal changes in the funct i oning
o f the endocrine glands If so one may here fin d an explana
.
,

tion fo r the increase in preference fo r cool colors i n summer '

36 SE L L I N G WI T H CO L O R

and for warm colors i n wi nter observed in the s al e o f products

,

to the consumer .

In similar investigations Frank Allen an d M anuel S chwartz

in the na l o General P hysiolo y S eptembe r 1 ) came to
( jour f g 940 , ,
“
this conclusion : It may be safely i n ferred that stimulation
o f any sense organ in fluences all other sense organs in their

excitability Her e are some o f their findings

”
. .

When the retina of the eye i s stimulated sensitivity to red ,

is depressed and sensit ivi ty to green and vi olet is enhanced

,
.

This is the immediate result following retinal stimulation .

However after a rest peri od o f 3 minutes the effects were

, ,

rever sed red appearing to have more brightness and green

,

and violet colors being di m i nished .

In the c as e of no ise Kr av k o v s findings were confirmed

,
’
.

The red color o f the spectrum appear s o f lowered intensity ,

the green o f enhan ced and th e violet o f lowered intensity

,
”
.

“
R eg a rding odors the same sort of c fle c t was noticed
,
Wi th .

the odor o f oil o f geran i um as a stimulating substance the ,

red and vi olet sens ations were depressed in sens i tivi ty

”
and the green enhanced .

For a reaction to taste s ul fate o f qu in ine was placed on the

,
“
back of the to n gue O nce again the red sensation is depressed
.
,

and the green enhanced i n sensitivity A rest period O f 3

”
.

minutes again produced a reversal as it did with visual ,

excitation (noticeable al so i n sound and odor stimulation) .

Now red is enhanced and green is depressed .

Allen and S chwartz o ffer sever al i nteresting conclusions .

P erhaps a ll sense organs are so i nterrelated that stim ul ation

of any o n e o f them i nfluences all others If so many phe
”
.
,

n o m e n a once expla in ed i n ter m s o f nerve responses o n the

retina may requ ire a d i fferent line of reasoning For example .

,

the fact that the contrast o f o n e color agains t another will

change the appearance o f both may have more to do wi th
brain processes than wi th those that are purely retin al .

Bl o n d s an d B run e ts

Not to wander too far fr om the pr oblems of merchandising

colo r consider now an explanation o f color preference by
,

racial type .
 SC EI NCE O FFE RS AN A N S WE R 37

E .
J R . i n hi s book E ide tic I m agery
ae n sc h , ment i ons the ,
“
difference between a predomi nance of sunlight i n the more”

tropical regio n s o f the World and of skylight i n the more ,

polar regions As one travels from cold to hot climates su nl ight

.

i ncreases and skylight decreases Inten se light requ ires sun .

“
adaptation or red sightedness and this may be accompanied
,
”
-
,

by a strong pigmentation On the foveal area o f the retina

—
.

N o w red sighted persons are typical brunets the L atins

,
-
.

They are likely to have dark eyes hair and complexion , ,

.

Their natural preference i s for red and all warm hues a ,

predilect i on whi ch may be far from spiri tual in or i gin and is

perhaps due to a phys i ological process o f accommodation
to long waves o f light .

Blonds o n the other hand are green s ighted They are the
, ,
-
.

Nord i c and S cand i navi an types with bluish eyes light hair , , ,

and light complexion Their preference i s for blue and green . .

This much is known i n bus i ness that likes and dislikes for -

color vary i n different regio n s o f the country and also as ,

populati ons vary The best sellers i n a S wedish neighbor

.

hood wi ll di ffer from the best sellers among Italians In the .

main the conjecture o f J a e n sc h appl i es the brunets lik i ng

, ,

red and colors o f strong chroma and the blonds liking blue ,

and soft tones i n general .

There i s however more to the story S un l ight rather than

, , .

temperature seems to be a significant regulator o f human t as te

in color Interest ing evidence along this l ine has been made
.

known to the author by Helen D Taylor . .

R efer to the map shown on page 3 8 Thi s shows the relative .

hours of su nl ight to be expected i n different parts of the United

S tates The more cloudy districts are i n the far Northwest in
.
,

western M i chigan and i n and around O hio and western

P ennsylvania The sunny lands are i n southern C alifornia
.
,

Ar i zona New M exico and the southern half of Flor i da

, , .

It w ill be noted however that the d i stribution of su nl ight

, ,

( or the lack of i t ) does n o t follow horizontal paths from no r th

to south New E ngland has just as much sunlight as parts of
.

Tennessee Alabama M ississ i ppi L o u i siana and Texas and

, , , , ,

about the same as S an Francisco .

While i t i s usually hearsay that color preferences up north

differ from those down south th i s i s n o t altogether true T O , .
38 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R
 SCI ENCE O FFE RS AN A N S WE R 39

repeat sunl ight rather than temperature seems to be th e

, , ,

i nfluenci ng factor The $map opposite h as actually been used

.

by M r s Taylor to form a bas is for the stock ing o f con

.

s u mer goods Whi te shoes for example w ill sell ( i n relat i on

.
, ,

to dark shoes ) i n about the same proport i on in Boston as m

C hicago Nashv ille D allas Butte and S acramento This
, , , ,
.

applies also to certa i n colors in men s neckti es knitt i ng yarns ’

, ,

and hosts of other products .

Where sunlight is abundant the colors wanted are strong

—
, ,

r ich and frequently br illian t l ik e red whether in north ern

, ,

latitudes or southern .

Where su nl ight is more scarce the colors wanted are softer , ,

duller and a greater preference for blue is noted

,
.

Those concerned with color tr ends and the vagaries o f mass

preferences for hue w ill perhaps find thi s map intri gu i ng It .

suggests a new viewpoint a new approach to the study o f ,

regional color preferences Nat i onal organizati ons having .

.

b r anches i n various parts of the country may well heed its

implications S ales territories are perhaps not to be drawn
.

wi th a compass and goods stocked as belonging to the North

, ,

the S outh the E ast o r the West ; fo r human likes may vary
, ,

wi th the sun i tself the w ife of t h e ranchman in North D akota

,

havi ng much i n c ommon wi th her sister down around Waco ,

Texas .

P re fe re n c e o fAd u l ts
Bl u e
M an is for the most part a diurnal animal but not alto ,

gether While Nature h as equipped him with e yes that see

.

most effectively 1 n daylight she also perhaps ant i c i pated that ,

“

he mi ght do some lounging i n caves and huts The h u man .

eye functions best under moderately bright light and cannot

stand exceed i ngly hi gh i ntensit ies as can the eyes o f some ,

birds the groun d squirrel and the prairi e dog

, , .

In many creatures nature provides eye droplets colored ,

corneas and colored lenses ( chi e fly yellowish) all to filter

,
-

light and to ai d visual acuity M a n i n thi s regard i s no ex .

c e p t io n H i s eye as well h as a certai n amount o f yellow

.
, ,

p i gmentat ion .

P sycholog i cal tests reveal an i ncrease i n preference for blue

i n adults Is n o t this emotional reaction also to be exp lai ned
.
40 SE L L I N G WI T H CO L O R

“
b ya physiological fact Walls writes It has been known fo r
?
,

many year s that the ad u l t human lens is yellow but not until ,

very recently has it transpi r ed that this is actu al ly o f advantage

to sharp vision in br ight light In the opinion o f some even .
,

mor e than this is to be explained .

The yellowi ng o f the lens increases stead ily thr ough the
year s The lens o f a child may absorb 1 0 per cent o f blue
.

light ; that o f an O ld man 8 5 per cent Artists mellow with age

,
.

“
fr equently experience difficul t y i n the handling o f blues ”
.

It therefore may be safe to assume that another sort o f aecom

“
m o d a t io n takes place ; the eyes o f most of us are thi r sty for
”

more and more blue as the lens proceeds to fil ter it out .

As to the color purple which seldom holds much appeal in

,

consumer goods here is a specul ation by the author L u c k ie sh

, .

“
i n his book T he S cience of S eeing writes Inasmuch as i t is
, , ,

i mpo ssible for the e ye to focus blue and red light from a given
obj ect in the same plane a purple object can never appe ar,

distinctly i n focus M aybe the idea i s farfetched but this

.
,

confus i on set up in the eye may have something to do with

the generally low ranking o f purple i n sales recor ds This .

would again imply that human likes and disl ikes have d irect
co n nect i ons with things physiological .

C l
o o r an d Ch aracte r

In a later chapter of thi s book a few rather extravagant ,

comments w ill be found about color and personal ity Now .

,

however let me append a few concluding notes o n color

,

preference as i t i s revealed i n innate and raci al character

traits .

Ath letes are said to prefer red i ntellectuals blue egotists , ,

yellow while the convivial favor orange Thr ough n ational

—
.
,

and religious traditions some peoples Hindus C hi nese , ,

look upon yellow as a sacred and happy color M ohammedans .

love green the hue o f Allah The Iris h man is prejudiced

,
.

against orange and many S cottish people dislike green

,
.

The Amer ican a blend o f many nationalities has all and

, ,

none of these peculiar ities He will o f course show patriotism

—
.
, ,

to red and bl u e and happily his flag combines the most

, ,

universally pleasing of all hues .

Chap te r 4

T H E S E AR E TH E T H IN GS T H AT PE O PL E BUY

TH E psychologi st would declare that the hues best liked by

mortals as a matter o f choice of heart are blue red and green , , ,

in this order H i s conclus ions are i nterest ing and to a large

.

extent accurate when checked i n the l i ght of sales experience

,

, .

Yet the purchase o f many commodities i nvolves other

qual ifying considerati ons that go beyond m ere emotional
pleas u re alone There are such thi ngs as vogues and trends
.
,

which may run contrary to trad i ti on A woman may rational

.

ize over the problem of creati ng br i ght and a iry c onditions

in a room S h e m ay have common sense theories about
.
-

qu a li t ies i n color that res ist soil i ng we ar fading o r that make

, , ,

her figure plumper o r leaner In such ins tances she may

.
,

temper her aesthetic noti ons somewhat wi th good i ntuitio n

fo r the appropr i ate and the practical E ven here however .
, ,

she will usually follow the same conventi ons as her neighbor ,

thereby making a rule o u t of herself rather than an exception

( fortunately)
For the present we are conc erned wi th consumer goods
, ,

with the styling o f products and commodities themselves .

We are not concerned w i th advert ising displays packages , ,

whi ch are n o t the actual thing bought but rather the p r o p a

ganda and the trumpet blowi ng whi ch are meant to call
,

atten ti on to i t and to enhance i t .

It is helpful at this po i nt to understand that the product

, ,

approach and the advertisi ng approach do n o t necessarily

i nvolve the same pr i nciples and techn iques .

1 The product approach may be ter m ed an approach to

.

beau t y a glorificati on and ennoblement o f the things that

,

42
 TH ESE ARE TH E T H I N GS T H A T PE O PL E BU Y 43

people buy o r the things that i ndustry thi nks they ought to
,

buy This is the commodity i tself

. .

2 The approach to advert i s ing display promotion i s not

‘
.
, ,

so personal Here the t ask is to st i mulate act ion i n the c o n

—
.

sumer and to overl o ok whether or n o t she feels al together

happy about it Go od advertisements and good packages for
.
,

example are assured thr ough a pract i cal knowledge o f visi

,

b il it y and attention value i n color The best p r inciples to

-
.

apply are scientific ones that have less to do with emotional

factors than wi th those that are matter of fact .

In the first approach yo u are part of the m o b a sort o f, ,

bus iness evangelist struggl i ng hard to gi ve express ion to

,
‘

human wants .

In the second approach you are more of a sober doctor , ,

diagnos i ng your patient wi th a sound knowledge o f yo u r

profess ion and applyi ng the needle o r the pill to get the r e ac
tion you want .

Thus i n this and the next three chapters the approach to

, ,

beauty w ill be the o n e discus sed Followi ng that a number of .

,

technical facts about color and vision will be set forth .

Now however you are a student o f people and you are

, , ,

go i ng to try to make sense an d order out o f the ir pred il ect ions .

Sale s R e c o rd s
It
-
i s never safe o f course to do to o much theori z i ng about
, ,

color and people C onclus i ons should follow evidence R ight

. .

colors sell in big volume ; w rong colors do not An d r i ght and .

wrong i n merchandise are not unlike r i ght and wrong i n '

—
ethics g ood when the general i nterests o f people are served
, ,

and bad when they are not

, .

Anyone concerned w i th the problems o f color i n consumer

goods will find real profit i n a study of sales records S uch .
’

facts however do n o t m ak e for very absorb i ng read i ng ; yet

, , ,

as they are per ti nent t o a book o f this sort some reference ,

sho u ld be m ade to them I n Append ix A will be found a fa irly

.

comprehens ive l ist o f c olor preferences as they are reveal ed in

actu al reports fr o m m an ufacturers These figures o f course .
, ,

are t imely as o f the wr i ting o f this book While they natur al ly .

will undergo change the reader may fin d some permanent,

interest in them as a source o f future c omp a r ison .

44 I N G WI T H C O L O R
SE L L

The sal es record holds something o f the val u e of a stock

market report It bespeaks public demand tells of peaks and
.
,

valleys i n the wants o f consumers Where such i nformation .

is maintained over a period o f time the careful observer will ,

,

soon begin to note the course o f trends and to distinguish

l ive issues from dead ones .

C l
o o rs, T o day an d Ye ste rday
Notso many years ago the chief rage for color ( i n home ,

furnishings) centered around gr een and rust D ark colors .

were pop u lar Followi ng this there was a s hift to deep blues
.
,

and reds and from there o n up the ladder of the s ame hues
,

to colors like peri wi nkl e and rose D ur ing the S econd World .

War the typical American woman had a home i n which the

following taste was expressed .

Her house if she had o n e w as colonial painted whi te wi th

, , , ,

g reen roof and green shutters and t r im .

For her living room ( and fo r most other rooms ) she used
cream o r ivory paint O n the floor was a r ose o r blue rug
. .

The d r aperies had a cream ground with flowers in multicolor .

The upholstery on her furniture was deep blue o r wine ( if

she spent little money) o r rose and medium blue ( if she spent
more money) Her d i ning room did not differ markedly from
.

her living room .

In her bedroom the wallpaper was pink cream o r blue

, , ,
.

Her blankets were rose her bedspreads ecru o r cream with

,

rose o r blue patterns The covers o n her mattresses were blue

.

o r rose The wal ls o f her bathroom were w hi te ( or peach

. if ,

she bought wall li noleum) Her towels were white o r peach . .

P lumbing fixtures if not whi te were tan o r i vory To ilet

, ,
.

paper if not whi te or nat ural was green

, ,
.

In her ki tchen the l i noleum o n the floor was whi te wi th

,

geometric design s i n red and black Two thirds o f the o ilclot h .

-

she bought had red o r green colors In ki tchen towels sh e .

preferred red as the best decorative color In porcelain .

enamel cooki ng utens ils she l iked whi te with black red or
, , ,
‘

green tr i m In glassware red predominated

.
,
.

This does not i mply much color harmony perhaps when , ,

judged i n the li ght o f S ophi sti cated taste ; yet it does reveal
that among many products few colors were desired
, “ ,
.
 THESE ARE TH E T H I N GS THAT PE O PL E BU Y 45

A m e ric an Marke t
The
To portray thi s story $of color and people i n i ts i mmensi t y ,

let us quote a few figure s In the last census . there were

in the United S tates some human beings Nearly .

7 7 per cent were over fourteen years of age They all li ved in .

over dwelling places persons to each home

side M or e than
. o f these dwellings had electricity ,

and had telephones Automobile reg istration .

exceeded and ownership o f radios was above

2 9, 300 , 000 .

Of the total population about 90 per cent were native

,

bor n and 1 0 per cent wer e for e i gn bo rn There were about

,
-
.

housewives O f the 52 . o r more persons

,

willing o r able to wo r k three quarters were men and o n e

,
-

qu a r ter were women As to the particul ar tasks that kept

.

them busy ,
were Operators o f o n e type o r another ;
were far mers o r farm laborers ; were
engaged in cleric al o r sales work ; were experienced
cra ftsmen o r foremen ; were propr i etors o r managers ;
did pr ofessional or semiprofess i onal work ;
did miscellaneous labor ; were i n domestic service .

As to where they all made their abode per cent lived ,

i n 5 cities having more than a million population ; per

cent lived i n 8 7 cit i es with a popul ation from to
per cent lived in 98 5 cities with a population
from to and per cent li ved in towns
having from to population The ur ban p O p u la .

tion in the above groups numbered per cent

o f all ) leaving some
, per cent o f al l) o u t in
rural distr icts .

The people o f the Unite d S tates have normally a total , ,

annual i ncome approaching 1 00 billion dollars Thi s is .

partially spent as follows :

H sing
ou

H m e O p e tio
o ra n

C l thi g
o n

A t m b il s
u o o e
46 SE L L I N G W I TH CO L O R

R e c rea ti o n

F u rn ish i g n s

T o b ac c o

N o u - au o t t r a n sp o r a t ti on

R e ad n g i
E du c a tio n

R etail sales amount to about 42 billion dollars in one year .

This money is spent in outlets such as the following

F ood t s o re s .

F ill i g t ti
n d
s a to m b i l t s
o n s an au o e s o re

D p tm
e ar t d d yg d
en an r oo s

F it
u rn ho h l d a d ad i
u re , u se o ,
n r o

D g st
ru s o re .

V a i t y st
r e o re s .

M uch color i s i nvolved in all these b ul ky figures ; yet the

patterns o f taste follow consistent lines In America in p ar t ic u .
,

lar mass pro duction and mass marketing have been s u ccessful
,

not onl y because o f human ingenui t y but because o f mass ,

social enthusiasm and the willingness of millions of souls

—
many o f them rac i al strangers to each other to glory in the
same things .

E u ropeans who i n t he ir o w n nat i ve lands dress differently

and have d ifferent homes wi ll upon coming to America , ,

quickly adopt the wants O f their n eighbor s It may b e that .

liberty and democracy are great mer chan dising stimulants

t h e forces that really make m as s production po ss i ble .

Wh at C a u se s T re n ds?
It i s difficult to account for shiftsin color preference From .

the inside o u t so to speak cons umers generally want a chang e

, ,

of environment Yet from the outside in these cha nges are

.
,

very difficult to direct M erchandis ing failures exist by the .

score in which i ndividual man facturers or groups o f them, ,

have gone i n for extens ive and expens ive promotions only to ,

fin d that public fancy was obdurate i ndeed A vis i t to close .

o u t shops w ill tell a vi v i d story of colo r s that rema i ned waifs

and had no homes to welcome them It seems as though .

people are always susceptible to the i n fection o f color They .

expose themselves to i t al ways When they are s m i tten the ir .

,
 T HESE ARE TH E T H I NGS THAT PE O PL E BU Y 47

fevers are likely to become somethi ng o f an epidemic so many ,

o f them contract the same v irus .

P erhaps their emot i onal natures are sensit ive in spots You .

c an tr y this and that but noth i ng succeeds until the i r systems

,

all of a sudden react They cannot think them s elves i nto color .

cho i ces any more po ss i bly than they can thi n k them s elves
, , ,

i nto i n fl uenza ( or o u t o f i t) .

Yet color trends start somewhere I n women s fash i ons .

’
,

P ari s used to be an i nfluence E ven more than the lead i ng .

co u tu r ier s however public taste had been affected by the

, ,

eminent personages who first exhibited the gowns S ome time .

ago the D uchess o f Windsor created a rage for tweed suits ;

,

and i n a past gene rat ion Al i ce blue was made famous by a

, ,

P res i dent s daughter

’
.

In these days the m o t io n p ic tur e star the d ilettante th e

,
s
, ,

actress and the model the cocktail loun ge the i mportant

—
, , ,

reception these are the test p ilots and the provi ng grounds
where the unusu al i s paraded before the multi t ude and
applauded or not .

Agai n i n fashi ons o n e i s not to forget the counterp art o f

—
, ,

the anci ent courtesan s women devoted to the profess ion o f

voluptuousness and seduction and usually supplied wi th the ,

necessary cash to i ndulge i t o n a grand scale .

In more substantial products such as home furn ishi ngs the , ,

leading decorators and shops the motion p i ctures the color , ,

fu l magazines mus t be cred i ted w i th the or i gination o f a

'

number o f vogues N o t that such vogues are establ ished .

through well laid plans but that enough different thi ngs are
-
,
“
shown unt il something catches O nce again t h e con ,

sumer seems to be at her own mercy like a box o fwet matches , .

You strike one hue after another until unexpectedly o n e o f , ,

them blazes and the c o n fla gr a t io n is o n .

S trange ventures in color may be profitable to magazine

publishers However no manufact urer o r store i s advised to
.
,

go through the same speculation When you are i n business to .

manufacture merchandise and sell commod i t i es at a profit

, , ,

you just don t mount the spectrum and ride o ff in all directions
’
.

After all i t i s i mpossible to i ndulge all hu nches o r fancies

, .

Nor would such a policy be practi c al P eopl e s likes may be .

’

so m e th i n of a mystery ; but o u may alwa s have t h e assur

g y y
48 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R
t

ance that such likes are of a limited rather than an i n finite

order An d they generally concern multitudes of products
. .

An A p p ro ac h to R e se arc h
M ass preferences for color usually fall into a restricted
number o f hue ranges A manufacturer o f one product for .
,

example seeing that the colors he sells best do not agree with
,

those o f another manufactu rer may conclude that his com ,

m o d it y ( and perhaps a lot of other commodities ) has some

, ,

thing special about it However were he to see the sales .

,

experience o f many dozens o f products neatly c ha ted i n color r

and sample the whole pictu r e would be imp r essive for its
,

rather surprising regularity From such a picture he would be .

,

forced to conclude that the public at lar ge has relatively few

—
pet favor i tes no matter what how many o r how much it , ,

buys .

The s al es experience of any o n e manufacturer o r seller is

sign ific a n t
— to hi ms elf and to other s Yet the mor e data .

assembled the better America is o n e vast market Those who

,
. .

spend their money for paints or furniture dresses o r hats , ,

are the same persons who buy a thousand other things By .

studying their larger needs one gets a pret ty good under ,

standing o f them not merely as they stand at a counter b u ying

,

a lone i tem but as they gather things together to furnish a

,

home o r a wardrobe .

As to trends here are a few i ntroductory notes to the next

,

two chapters .

In many lines o f merchandi se good sell i ng colors fl uctuate ,

but slightly over the year s .

M any o f the changes that do take place involve a mere

sh ift i n order of preference the best sellers always being ,

favori tes regardless of other considerations R e d fo r example

,
.
, ,

may gai n ascendancy over blue or green then drop back at ,

another time .

E ven where the trend may be more rad i cal the new th i ng ,

will more than likely represent a mod ification or variation o f

the simple key hue R ich colors may give way to pastel tints
—
.
,

to grayish tones o r to deep shades but blue red green may

, , ,

still d istingu ish their appeal P eople are loyal to their hearts .
’

des ires .
50 SEL L ING WI T H CO L O R

Unfortunately the p r o b le m b f color styl ing i s not to be met

,

thr ough subjective and personal guesswork The real solution .

involves a certain amount of hard work S ales records will .

afford a goo d summ a ry o f past and existing wants M arket .

data w ill help to broaden the consumer picture Info r mation .

from dealers and s al esmen wi ll per haps keep a store or an

i ndustry abr east o f competitive efforts .

Ye t the jo b is n o t fully comple te u n til a final check is m ade with the

her sel $
c on sum r
e f
In the final analysis i t i s the respons ibility o f the manu
,

facturer to protect the retailer ; and i t i s the responsibil i ty of

the retailer to see that the public gets what it wants The ir
—
.

common ground is the consumer and the better they know

her the better will be their success
, .

Styl in g M e th o s o re s d —St
It is enl i ghtening to quote from a survey conducted b y
Ame r i c an C olor Trends among some two hundred manu
fa c t u r e r s and reta il stores An d i t is rather shocking to fin d
.

“
that although the consumer is the true goddess o f mer
,
”

c h a n d isin g she seems to be the last person to be cons u l t e d i n

,

matter s o f color styling .

To deal with stores first , when the question was asked ,

Have you been troubled with unsold stocks because of

colors that the consumer would not readily accept 8 3 per ? ”

cent o f stores said yes emphatically O nly 9 per cent said no .

,

while 8 p e r cent gave no answer .

There is waste here and plenty of it O bvi ously while s om e

,
.

“
c olo r s sell readily others do not O n e store reports
,
. We find ,

that the same po or selling color s ru n straight through fr om

apparel to yard goods and shoes and are always sticker s i n
every department There i s good reason to wonder who
”
.

decides upon such colors and how business goes about select
ing them It is app arent that better control is needed better
.
,

and more reliable estimates of consumer desires .

How does the retail store go about the purchase o f colo rs

for such things as fashions and home furnishi ngs? O nly 2 5 per
cent o f them mai ntain a color styling d e p ar trne n t ; an d o f
-
,

these few special departments practically all act i n an advisory

,

capaci t y ( In the survey the central management o f only two

.
 G IVI NG TH E P U BL IC WH AT IT - W A NTS 51

stores actually dictated over the color purchases o f var i ous

departments ) .

However practically, all stores hold meetings of buyers to

,
‘

decide upon color ranges M any o f them ( 40 per cent ) hold .

such meet ings four times a year at th e begi nning o f each ,

season O thers hold meetings o nl y twice a year ( 1 6 per cent)

.
,

some weekly and other s at irregular i ntervals

,
.

O f greatest si gn ificance perhaps are the facts and data , ,

gathered by the store and used as a basis for color select ion .

If 8 3 per cent o f them have u n sold stocks then distress ,

merchand ise in retail selling to day must rest wi th faul ty

methods o f pro gnostication Here a r e the sources cons ul ted .

by most stor es ( M Or e than one source o f course is used by

.
, ,

the average retail er ) .

S es
o u rcP C nt So c s P
er C t e ur e er en

S l
a e s re c o d r 61
s O tsi d e p f s i n l u ro e s o a

Ad v i c fme o f ct 58
an u a ns lu re r . cou e

Ad v i fs l s p r s
ce o a e 52 Di et s a h w ith
ons . re c re e rc

c ns m 17 o u er

‘
Wo u ld it not be logi cal to expect that the bottom i tem ,

1 7 per cent should be nearer the top i f n o t at the very top

,
?
,

S ales r ecords are undoubtedly helpfu l but they perhaps ,

t o o frequently tell the story of past rather than future wants .

The advice of the manufacturer sho ul d be reliable al though ,

it appar ently is fa r fr om that If the maker is no more thorough .

than the s e ller then both are sure to make mistakes O n e

,
.

“
sto e O ffered this sound advice to the manufacturer : In
r

v e st iga t e consumer tastes and wants before foist i ng combina

tions which lo o k well to an artist but are not read ily accepted
by the public ”
.

O n the matter o f satisfying the customer 41 per cent o f ,

stor es state that color r anges a s w id e and generous as possible .

are offered while 3 5 per cent adhere to restricted ranges

,

( 2 5 per cent had no set policy) L arge i nventor i es of color .

complicate the stock pictur e and may lead to d istress pri ces .

Thi s is particu larly true where many colors are sold merely
for the sake of varie t y and wi thout r i ght attent i on to consumer
likes .

As to color coordinat i on the survey h as brought forth ,

several interest i ng facts .

52 SE L L ING WIT H CO L O R
0

To begi n wi th 82 per cent of stores firmly believe that the

,

colors people like in o n e type of product help to deter mine

what colors they want i n other pr oducts O nly 6 per cent .

think not and 1 2 per cent have no answer That is what a

, .
,

woman buys i n a hat may i nfluence what she wants in a

purse The rug for her l ivi ng room will have bear i ng o n the
.

materials she buys for her d r aperi es .

Yet when the question was asked Has color coordinatio n

, ,

proved successful in your exper i ence only 2 7 p e r cent of the

? ”

stores said yes ; 46 per cent said to some extent o nl y ; and 4 ,

per cent defin i tely said no ( 2 3 per cent o ffered no opinion) .

Accord i ng to the survey however 76 per cent of stores , ,

have tried color coordination No coordination has been .

attempted in 1 7 per cent o f stores while 8 per cent did not ,

i nd i cate a policy M ost coordination has been carried out

.
,

o f course i n women s fashions and in home furnishings

’
.
,

Here then i s the enigma : If 8 2 per cent o f stores say that

, ,

the color o f o n e product will influence the color o f another ,

why do only 7 6 per cent O f them attempt color coordination ?

An d why do only 2 7 per cent say that color coordinat i on is

successful ?

The answer must rest w i th the fact that while matchi ng ,

color s may be pret ty they will n o t necessarily sell fo r this

,

reason in m ass m rke ts Until the consumer s wants are better

a .
’

understood and satisfied color wil l continue to be a bugaboo , ,

whether coord i nated o r not .

Stylin g M e th o s an u f
ac tu re rs
—
d M
The manufacturers surveyed by Am erican C olor Tre n ds
—
\

sold a wide variety o f p r o ducts building materi al s home ,

furnishings wearing apparel textiles paints floor coverings

, , , , ,

wallpapers etc O ver 84 per cent o f them stated that color

,
.

was of m ajor i mportance while 1 6 per cent considered it o f ,

-

average i mportance in the sale o f their merchandise .

Asked if they have been troubled with unsold stocks b e

cause o f colors that the consu mer wo u l d not readily accept ,

56 per cent sa i d yes 3 5 per cent said no and 9 per cent had
, ,

no comment ( To the same quest ion retail stores gave 83 per

.
,

cent yes Quite apparently the manufacturer i s able to sell

.
,

to a store merchand ise that the store in turn has real d iffi , ,
 G IVING TH E P U BL IC WH A T IT WA NTS 53

culty i n sell i ng $ They both seem to make m istakes al though ,

the store generally assumes the larger risks ) .

Among the manufacturers surveyed 58 per cent ma i ntain ,

color styling departments while 42 per cent do not S ome 2 8

,
.

per cent o f them subscribe to a list o f 1 2 outside s tyl i ng

services ; 72 per cent use no such servi ce .

As to styling per i ods 2 3 per cent o f these concerns are most

,

active in spring and fall others at o n e peri od only and still

, ,

others throughout the year New l i nes of merchandise are .

issued ma i nly i n spr i ng and fall on January 1 and July 1 , ,

once a year o nl y or at any time during the year

,
.

To assemble facts on which to base their color styling manu ,

fa c t u r e r s rely on fiv e main sources ( more than o n e source of ,

course is used by the average company)

,

S o u rce s Per Ce nt S o u rce s Per Cen t

Sal s e r e c o rds 76 D i t sa
re c it re e rch w h

Ad v i c e fr o m sa e sm l en . 66 ns m e s
co u r

Ad v i c e f o m r d e al s er 48 O tsid p o f i na l
u e r e ss o

c o u nse l

It i s strange that although 56 per cent o f them ad m i t to

,

unsold stocks o n account of wrong colors o nl y half the ,

number go to the consumer for research data Asked if dif .

fe r e n t sect i ons of the country seem to demand d ifferent color

ranges 63 per cent said yes 3 2 per cent sa id no and 5 per
, , ,

cent gave no comment .

Few colored products stand alone i n the co n sum er s mi nd ’

.

That i s she may make a hundred d ifferent purchases each

,

thing havi ng a d ifferent util i t y ; yet i n color e ffect these , ,

products will all fall i nto a few restr i cted hue ranges These .

a r e the colors for the manufacturer to determ i ne and featur e .

Thus when asked if the colors people want i n other products

,

help to determine what people want i n the manufacturer s ’

parti cu l ar i tem 94 per cent say yes while o nl y 6 per cent say
, ,

no D espite thi s ad m ission only 3 7 per cent consider color

.
,

coordination successful wh ile exactly the same number have

,

found i t only partially profitable ( Three per cent say that i t .

hasn t worked at all and 2 3 per cent make no comment )

’
, .

However 58 per cent o f manu facturers say they have a t

,

tempted color coordinati on O n this matter it i s enlighteni ng

.
,
54 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R
G

to compare the experience of manufa c turers with that o f th e

stores .

M an u fa c tu r e r s, S t o r e s,
Co lo r C o o rd i ati
n on Per Cen t Per Cen t
T r edi 58 76
S u c c e ssfu l ( o f th o se wh o t i d)
r e 37 27
P ar al ti ly s c f l u c e ss u . 37 46

O nce again the manufacturer has a better O pinion o f color

,

( coordination ) than the store A t least the store more fr ankly .

,

admits the failure of coordinated merchandise to be profitable .

Wh ile the the ory is unquestionably sound , in practice it often

fa ils The reason for this must rest wi th the fact that too little
.

e ffort i s made to find out what the consumer wants .

C olor coord i nation o f course works better and is almost , ,

demanded i n high fashion markets In mass markets ther e is

-
.

some question as to its value It is true perhaps that for every .

product purchased i n ensemble a hundred o r more will be ,

bought wi thout reference to anythi ng else The first duty is .

to make the i ndividual thing individually beautiful If i t can .

also be made to fit i n with other things so much the better , .

M an y C o l o rs? How
The a uthor holds the V iew that the aim o f indus try sho u ld
be to produce as few colors as possible in any line o f m e r
c h a n d ise This convi ction is based on broad exper ience and
.

extensive study o f s al es records The argu ment is often .

presented that while few colors are desir able an extensive ,

“
ran ge is necessary for prestige and to add class to a line
”
.

Thi s i t is probable i s mere ass umpt ion and hangs o n thin

, ,

threads S alesmen will generally cry for more and more hu es

.
,

and the product ion side o f business will i nsist upon less and
less E ven the more i ntelligent consumer will bewail the fac t
.

that so few colors are to be fou n d making i t almost impossible ,

for her to car ry o u t some subtle scheme The mass buyer .

,

however is never so fin ica l ,

.

L e t u s quote from the records o f two lines o f merchandise

and d iscuss the economi cs o f color ranges The first o f these .

manu fac t u rers had 22 d ifferent colors and he sold them in the ,

followi ng proporti ons :

 G IVI NG TH E P U BL IC '
WH A T IT W N T S A 55

Co lo r

De e p b l ue

l
B ac k
M ar o o n
Na vy . G r a y h b lu is
Sa d n . D r k gr e ea n
M di e um b l ue . S i er lv
R ed . M e d u m b ro wn i .

W hit d t l
e an ll
n a u ra n . Ye o w gr e e -

Go l d n O r a ge
G een
r in P k .

L i gh t b l ue l P u rp e

Th is according to the author s way of thi nk i ng i s a sad

,
’
,

record The spread from best to worst is entirely to o great

. .

F o r every o n e purple i tem he sold 1 2 3 i n deep blue $ Not to

menti on the probable complexi ty o f the manufac t urer s ’

i nventori es how much did the cons umer have to pay extra
,

for the privilege o f looki ng at a w ide varie t y of colors that she

pract i cally never bought? Was the s al esma n proud to have
so much to o ffer the reta iler An d if the retailer stocked up o n
?

most of these colors was he proud to have them lying around

,

the store unsold ? ( The colors i n th is particular l i ne inci ,

dentally also came i n d ifi e r e n t s i zes $)

,

Now consider the record o f another manufacturer While

,
.

thi s is not the same product as the o n e abo ve it i s not far ,

removed and also i nvolved the complexi ties o f different sizes .

C lo r
o P C nt C o l er e or

Bl a k c B o wn r .

G ay
r G n re e .

Bl ue 15 2 Wh it . e

R ed T an

Here the spread i s far smoother only three black item s ,

be i ng sold to every o n e o f tan P robably the average manu .

facturer is n o t i n a position to do qu i te so well but he certa i nly ,

ought to try .

In a recent exp eri ence o f the author a line o f merchand ise , ,

previ ously sold i n a range o f 1 1 colors was Offered i n only 7 ,

.

The exper i ment was certa i n ly modest enough only four ,

i tem s being dropped from the l i ne The s ales force however .

, ,

strenuously objected mak i ng predictions that ominously,

56 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R
6

po i nted to d isaster clai mi ng that de alers wo ul d re ject the

,

line al together and so on However the new seven colors

,
.
,

had been carefully analyzed and tested E ach had every .

assurance o f acceptance .

What happened i s shown in the fo llo w 1 n g data

O ld L N w L i 1n e , e ne,

C lo Pe Ce t P C o t r r n er en

D ty us se ro

L i gh t b l ue .

P ac h
e

D ee p o s r e .

G e n
r e

The trepidations o f the sales force were pretty well proved

to be unfounded F irst o f al l the entire line sold much better
.
, ,

and far more total products were bought The spread b e

—
.

tween best and worst seller was smoother from 2 5 to per

cent as agai nst
,
to per cent Although most salesmen .

assume that dealers and consumers want many color s the ,

test proved the facts to be Otherwise ( as i s often the case ) .

The de al ers i n fact o ffered their blessings to the manu

, ,

facturer for the advantages o f a limi ted stock ready accept

‘ “

ance high rate of turnover and almost tot al lack o f unsold

, ,

inventory .

How many colors should be O ffered The q u estion really

?

ought to be How few To my way o f thi nking these are the

?
,

factors that should decide .

1 A woman may haunt manufacturers and retailers for a

.

strange color If she is i mportunate o r i f she happens to

.
,

know the wife o f the president the hue may be stocked O n e ,

. _

appeal made by o n e woman and i nsistently presented may

, , ,

g ive the color a glory that is all out o f proportion to i ts true

value What is the result O n e (o r a few) women ar e satisfied
.
?
,

and many are not Inventories are complicated and dis tress.
58 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R
s
A general allover picture o f color trends will be found
,

illustrated i n an accompanyi ng chart Thi s is based on an .

observation of b uying trends over the years an d was first

br ought to the attention o f the author by an execut ive well
exper ienced 1 n mail order selling and the merchandising o f-

pr od u cts in mass markets Her e are its general izations . .

Assume that at a certain period the colors most in demand

, ,

are strong and rich ( point 1 o n the chart) .

The next likely trend w ill b e toward lighter tints o r pastels ,

,

these colors being clean and clear in aspect They will show .

steady rise ( points 2 3 4) as the stronger hues begin to wane

, , .

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Co l or t r e n ds . S h o w in g th e u su a l c o u r se o f c o o rl p r e fe re n c e in m a n y v a e r a ge

li n e s o f m e r c h an dise .

Followi ng the pastels will be a trend toward grayish tones

( so c al led muted colors ) P oint 4 on the chart will be a very
-

happy time i ndeed w ith all form s o f color selling fairly well
,
'

— the pastels i n the lead the r ays o n the way i n and the
g , ,

strong colors on the way o u t .

Wi th the ascendancy of the grayish muted tones ( po i nts 6 , ,

the strong and deep colors will reach a low ebb ‘

.

Then mor e suddenly the whole order w ill be reversed

, ,
.

Appar ently the consumer w ill grow weary o f t hi s slow t rek

fr om richness to pastel to gray tone Here taste havi ng b e .
,
4
-

come an emi c will rebel and long for strong tonic S h e will
,
.

“ “
become smart and audacious and her p r eferences will
” ”
,

swi n g suddenly to vi gorous colors ( at the point i ndicated by

arrows o n the diagram) .

However while deep r i ch colors will have more sizable u p s

,

and downs the pastels will trace a smoother course and will
,

sell in more even volume .

 G IVING TH E P U BL IC WH AT IT WA N T S 59

As to the t im e durat ion i nvolved in trends the general ,

movement i s sw ift i n women s apparel and slow i n home

’

furn ishings a complete cycle from richness to pastel to gray

,

tone and back to r i chn ess agai n r e q u 1r 1 n g several years i n

,

most home commod ities .

This is th i nki ng broadly o f course The i nteresting premise

,
.

O f the chart i s that i t pret t y well anal yzes the usual course o f
color preference and tells what form o f color may logi c ally
be expected next Beg i nning w i th the rich color the consumer
.
,

tends to find herself attracted to lighter modificatio n s Then .

this gr t o f appreciation leads to further subtlety only to ,

arrive at a po i nt where the full beauty o f color is sapped to

an almost ashen grayness A reaction takes place and the
.
,

cycle starts over aga i n .

E conomic and social condit i ons na t urall y a ffect trends .

The depression of a few years back forced a quick return to

pure color ( possibly as a sort o f psychological escape for the
indivi dual ) Brilliance blossomed for th ( in stoves utensils
.
, ,

automobiles ) where it had never been seen before S ince then .

,

the tr end has been clearly toward pastels and muted tones .

The more ardent fever of t h e present day m ay likewi se i nspire

boldness i n color and give th e cycle an other whirl .

H igh Fash io n

C atering to the whi ms o f h i gh fashion may be a complex

and agonizing process but i t will pay big dividends to the
,
“
quality business that exerts the ri ght aler tness High
”
.

fashion buyers are likely to show u n expected fancies; and

l ikely als o to abandon them wi th the same al acrity To sell .

exclusive products high i n profit and low i n volume color ,

coordination may be necessary The manufacturer and the

.

store may have to watch each other if they do not actu ally
work together All the i nfluences of Fifth Avenue the 3 5
.
,

and 50 cent magaz i nes the s t yle shows wi ll have to be

-
,

attended The gilded char i ot o f we al th (o r presumed wealth)

.

rattles al ong at a fast clip You have to achi eve the knack o f
.

jump i ng o n and o ff with fac ility Wh ile the rul es are harder
.

to wr i te than for mass markets research and a cons tant ,

diagnos is o f what goes o n are both vi tal .

60 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R
o

Se ctio n al Pre fe re n c e s
S ome data have already been given on color preferences
in relation to hour s of sun l ight For the most part such dif .
,

fe r e n c e s conce r n either a liking for war m colo r s as against

cool ones o r for rich chr omas as against softer pastels or gray
,

tones .

In this regar d the experience of one company m an u fa c t u r

,

i ng hard s u rface floor coverings is significant Generally the

-
.
,

t wo most pop u lar colors are red and bl u e the extreme regions
—
,

o f the spectrum Further people o f L atin type S panish

—
.
, ,

Italian prefer war m hues wh ile S candinavi an and Nordic ,

types prefer cool hues .

New E ngland is conservat ive The preference her e is for

—
.

suppressed blues reds and roses green s grays tans s eldom

, , , ,

the intens e colo rs M etropolitan New Yorkers delight in

.

flashy contrasts E xci t i ng colors and color schemes of a sharp

.
,

clean nature ar e favored New Yorker s o f course run the .

, ,

gamut of the spectrum from the highly s t yled color s o f

-“

F ifth Avenue to the s i mple crude palettes forever preferred ,

by average mortals .

In the deep S outh ( not including the Flori da resort d is

tr ic t s) red i s the paragon — rich flashy burning In th e , ,
.

S outheastern states there is a bit of old fas hi oned conservatism -

,

though the favored colors are usually warm in character like ,

traditional S outhern hospital i ty S oft med i um tones lacking .

, ,

in anythi ng spectacular are preferred ,

.

In the M iddle West and the Northwest color choices seem ,

to di ffer as the nationalities o f settlers differ C i ty d wellers .

like bri ghtness and contrast o f clear pure hues C ountry ,

.

dwellers buy more subdued tones o f green tan and brown , ,

.

An d aga i n Nordics wi ll lean toward cool hues and L at ins

, , ,

toward warm In Texas and the S outhwest hot climates ( and

.
,

perhaps Indians ) i nspire the cons u mer to want colors su ffi;

c ie n t l
y s t rong i n hue and cont r as t to v i e w i th the i ntens i t y

o f the climate itself .

O n the P acific C oast parti c ul a rly i n southern C al iforn i a

—
, ,

there is a real dem and for light pastel tints colors away fro m
full intensity yet clean and lumino us i n quality Her e even
,
.

designs must be s impler ( I n clude the beach towns o f Florida

.

i n this accounti ng ) .
 G IVING TH E P U BL IC WH A T IT WA N T S 61

The E c o n o m ics o f Styl in g

S oc ial values are beco m i ng more and more i mportant In .

legislation and educat ion in publ i c and industr i al relat io n s a

—
, ,

new attitude is be i ng formed a n att i t ude that seeks to

measure all human effort i n term s o f i ts pract i cal sign ifican ce
to the masses at large To fit i n wi th all t h is Am er i can man u
.
,

fa c t u r e r s ought to recogn i ze new respons ibilities to the con

sumer After all the manufact urer has the duty of provi ding
.
,

h is deal ers with colors that wil l sell ; and the retailer must
protect hi ms elf agains t loss and his cus tomers agai nst d is
satisfaction D istress merchand ise is economically wrong and
.

socially unfair Goods bought at a bargain counter may seem

.

cheap yet the losses w r i tten o ff here must be charged else

—
,

where V alues are to be questi oned when the maker o r the

—
.

sell er must add to th e pri ce o f h is good i tem s to compens ate

for hi s bad ones .

Business management for th e most part h as delegated , ,

m atters of s t yling to certai n employees who generally have ,

standing below that o f a vi ce pres i dent The chi ef execut ive -

.

“
hi m self wi ll usual ly confess to i gnorance as far as beauty is ”

concerned He m ay handle finance product i on and labor ;

.
, ,

but he will turn to others for gui dance i n color D uring the .

recent war per iod however management learned an im

, ,

portant lesson Governm ental restri ct io n s o n color and the

.

extent o f color ranges demo ns trated that considerable effi

c ie n c y lies i n such program s of simplificat i on It may be true .

that the cons umer wo u ld buy al most anythi ng because o f

scarcities Nonetheless styl i ng becam e a fun ct ion of man age
.
,

ment to the extent that an execut ive w as usually called upon

to dictate to hi s company what the government dictated to
h im. M any an organ i zat i o n w i th h i gher product i on ma ,

t e r ial and labor costs but wi th ce iling pri ces fix ed o n i ts

-

—
,

commod iti es made substant i al profits anyhow S uch profits , .

came through the more effi ci ent producti on o f fewer i tem s ,

reduc e d i nventori es lower sell ing costs and lusty co n sumer

, ,

acceptance .

P erhaps styl i ng through t h i s exper i e n ce w ill become more

, ,

a concern of management C ertainly the exe cutive end of .

,

bus i ness should be able to speak wi th authority about c olor ,

62 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R
s

o r,at least to set up means and devi ces by whi ch i t c an check

,

and double check the assumptions and vagaries o f i ts designers .

S uch means and devices are to be found in i ntelligent r e

search They are a necessary function o f management They
. .

bring color into the front o ffice and mak e it behave They
.

force it to keep regular hour s fill o u t an expense account

, ,

and conduct itself wi th perfect business demeanor .

Chap te r 6

PR ACT CA L I R E SE AR CH TE CH NI Q U E S

R E S E AR C H is i nd i spensable to styl i ng As o n e successful

“
.

manufacturer has stated You follow an artistic ideal and

,

let me follow a statisti cal fact and my products will outsell

,
”
yours at least two to o n e l Not that there i s anyth i ng wrong
i n a creative vi ewpoint but that i t lacks assurance o f result
,

unl ess i t i s confirmed by some tangible evidence .

Ar t i s al ways an i mportant consideration ; yet i t needs

couns el and d irection For i ts o w n sake however i t shoul d
.
, ,

be watched wi th a wary eye Ar t i n i ndustry must have .

reason sense and purpose ; and its expression mus t w i th

, ,

stand the h ard test o f public acceptance Fortunately i t i s .

,

no more necessary for a businessman to experiment wi th

color than it is for a doctor to exper i ment with a stomach ache -
.

M ethods of diagnosis are available to both .

B asic Prin c ip le s

To get at a bas i c technique here are a few pr imary con

,

siderations A fundamental plan is to be laid within the

.

organ i zation and certai n policies are to be established All

, .

this i s to be neatly i ntegrated wi th d irect research among

consumers .

1 Fi r st o f all s al es records should be maintained These

.
, .

sho ul d include a company s own fin dings as well as those of

’

—
,

competi t ion if such facts are ava ilable .

2 If d ifferent products and d i fferent pr i ce ranges are

.

i nvolved separate charts should be kept C heaper merchan

, .

63
64 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

dise w ill probably have a c o lo facc eptanc e di ffering from that

o f expensive merchand ise .

3 M aster charts are then needed which w ill summarize

.
,

the story for all types of color i n all types o f the manufacturer s
.
’

pr oducts These charts may be further broken down i nto market

.

sections if t h e cons umer shows singular preferences i n various

markets Again a differentiation should be made between low
.
,

and high priced commodities This effort w ill reveal a broad

-
.

picture o f cons umer wants ( It mus t be remembered that .

color trends are o f a general nature Though the public may .

purchase an endless vari ety of things i t will have but a ,

limited number o f color preferences ) .

4 If i t i s at all possible the findings o f the manufacturer

.
,

should not be taken as conclusive until an actual check is

m ade with his retailers i n order to determine i f the public
,

i tself has accepted the goods Unsold inventory lists may .

sometimes be conveniently examined by salesmen ( o r reports

obtained through the mails ) For ex ample promot i ons o f .
,

individual colors by the manufa cturer are O ften successful

from h is standpoint but not from the standpoint o f his
,

dealers S ome time ago a large retail chai n made the rounds
.
,

o f New York close out dress shops and found a stagger i ng

-

abundance o f olive green dresses Although these dresses

-
.

might have made a splendid showi n g o n the reco r ds o f the

man who made them and sold them to certai n outlets they
—
,

did not sell to the consumer a fact that the manufacturer

perhaps d idn t even know Though you may distribute your
’
.

p r oducts through de al ers bear in mind that you are actually

,

fo r ever selling to consumers even though i ndirectly , .

5 S ales records and charts sho ul d be cumulative and

.
,

arranged by sect ion o f the country if different habits are ,

evident in different regions The advantage here is to find .

o u t whether colors are o n the way i n or o n the way out .

With enough exper i ence saturation po i nts will become ,

known and may be recognized .

6 Finally as will be emphas i zed later the manufacturer

.
, ,

shoul d make an effort to acquaint hims elf wi th the sales

records o f related products If he makes paint i t is impor .
,

tant for hi m to k now what goes o n i n rugs wallpapers dra , ,

i s upho lste r y fabr i cs It i s always vi tal to understand t h e

p e r e,
.
66 SE L L I NG WI T H CO L O R

of human wants and bel i efs ah d to form a b asis for the in t e lli
gent satisfaction o f them .

M etho ds o f consumer research ex ist by the score : mail

questionnaires personal contacts o n the street or fr om door
,

to door telephone i nterviews It is i mportant o f cour se to

,
.
, ,

get information from cl as ses o f i ndividuals who ar e u n m is

t ak a b ly interested in the prod u ct o r i n the question being
researched Here i t i s to be noted that persons o f higher
.

income and intelligence are more likely to be responsive ; the

masses are i nclined to be taciturn It i s not always easy to get
—
.

the r ight answer from the r ight people Yet when a wise .
,

technique i s followed the results o f research may be sur

,

p r isin l
gy accurate In the field of politics
. G al lup remarks ,

that a poll of from 600 to 900 car eful ly chosen straw votes will
often yield elect ion results having an accuracy wi t hi n 5 per cent .

C o n su m e r R e se arc —
h N e ti
g ve
a

“
gmont Arens wr i tes I wo ul d like to warn against using
E ,

people s O pinions having them tell you what they like and
’
, ,

then acting u pon them This is very danger ous You are apt
. .

to be misled The point i s that what women think doesn t

.
’

co u nt ; it i s what they actually do under selling conditio ns .

This is entirely pertinent as applied to color for i ts appeal ,

is far more emotional than i t i s mental Ways must be devised .

o f soun ding out pred ilectio n s which are more or less i nnate ;
’

and these ways must avo id a number of pitfalls .

The method described below has been used with good

success by the au thor and represents the policy o f h i s resear ch
organization Ameri can C olor Trends Frankly the techniqu e
,
.
,

has been built out o f much sad exper i ence and failure ; fo r ,

if b us iness i s n o t cautious consumer research can lead to a

,

collect ion o f false conclusions and vapid assumptions .

In the first place here are a few errors that should be

,

avoided .

C olor ranges are not well chosen by perso ns sitting aro und
a conference table No matter how many existing sales facts
.

may be on hand no matter how clear a new trend may seem

, ,

no matter how many years o f experi ence may be back of the

sales manager styl ist o r executive Conclusio n s should not be
, , ,

final without at least some research with the consumer .

 I
P R A CT CA L R ESE ARC H TE C HNIQ UES 67

Never thi nk exclus ively i n term s of o n e i nd i vi dual product .

I f consumer test i ng i s to be attempted please know ( from ,

the hard earned les son o f the author ) that an isolated i nqu iry
-

i s likely to br i ng an equally i solated a n swer A manufacturer .

recently offered a free sample of his product to women as a

reward for gi vi ng judgment o n a new series o f hues Quite .

“
to his amazement the abstract choices fa iled to agree w i th
,
”

the color s of the samples that the women wanted for them
selves $ An d the result of the survey i nc idental ly was far , ,

from satisfactory .

“
Never start from scratch i n worki ng o u t a line o f colors
to be researched and n ever have to o m any Walter B P itkin
,
. .

“
wr i tes The ord in ar y man thinks fuzzily about h is o w n wants
,

beyond the co m monplace The publ i c knows i ts mind

.

i n gener al term s never in detail

,
What I me an i s this : if
.

you begi n from t h e beginning so to speak you are l ikely to, ,

do no more than get caught up w i th the past R esearch must .

be projected like a j avelin from the position of your last

, ,

sales figur es
—
.

C o n su m e r R e se arc h P o sitiv e

—
The right formul a then a t least i n the author s experi ence
,
’

m ay
-
be directly stated i n a number o f well ordered points -
.

These are the principles util ized i n the serv i ce performed by

American C olor Trends chi efly for average consumer goods
, ,

such as home furni shi ngs sold i n m ass m arke ts not high
, ,

fashion ( S upplementary data o n women s furni shi ngs will

.
’

be given later in this chapter ) .

F irs t sales figures are exami ned C harts and stat istics
, .

( cumu l ative ,where such are available ) a r e stud i ed for the

parti cular product under considerat ion S im ilar data on .

competitive items are likewise noted .

The find ings here are then checked against sales records o f
all types o f merchand ise related and unrelated We a r e
—
.
,

stri ving to get at the larger picture o f the consumer a t bi g

trends which carry l i ttle ones along with them
, .

At th is point we observe what has been go i ng o n generally

i n the American market With many facts before us we know
.
,

( )
a what h as been good and bad and ( b ) wha t color ranges
have probably been m issed That is have the records o f .
,
68 SE L L ING WIT H CO L O R

k
other manufacturers o f o th e r t yp e s o f products revealed good
sellers that have not been O ffered in the item that we are co n
-

sid e r in g? O rdinarily what the consumer l i kes in o n e com

,

m o d ity will be liked in another .

To emphas ize the above point a fairly comprehensive ,

picture of consumer wants often enables a manufacturer to

break wi th tradition Where his sales records may show good
.

volume for example i n certa in types o f color traditional to

, ,

his business a study o f trend s i n other fields may expose dif

,

fe r e n t wants altogether which he and hi s competitor may not

,

have reco gnized S uch an i nstance is seen in the experi ence

.

o f a manufacturer of felt base floor cover i ngs By tradition

-
.

in this field l ight backgrounds had been most acceptable in

,

yard goods sold fo r use i n kitchens and bathro oms R ugs .

,

however were styled in deep tones o f red blue green tan

, , , ,
.

“
O bjective research showed a certain dusty rose to be p o p u
”

lar i n a w ide varie ty o f other merchandise O n the logical .

deduction that dusty rose ranked high in the consumer s ’

—
preference and might be welcomed in a felt base rug a — -

test was made and the rug was put on the market Although .

i t had no p r ecedent ( and no competition ) i n i ts own field it ,

i mmediately climbed up among the leading seller s and

remained there for a long while The manufacturer not o n l y .

made an excellent profit but higher prestige was realized ,

among h is dealers .

Assume now that we have a good knowledge as to what has

been sold and a fair ly confident idea as to what might sell i n
,

the future (At this stage we may co ns ider the personal notions
.

of stylists salesmen and dealers ) We are ready to submit o u r

, ,
.

prognostications to the consumer $ How shall we go about i t?

Giving attention to as few colors as po ssible we first take ,

our leading sellers and prepare samples of them i n other varia

tions : that is lighter dar ker grayer o r purer color We keep
, , , ,
.

in mind that color trends are l ikely ( a) to rearrange the posi

tions of the top sellers o r ( b ) to present shifts i n form rather than
shifts in hue We also keep i n m i nd that we are tryi ng to
.

impr ove our good items as well as to groom unknown s .

Next we study the best sellers in other types of products

,
.

Where we find a color o r a color range that has been success

ful we make an adaptation o f i t to o u r own commodity
,
.
 PR A CT CA LI R ESE A RC H TE C HNIQ UES '

69

In the th i rd place we may i nclude a few colors that the

,

styl ist or t h e salesman may i ns i st upon prov i ded that h i s ,

experience and j udgment are tolerably sage

—
.

What we have now ar e several potentials a dozen at the

—
,

most and there is good reason to be a n xi ous about each one

o f them .

Go in g to the C o n su m e r

From this po i nt o n the research method for test i ng color

,

di ffers radically fro m the method employed i n po lling

such th i ngs as publ i c opin i on advert ising Copy the utility, ,

o f a new prod uct o r design and form preferences The need

,
.

for a uni que appro ach i s all t o o obvi ous : color i n the i ndi
v idual product is i rrelevant For example a woman might .
,

gi ve a fairly sound op i nion about the best s ize shape and

—
, ,

convenient form for a ki tchen m ixer and i t would not be

necessary t o talk about anything other than kitchen mixers .

But if you were trying to decide upon the most pleasing color
,

for the art i cle i n questi on she perhaps would not know how
,

to express herself unless you talked about ki tchens themselves

and the th ings that belong i n a kitchen .

To speak o f the method used by the author major study ,

and research are devoted to the over all wants o f the c o n -

—
sumer her living room bedroom bathroom ; her spring or
, ,

fal l wardrobe ; her basi c concerns Thi s i s where trends go o n .

most act ively where the colors o f i nd ividual art i cles are
,

determined .

Hence o u r v isual i zat ions cons ist o f sketches o r drawi ngs i n

,

whi ch ensembles are illustrated We talk i n generalities and .

ask gener al quest ions We sound o u t the consumer s e n t h u si

.
’

asm for color i n home and dress S ome drawings show her the .

thi ngs that she already has O ther drawings show her a few
.

variat i ons o f them S till others ( on the wi se b as i s already

.

descri bed ) show new departures .

“
We are not interested i n yes and no a ns wers We are .

seeki ng react i ons to new and general appeal s from which ,

we can in terpret the best color for any o ne or more products .

F o r o u r aud i ence we go to thr ee sources :

‘

1 Women trained to lecture o n color harmony befo r e

.

clubs and associations comprised o f members who represent

70 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

our market These women sb u n d out the desires o f the con

.

s u mer when she i s i n the precise mood we want .

2 S peci al exhi bits i n reta il stores and i n those departments

.

where o u r product i s purchased .

3 M ail quest i onnaires wi th a simple check list and a give

.
,

away (o n color harmony o r character analysis ) as an induce

ment These questionnaires may be mailed to a selected list
.

of people or delivered i n person to organized consumer

panels .

The facts so gathered from as many regions o f the country

,

as we find necessary are thus more g eneral than specific

, .

However with the consumer s bigger wishes estimated it

,
’
,

then becomes fairly easy to seize upon the right colors fo r

individual p r oducts N o w the deduction may be b u ilt upon
.

good foundation and may further capital i ze the particular

sales records and exper i ence of any o n e company We have .

not cornered our answer so much as we have found the whole

room i n which it i s automatically revealed What we c o n .

c lu d e upon is rather sure to be something that will fit happily

and compatibly into i ts place i n the consumer s household ’

.

Finally where i t i s practical to do so and where time

, ,

permits we pro duce limi ted quantities o f actual merchandise

,

in color and rush them o u t to see what happens under actual ,

sales conditions .

Incidentally we have not found t h e ringi ng o f doorbells

,

or the standing o n busy str eets to be practical These types of .

research are unquestionably effective under many circum

s tances and fo r m a ny purposes but they do not seem to lend ,

themselves to the problems o f color .

The B e n e fits f R e se arc h

i

While the above method i s fairly comprehensive and

expens ive i t by no means equal s the hi gh costs fr equ ently
,

spent fo r consumer polls It i s also more systematic and lends

.

itself to year in and year o u t practice as agai nst a str enuous

- -
, ,

o n e time e f
- fort that has no permanent val ue .

I n the servi ce o f Am er i can C olor Trends we are able to

c o ns ider the proble m s of a number o f manufacturers at o n e

time C osts are thus low and equ i tably shared Thi s suggests
. .

like cooperation among groups of manufacturer s a policy ,

 P R A CT CA L I R ESE AR CH TE C HNIQ UES 71

that is sound because of the i nclus ive nature ( as to products )

of mass preferences fo r color .

Intelligent research pays b i g dividends As one example .

,

we may quote the sal es and production records o f a sizable

company making a home product In a normal year befor e — .

a factual styling program was i ntroduced per cent o f

the m anufacturer s output was sold at regular pr i ces while
’
,
“ ”
per cent sold as o ff goods When the colors had been .

vastly i mproved and better adjusted to mass demand through

careful research the ,
per cent figur e rose to per
“
cent and the o ff go ods figure d ropped from
,
-
to
per cent .

O ther thi ngs happened besides Because of the greater

,
.

demand for indivi dual patterns and colors there was a ,

per cent i ncrease in the average production run This forced .

a drop i n cat al ogued i tems fro m 1 3 5 to 1 07 Although th e .

gener al pr i ce structure and the total volume o f goods pro

d u c e d remained about the same substantially higher profits ,

were realized i n qu i cker turnover more effici ent production , ,

and reduced i nventor i es .

A n o m al ie s o f Fash io n
The
The d isc u ss1 o n o f research i n this chapter has been c o n
cerned mainl y with such durable goods as home furnishi ngs .

The problem o f women s fashi o n s presents something o f a

’

mystery i tself The author confesses to some bewilderment

.

over the vagar i es of femin i ne taste in apparel Hence he has .

,

gone to others more qualified and experienced .

In a seri es o f notes t aken under the good co u nsel of Helen

D Taylor much has been learned In normal time s new
.
, .
,

fas hi o n s for color in women s apparel are i naugurated in the

’

,
—
salons o f P aris New York and more lately Hollywood —
,
.

However i t i s n o t so much the geni us o f the cou turier t hat

,

holds the eyes of the public as the e m i nent o r consp i cuous

personages who go forth bedecked i n the resulting creations .

The tas te exhi b i ted by a pr incess a moti on p i cture actress th e -

—
, ,

daughter o r the wife of a fabulously r i ch cap i talist the taste

shown by these r are be i ngs who are the i dols of the mas ses ,

will dictate th e colors an d th e s tyles t hat represent the su b se

quent taste of the mu lti tude .
72 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

In m a ny i nstances the colo r cho i ces of the few elect are

,
‘

sei zed upon with surprising rap idity At once however a .

, ,

process of elimination takes plac e Not all o f these exclusive .

colors by any means will find their way to the M ain S tr eets
, ,

o f America .

In the styling o f apparel for mas s markets the method ,

appears to be simple enough E xpensive merchandise is .

closely watched Fashion shows are attended C heckups are

. .

“
made along F ifth Avenue As certai n colors appear to catch
—
.

on
”
and to move in sat isfactory volume tolerance ii not
—
,

acceptance is promptly shown A few large organizations .

wi ll add o n e o r two such new items to a few of their higher

—
p r i ced garments and wait still longer The weeding out .
-

pr ocess becomes almost automatic D ozens o f colors may be .

dyed up and shown about to dealers and consumers for an

opini on From among these a few may event u al ly be con
.
,

sid e r e d reliable F i n al ly a conservative cho i ce i s made

.
,
and ,

o u t the colors go i nto v as t production .

E ven then costly errors are frequently made S trange colo r s

,
.

a r e seized p rematurely There are also occasions in which the

.

color has been o ffered too late i ts saturation point in human ,

desire havi ng been reached .

O rdinar i ly color trends i n women s fas hi ons swe e p qu i ckly

’
,

across the country S tyles in conservative and street wear

.

fan o u t from New York ; and lately much fanning out has , ,

come from C aliforni a i n the realm o f sportswear Wher eas .

the western regi ons o fAmeri ca used to be about a year behind

M anhattan now they crowd at i ts heels
,
.

There is much cooperat ive effort in the styling of women s ’

fashions Through the able work pf the Textile C o lor C ard

.

Assoc i ation fo r example seasonal cards are i ss u ed While

, ,
.

such forecasts are not always followed to the shade they do ,

form a basic chart upon wh i ch manufacture r s in many

related and unrelated fields may work o u t their color ranges
wi th some cons i stency and harmony There are other inde .

pendent groups such as those in C al ifornia which get

, ,

together and style their colors through mutual agreement

and enthusiasm .

Although fas hion colors r i se unexpectedly and undergo

radical ch ange particularly in expens ive apparel larger an d
, ,
Chap te r 7

IF IN
G L O R Y G H U MA N DE S I R ES

TH E research o f the psychologi st i nto the mysteries o f color

harmony has been extremely limited and incomplete as co m
p ar ed with the broad exper ience and abundant c ase hi stori es
o f i ndust r y F o r every o n e inquiry o n the part o f science
.

among a few hundred people there are thousands of inquiri es

,

conducted i n modern business among millions o f people .

Business i n fact could teach science many a lesson fo r its

, , ,

labor atory i s the nation and i ts subject the vast multitude of

pop u lation .

The problems o f merchandising c o lo r m ay be summed up

’

in these words : Find o u t what people like best and then ,

glor ify these desir es with all possible skill and e ffectiveness .

To find out what people want yo u mus t study the ir natures

and ask them many questions To glor ify color yo u must .

show artistic str ategy that fla tte r s less your own feelings than
those o f your audience .

While the management end o f bus i ness will usual ly be qui te

open to advice ( because it admits that it doesn t know much ’

about beauty) the styling division will n o t al ways be so

,

tolerant P eople tr ained i n aesthetics are inclined to have a

.

subjective viewpoint to clai m some special talent that gives

,

them an i ns ight that nat u re has denied to most other mor tals .

Thi s vanity i s al l right up to the point where i t may lead a

per son to the delus ion that h i s taste is the taste of the mas ses .

The author knows the symptoms well The products of indus .

try are ugly t h e designs w retched the colors bad Yet When
, ,
.
,

the creative spirit o f an i nd ivi dual is let free it very O ften ,

74
 GL O R I F YI N G H U M A N DE S R E S I 75

fizz les out l ike a wet firecracker T o o much aesthetic energy

— —
.

leads to o v e r st ylin g and o v e r stylin g i s bad very bad in

,

selling to th e masses .

Thus to speak of be a uty o r color h ar mony 1 5 to take chances

, ,

and to gi ve advi ce 1 8 to r i sk address i ng many stopped e ar s ; yet ,

the attempt will be made here However we shall try n o t to .

,

play the p art o f the theor i st The facts of thi s chapter are
.

based o n an extens ive struggle with the sal e o f colored com

m o d it ie s and o n an even more complete observation a n alyz ,

i ng the measurement o f the successes and failures o f others .

Thi s w ill be shop talk not pedantry and i t will represent

, ,

pract i cal experi ence not arb i trary Op i n ion

,
.

C
S yste m s
o or l
C olor systems are well worth studyi ng They give the world .

of color a semblan ce of order They make clear that colors .

,

tints shades and tones al l follow logi c al sequences and that

, ,

color organization may be neat and not haphazard .

The two best known system s ar e those o f M unsell and

O s t wald T hey will be briefly described i n the last chapter of
.

this book It should be borne i n mind however that the

.
, ,

designers o f color systems are not in the bus i ness o f merchan

dising Nor should they be fo r they are more concerned w i th
.
,

a graphi c representat io n o f the psychological order o f color

than they are with rugs o r w al lp ap e r s An d even i n their o w n
_
.

provi nce they are far from omnipotent Newhall found the .

general shape of the M unsell solid far from r i ght The spac i ng .

o f the colors i s not well balanc e d n o r are the steps equ ival ent
,
”
perceptu al ly as they are supposed to be E ysenck found
,
.

O s t wal d s gray scale and his spac i ng o f pure hues both subject
’

to cr i tic i sm He also submitted certai n o f O stwal d s theor i es

.
’

o f harmony t o actual test and found them want ng

i .

Wi th a color system a person i s l ikely to be dogmat i c to ,

let supposed order delude h im i nto t hi nki ng that he has

foun d some sure tr i ck o r form ula to an swer hum an demands .

S ome cham p i o n s o f M un s ell mi ght say fo r exam ple that a , ,

color scheme that can cels i nto neutr al gray ( when corre
S p o n d in g ar eas of the colors are spun on a wheel ) i s a beaut iful
“
color scheme Th is i s mere assumpt ion S uch a law i s
.
”
.

un fortunately too good to be true R ules are profitable to .

‘
76 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

understand if not to apply A workm an sorts h is tools o u t o n.

a bench Yet the mere order of his tools wh ile i t may be

.
, ,

h an dy and sensible does n o t ensure his skill with them

, .

C o lor systems are n o t the answer to s t yling ; they are merely

an approach a conveni ence fo r thought L earn about them
, .
,

by all mean s ; but do not for the sake o f orthodoxy win an

argument and lose a sale P eople are the legi ons yo u should
.

try to command Beware lest any cardboard forts o f charts

.

and gadgets make you vulnerable .

S in g l e C o l o rs
The problem say is to choose a single color fo r a product
, ,

a salt shaker the handle of a knife a small plastic radio Thi s

, , .

one color i s to sell i n big volume and to be as essential to the

i tem as are i ts size and shape Yo u may take an artistic attitude .

i f you wish about what I have to say Yo u may o r may not .

like the hues I would select ; but my jo b i s to reach the most

people and I would go about i t i n this fashion
,
.

Where i mpulse counts ( as i n the array o f thi ngs found i n a

1 0 cent store ) and where t h e products are not too large the
-
,

best colors naturally are blue red green white (or cr eam) , , ,
.

The blue i s clearly primary neither greeni sh nor purplish ,

in hue .

The red i s a full scar let kept rather toward the vermilion,

side than the p u rple .

The green is clear and preferably not too yellow o r t o o

, ,

o live.

The cream o r ivory 1 s s1 m p le enough to decide upon The .

“
wh i te should be l ike fresh dri ven snow and free o f any ,

tinge o f gray .

With pastel tints your best c o lo fs are sure to be pale blue

( either o f an ultramarine o r o f a turquoise cast altho u gh the ,

former is usually better ) pink ( on the orange side ) peach o r

, ,

coral pale green ( not too yellowish) a n d pale yellow ( like

, ,

butter an d ne i ther too m uch l ike lemon nor too much lik e
,

goldenrod ) .

In deep shades r i ch n avy maroon warm brown and dark

, , , ,

green ( not ol ive ) w ill more than l ikely sell best .

Among grayish tones soft blues and roses tans cool greens
, , , ,

beige and taupe wi ll be popular

,
.
 GL O R I F YI N G H U M A N I
DE S R E S 7

M uch, course depends upon the product and upon the

of ,

consumer s notion as to i ts most appropriate tone qu ality How

’
.

ever general pr i nciples are to be o b served i n the followi ng :

,

1 The consumer i n mass markets w i ll prefer the elementary

.

color regardless of i ts m odificat i on as a tint shade o r tone

, , ,
.

2 S h e will not as a rule like in between colors p u rples

.
, ,
-
, ,

yellow greens blue vi olets red violets o r even blue greens

-
,
-
,
-
,
-
.

( O f the lot blue green

,
w ill
-
be the only one l i kely to have
meri t ) .

3 As far as a complete line o r range of colors is concerned

.
,

she will l ike few of them rather than many In mass markets .

there i s seld om any logi c i n offer i ng a large number o f hues .

In pract i cally every l ine o f merchandise whether i t consists ,

o f 6 colors o r 3 6 color the top rank i ng 4 o r 5 w ill frequently

,

sell from 50 to 7 5 per cent of volume To say that extra colors .

add prestige or enhance the leaders is not altogether true A .

wormy apple hardly sells a sound red o n e by juxtaposition .

C olors that peopl e do n o t like may cause the rest to su ffer $ A

wide selection of colors may confuse the co ns um er s mind and ’

bother her decision rather than aid i t .

4 In any range of colors it i s n o t always w i se to adhere to

.
,

one form o f color variation That i s you do not need all .

,

pastels o r all pure color o r a ll deep shades no matter how

, , ,

pretty such balanced colors may look side by s ide It is your .

privilege ( and necessity i n many cases ) to mix forms A pale

, .

blue may sell b etter than a deep pure blue ; but a brilliant ,

red may sell better than pink An d tan which is neither a .

,

pure color nor a clear tint may fit i n almost anywhere , .

5 It also goes w i thout saying that a color that sells well i n

.

o n e form w i ll not by that grace sell well i n another A big

, , .

demand fo r red will not as sur e success for pink o r mar oon
( though there may be some possibility that i t w i ll ) It is .

necessary to watch your customers to divorce yourself from ,

purely arb i trary hunches and to let the facts of actual demand
,

speak for themselves .

Cl f Fo rm
’

a rity o

There is o n e scientific p r i nciple however that helps to , ,

explai n why clar i ty of color appeals to most people Glance .

back at the C olor Tri angle illustrated i n C hapter 2 In h u man .

 ING WI T H
'

78 SE L L CO L O R

sensation the three primary fo rms are pure color whi te and , ,

b lack The second ar y forms ar e gray t i nt shade tone Tints

.
, , ,
.

are whi tish colors shades are blackish and tones are gr ayi sh
, , .

If i t i s p ar t of the psychologic al make u p of people to see the -

world o f color i n this way to sort all vi sual experiences into ,

seven compact bo xes then a plausible deduction i s to be ,

made .

The principle br i e fly is that every color and every form

, ,

s hould be lucid It should have clarity and be a shining

.

example o f perfection i n its particular classification .

P ure co lors if chosen should be pure br illiant and as

, , , ,

saturated as possible .

Whites should be unquestionably whi te and blacks u n ,

questi onably black .

Grays tints shades tones when chosen should all be

, , , , ,

unm istakable as s u ch and sho uld n o t b e confused with o the r f rm s o .

It should be possible to give scores o f pract i cal examples

of the above principle A few wi ll suffice . .

Unquestionably the ugliness of a sheet o f newsprint stock,

rests with the fact that i t i s neither whi te nor a distingu ishable ‘

“ ”
gray It lacks clarity Tattle tale gray becomes an advertis
. .
-

ing theme to shock the sensitive natur es o f women over the

ch asti ty o f white Bleaches and chemic al s ar e applied to white
.

fabrics to make them as light as possible D ingy whites do .

not sell ; if for some reason the quality o f pure white can
,
”
,

not be achieved in a certain product the manufacturer would ,

do well to abandon i t and adopt something else entirely .

O n e publisher dodged the i ssue o f a cheaper paper stock by

tinting i t ivory and actu al ly braggin g about i t .

S imilarly any color must shun the in between stigm a A

,
-
.

red for example sl i ghtly ti nted w i th whi te may appear

, ,

faded and we ak assumi ng an aspect that suggests shoddy

,

materials Yet a red tinted with enough white to l ift i ts

.
,

classification out o f purity and i nto the cr isp charm o f a pink

may find i ts beau t y restored .

In the case o f orange a slightly blackish cast may mak e it ,

seem dir ty and so iled E nough black would sh ift it to brown .

,

where as a new form i t m ay aga in delight the eye

, , .

While o ff whi t e s are somethi ng of an exception even these

-
,

requ ire care F o r the m ost p ar t clean blu ish o r pink ish glints
.
,
 GL O R I F YI N G H U M A N DE S R E S I 79

are best An y o ff whites resembling an old tennis shoe left

.
-

o u t in the sun an d rai n should be avoided .

A rran ge m e nts o fC o l o r
O rd e rl y
I n appearanc e the p ur e colors of the spectrum divi de them
,

selves i nto warm colors ( red orange yellow) cool color s , , ,

( green ,
blue vi olet ) and,
tw o colors of apparently
,
neutr al
“temperature ” yellow green red v i olet Wh i le olor
( an d ) -
c -
.

c ircles exist by the score not all a gree o n e with another ,

.

S ome complement red with green others red w i th blue green -

—
, .

S ome work w i th three so called pr imar i es red yellow blue ; - - -

O stw al d uses red yellow green blue at equ i distant po i nts ;

- - -

M unsell uses red yellow green blue purple - - - -

.

'
C olor theories an d syste m s feature a number o f rules that
are too academic to warrant lengthy description Harmonies .

are to be found i n math ematic al ly spaced i ntervals i n co m ,

b in a t io n s o f adj acents opposites split complements triads

, ,
-
, ,

tetrads and so o n Although such rules may serve a good

,
.

tr ai ning purpose they do not i n themselves hold guarantees

,

o f beauty .

O n this matter o f harmony Guilford has aga i n shown real

“
sagacity There i s some evidence that either very sm al l o r
.

very large differ ences i n hue g ive more pleasing results than
do medium differences This tendency is much stronger for .

”
women than for men .

P arry M oon and D E S pencer have come to a s i mi lar . .

“
conclusion ( Geometr i c Formu lation o f C lassical C olor
.

Harmony journal of the Op tical S ocie ty of Am er ica January

”
, , ,

In orderly arrangements o f color i n value and chroma ,

pleas ing combinations are found when the i ntervals between

“ ”
any two c olors are unambiguous R efer to the c h ar t shown
herewi th This h as been reproduced from the above —
.

. mentio n ed
art icle If the chosen color is yellow for e xam me all other
.
, ,

colors occupyi ng the shaded area wo ul d be ambiguous ( and ‘

unpleasant ) and all other colors occupyi ng the clear areas

,

wo u ld be unambiguous o r pleas i ng Thus the t wo shaded , .

,

sections i mmediately next to the yellow ( chosen color) would

be am bi guous o r un pleasant S u c h hues would be an orange
, .

yellow and a very greenish yellow I n the next tw o sect ions .

,

whi ch are clear o n the chart the element o f pleasure would be ,

80 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

evident The hues in this re gion an orange and a clear

.
,

yellow green would be found unambiguous and therefore

-
,

harmonious Next the two large shaded sectio ns would

— —
.
, ,

present more ambi guous hues red and green which the
average per son would not consider harmonious wi th yellow .

“ ”
The rest of the chart the contrast section would show , ,

purples and blues which are unamb i guous and which would
,

therefore be pleas i ng .

DE NT ITY
Am big u ity
S IMIL AR ITY
°
43

2 nd Am b ig u ity

Am b igu o u s an d u n am b igu o u s c o o rsl . F o r th e c h o se n l

co o r ab ov e, th e
sh a d e d a r e a s in d ic a t e l
u n p e asa n t h a r m o n ie s, an d l
t h e c e a r ar e a s p l e a sa n t
h ar m o n ie s .
( After M oon ) .

—
The same gener l reactions and the same gener l arrange
a a
—
ment o f the chart would hold true fo r other hues chosen
“
t h r oughout the color c ircle P leasing i ntervals and ambigu .

o u s i nterv al s ex i st betw een colors and an orderly geometric ,

arrangement o f color po i nts leads to harmony ”

.

A person therefore is likely to see harmony e i ther i n colors

, ,

that are rather closely related o r i n those whi ch are anti

—
,

thetical and opposite and not i n other relationshi ps This

—
.

conclus ion thus suggests t wo big guiding principles analogy

and contr as t To these the author takes the li berty o f adding
—
.

a third pr inc i pl e b alance .

 2 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

inci dental trim have to be added wi th cauti on O ften i t is .

best to trim r i ch colors ( an cf even pale ones ) wi th whi te o r

,
—
black gold o r s ilver no th ing else This leaves the main .

color undisturbed A l arge area of red for example may be

.
, ,

t o o vivid to be complemen ted with anything other than

whi te or black ; almost any other chromatic color may appear
garish and discord an t with i t .

4 Where patterns are concerned however the above point

.
, ,

may not necessar ily apply Then the Observations of Guilford

. .

and o f M oon and S pencer regarding analogy o r contrast may

be respected Whi le more advanced and subtle principles of
.

beau t y will be menti oned a few paragrap hs farther on let ,

us i nclude here a seri es o f recommended comb inations for

—
pure hues those su i table for a house dress inexpens ive ,

chinaware o i lclo th and the like

, ,
.

T o glor ify blue : For analo gy on a w hi te ground use blue ,

wi th black o r navy O r use different shades o r tints o f blue

. .

( O nly blue and green seem to lend themselves successfully to

monochromatic tone variations As a rule pink is no help to
— —
.
,

red ; and surely shades o f yellow whi ch are olive are no

help to yellow ) For a blue background use white For con
. .

trast on a white ground use blue w i th red but keep th e red

, ,

confined and the blue predominant For balance on a white .

ground use blue with red yellow and gr een i n smaller amounts
, , ,
.

T O glorify red : For analo gy use the red generously on a ,

whi te ground and show touches o r outl ines of black (But be .

sure that the red i s a g ood one $) For a red ground use white ,

yellow o r black o r all of them together For contrast on a

, , .

white ground use red with smaller touches o f blue (R e d with

,
.

blue sells better than wi th green or blue green regardless o f -

,

the statements of color theori es o r s ystems ) For balance use .

,

the red with yellow green and blue leaving the red in the
, , ,

largest proporti onate area .

To glorify green : For an alogy on a whi te groun d use green ,

wi th black O r use d ifferent shades or t i nts of green on white

. .

For a green ground have the des igns i n whi te o r pale ivory ,

plus black i f des ired For contrast on a whi te ground use

, .
, ,

green wi t h red (fir st cho i ce ) or wi t h oran ge (second cho ice)

o r wi th purple ( th ird cho i ce ) For balance use large green .
,

areas o n whi te with smaller areas of red yellow blue , , .

 G L O R IF YIN G H U
’
M A N DE S IRES
T oglor ify yellow : For analogy on a whi te ground use ,

large areas of yellow wi th black o r deep brown outlines .

Yell ow be in g a relatively pale color may find most appeal

, ,

when used as a background t o give i t suffic i ent area F o r , .

contrast use yellow w i th smaller am ounts of blue For

,
'
‘

balance combine the yellow wi th its other psychologi cal

—
,

primar i es red green an d blue , ,

.

M o d ifie d Co l o rs
As to natural order i n color harmony I H Godl ove has , . .

“
made an i nterest ing observ ati on He writes If we note the .
,

lightnesses whi ch are exhi bited by m i xtures o f common pig

ments of 2 0 success ive hues at the ir levels o f greatest vivid ness ,

begi nn i ng w i th yellow and proc eedi ng through green blue , ,

purple red and back to yellow we find the following well

,
.

marked sequence The lightness goes down toward the greens

.
,

i s lowest at purple blue and comes up again through red

-
,

to yellow Thi s order for color (whi ch has the form of an

”
.

“
inverted pyramid when charted ) Godl ove term s the natur al
sequence .

As far as average react i on i s concerned co mbinations o f ,

colors generally seem to be concordant and pleasing when the

—
above sequence i s respected that i s when light tones of ,

color s that in normal puri t y are light are combined with deep
“
tones of colors that i n normal puri ty are dar k The i ndicated .

sequence we may call the natural sequence as i t ‘

,
’

occurs also i n m ature An y sequence o f hue and lightness

.

opposite to the i ndicated one for example dark green yellow , ,

-

and light blue i s an unnatural sequence It i s found that

,
‘
.
’

practically all the harm onious pairs o f colo r s are i n n atural

sequence and practi cally all the color pa ir s i n unnatu ral
,
”
sequence are bad .

To make Go dlo v e s observation clear i n combining tints

’
,

o r tones the hue normally high i n value may have the lighter

t i nt and the hue normally low in value may have the deeper
,

t int Here are a few examples

. .

D eep blue looks better wi th pale green than deep gr een

looks wi th pale blue .

O range bu ff looks better wi th deep vi olet than lavender

looks wi th brown (whi ch i s a deep shade o f orange ) .
84 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R

P ink looks better with dark blue or p u rple than la ender v

looks wi th maroon .

P ale yellow looks better w i th brown o r blue o r violet than

any pale greens blues or lavenders would look for i nstance
, , , ,

with O l ive green (whi ch is a deep shade of yellow) .

There i s further natural order to be found in the organiza

t ion o f the C olor Triangle illustrated i n C hapter 2 In the .

sequence O f modified colors ( tints shades and tones) any , , ,

straight path on thi s Triangle leads to a concor dant beauty .

F irst o f all as has been previously mentioned all pure

—
, ,

colors look well with whi te and black these combining the
three primary forms .

C ombinations of white gray and black harmonize with, , ,

any of the forms satisfactory as a background .

C ombinations of pure color t int whi te harmonize with , , ,

white best for background .

C ombinations o f pure color shade black harmonize with , , ,

black best for background .

Harmony i s also i ndicated in diagonal paths

T i nts harmonize with tones and black The best sequence is .

a black background w i th tones for the pattern and with th e

, ,

t ints confined wi thin the tones .

S hades harmonize with tones and white (This arrangement .

,

however i s less pleasant than the others ) The shade form

,
.

would perhaps be best for background with the pattern in ,

tones and wi th glints o f whi te w i thin the pattern .

P ure colors harmon ize wi th tones and gray In this har .

mony the effect i s best when the ground is gray and the
,

pure colors are contained inside the tones for nea t visual ,

sequence .

It must be stated however that any remar ks about the

, ,

C olor Tri angle are more on the theoretical than on the

practical side The author does not advise i ts use in styl ing
.
,

other than to suggest i ts i nterest as a remarkable graph of the

natural psycholo gi cal order of c olor At the same time there
—
.
, ,

are good reasons for the h ar m o n ic s o f the Triangle and some

o f t hem may well be remembered In any str aight path on .

the chart the forms have elements i n common The sequ en ce

,
.

is always natu ral and orderly and the eye is quick to sense ,

pleasing relationshi ps .
 GL O R I F YI N G H U M A N DE S R E S I 85

Aga i n , a tone whi ch combi ned all th ree primary form s also
, ,

naturally blends wi th them In fact a tone (not gray) 1 5 the

.
,

most neutral o f all color forms A purple tone spec i fically .

, ,

wi ll blend wi th a w i der array of colors than anythi ng else ,

—
wi th the exception of b lack for purple is neutral i n tem -

p e r a tu r e
”
as well bringing together
,
as i t does the t wo extremes

o f the spectrum .

C o or l Sc h e m e or C o or l E ffe ct?

The art o f color reaches grander he i ghts o f express i on than

those so far described For enlightenment on the finer po i nts
.

and i ntr i c aci es o f harmony the reader i s referred to another

book by the author, M on u m en t to C olor whi ch explores cer tain ,

complex but highl y effective pri nc i ples derived largely from

recent i nquiries in the sc i ence of psychology .

In textiles and rugs for example real ability i s requ i red to

, ,

cr eate distinguished and salable wo r ks of art ; yet success in ,

color requires as much resourcefulness i n studying people as

it do es careful training and talent .

In hi gh fashi on markets it is known that softness and r e fin e

-

ment are wanted Neutral be i ge smoky blue and rose may

.
, ,

have ready acceptance as ground colors C olor harmony w i th .

these muted tones may demand plenty of skill However th e .

,

appeti te o f more S ophisti cated taste must never be accepted

as a cri teri on o f mass taste For a dowager suitable neutrali ty
.
,

in the basic decoration o f a room may mean taupe blended

wi th soft pastels But for the wife of a laborer neutral i ty may
.
,

be qu i te di fferently i nterpr eted to mean white bedecked wi th

red yellow green blue ; for to her this full array of hue m ay
, , ,

more clearly suggest h armony wi th other thi ngs .

As a matter of v i ewpoint i n selling color i n any market it

’

must be reco gnized that people are essenti ally attracted to

color elfects rather than to color schemes (The one exception .

i s the balanced comb i nati on i nvolvi ng the use of red yellow , ,

green blue o n some o ff neutr al or whi te background ) I n

,
-
.

the m a in hum a n p refere nce fo r color clearly re veals a lo ve for the

,

indivi dual qualities of individual colors C olo r ha rm ony in ind us try, .

the refore , is a p ro b lem of co rre la ting a ll e le m en ts i n ter m s of one p re

dom in an t h ue I t is n o t a color schem e b u t a colo r cfie ct tha t is dem a n ded
.
86 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

— h eff t t
su c ec l
g if
o r o
y an d e nha nce the o ne p referen ce tha t the b uyer
h as in m ind a nd he a r t .

A text i le or a rug therefore is bes t sold as predom inantly

, ,

rose blue beige and the like This may seem elemental
, , ,
. .

Yet the idea o f a color schem e pers istently d istracts the s t ylist
from a more compelling approach Why not express it in .

term s of a color (fia t L e t us expla in the di ffer ence

? .

Assume that red is a good selling color i n i nexpensive floral

carpeting Assume also that this fact is known throughout
.
, ,

the industr y all competition offering red on the mar ket

,
.

How w i ll a better product a be tter red be design e d ? ,

P attern will count o f course but not t o o much Will the

, , .

stylist go from r e d to maroon o r mulberry to rose o r pi n k? ,

If he does he will take chances ; for if s imple red is what the

, ,

consumer demands he m ay make the mi stake o f di gressing

,

from i t and lose volum e accordingly .

If he i s loyal to red however he may be very likely to try , ,

to harmonize it w i th gold green blue and what not playing , , , ,

w i th the spectrum as though he were assembling pieces in a,

j igsaw puzzle H e may be unduly concerned over color

.

sche m es .

There are however other strategi es for him These strate

, ,
.

gi es relate to colo r efiect It is possible in the conception and .

blending o f colors to get a wi de var i ety o f different appear

anecs for the same hue There are ways o f making a color
—
.

appear lustrous i r ide scent lum inous not th r ough any

, ,

chemical formulation o f pigm ents and materi als but simply ,

thr ough the illusions created by certain color relationshi ps .

To be somewhat technical relati onshi ps i nvolving a uni ,

form suppression o f various colors i n term s o f black will make

a pure hue seem lustrous by compar i son .

R elati onshi ps i nvolvi ng a un iform suppress i on of vari ous

c olors i n term s o f gray w i ll make a pure color seem ir i descent .

R elationshi ps i n whi ch all inc i dental colors seem to be

pervaded by a key hue wi ll make t h e e ffect lumi nous .

(T h e reader i s aga in referred to M o nu m en t to C o lo r for deta il s

and techniques ) .

Now the s t ylist has something He will create s i ngular and .

magnificent products which surp as s ever yday conventions ,

and precedents He wi ll give his competitor s much to worry

.
 GL O R I F YI N G H U M A N
'
DE S R E S I 87

about and i nc i dentally to copy H is red though i t m ay

, ,
.
,

exactly match the red o f other compan i es w i ll have a unique ,

and vi tal appe a ran ce through the startl i ng relat ionsh i p that
i t bears to the other hue elemen ts in the desi gn I t will have a .

different v isual quali ty a d ifferent e ffect $ An d i t should put

,

compet i tive merchand ise t o sh ame .

Ke e p in g o n the B righ t S id e
There is one fin al suggest i on and i t gets at an other bad
,

habit i n styl ing w i th color P sychologi cal i nvest i gat i on h as

,
.

shown that where pur i t i es differ people w ill l ike the r i cher
, ,

color better ; where values d iffer the l i ghter t i nt will be pre

,

ferred It is i nherent in people to see color ( and to l ike i t )

.

for i ts clearest form s and express i ons .

Those who work wi th color however are i nclined to grow

, ,

weary o f the obvi ous Artist i c temperam ent and pla i n ennu i
.

“
will lead many a person to g ive honest colors a touch of this
o r that
”
,
and to shun the frank qu al i ty for t h e elusive one .

This may frequently prove all r i ght i n h i gh fashion markets -

,

where the anomalous may be preferred to the convent ional .

But i n mass m arkets if there is ever any quest ion as to what

,

parti cular tone o r qual i ty a color should have keep it on the ,

pure s i de or o n the br i ght side and you will be act ing w i th

sage w i sdom .

When you weaken o r o th e r w 1se mod ify a presumably

monotonous color to sp ar e i t from the com m onplace to make
, ,

i t exclusive you may for your pa ins push the masses of your
,

customers farther and farther o u t of reach Far better w ill i t .

be for you to take a deep breath m ake the color obvious , ,

spontaneous and even vulgar (your o wn feel i ngs aside ) and

, ,

thus be surer o f gett ing your public t o move along in your

d irecti on .
Cha p te r 8

TH E H U MA N N ATU R E OF V S O II N

'N T H E styl ing of consumer goods a person ought to know ,

as much as possible about the likes and d islikes o f people In .

many other applications of color i n business advertising and , ,

merchandising however the approach may be less person al

, ,

and directed toward a fai r ly scientific exploitation o f known

laws of vision To sell a woman a ru g or a dress you must
.
,

find out her choice of heart and then flatter i t But for com .

pelling her notice startling her eye moving her to action in

, ,

advertising packagi ng displays i t i s perhaps mo r e effective

, , ,

to work deliberately with the spectr um and get it to perform

as you see fit The human touch may thus give way to a well
.

ordered science that gets i ts results thr ough command rather

than ingr atiation .

In styling you i ntri gue the vol i tion o fpeople In a d v e r t 1 s1 n g

,
.
,

you give your audience a good shaking to ar ouse it from

indifference In the fir st instance you may O ffer color on a
.
,

silver platter In the latter i nstance you may not be so solici

.
,

tous and may be more i ncl i ned to use t he platter either to

‘

shine light into the eyes o f people or to give them a gentle

rap or two over the head .

To lead i nto such matters as attention value legibili ty -

, ,

vis i b i lity there i s i nterest as well as value in revi ewing a few

,

o f the singular phenomena of vision Vision i s of course the

'

.
, ,

most fasc i nating and i ntr i cate of the senses The eye i s far .
(

from a camera i n action and function as it i s i nt imately tied ,

i n w i th subtle mental processes The perception of color is

.

not a matter O f fact reaction to light waves O n the contrar y

- -
.
,

88
90 SE L L ING WIT H CO L O R

same From th is o n e can see that the relat ionship betw een
.

affective value and hue is a more important problem th a n

the relati onshi p between affect ive value an d wave len gt h ”
.

In the realm o f ill u si ons the brain may tr i ck the eye and
, ,

t h e eye m ay contrad i ct external fact Black , wh ile zero o r .

n early zero as far as physical ener gy i s concern ed i s quite ,

positive as a sensation Helm holtz a great physicist wrote

.
, , ,

Black is a real sensati on even if i t by

,

Be n h a m
’
s d isk . Wh e n sp u n s o l w ly it will r ev ea l glin ts Off e d , y ll
e ow, gr e e n ,
bl
ue .

absence o f l ight The sensation o f black i s d istinctly d ifle r en t

.

from the lack of all sensation Black therefore i s a color

”
.
, , ,

and it w ill change the aspect o f all colors i t influences .

All this means that the eye ( an d the brain ) pays but irri
perfect heed to the physics o f th e s i tuation Grays m ixed .

through a combination o f black an d white may not be d ifi e r

ent i n sensation from grays form ed wi th red and green 61 ,
.

oran ge and blue An area of yellow will appear brighter o n

.

black than i t will on whi te P ressure o n th e eyeball will cause

.

sensati o n s o f color The vi sualiz ati on o f an area o f r ed may

.

brin g up an afte ri mage of its complem ent (gr een ) C otton and .

s ilk both wh i te may app e ar differen t in th e qualit y o f luster

, ,
.
 TH E H UMAN NATUR E O F VISIO N 91

Q ueer i ndeed is
,
t hat si tuat i on in w hi ch chr omati c colors
,

are expe ri en ced from black an d whi te areas alone M ake a .

copy of Benham s di sk shown in an accompanying i llustration

’
,

us ing black ink o n whi te cardboard When i t i s spun slowly .

to the right the i nner r in gs w ill be dull red and the outer
,

rings dull blue When i t i s spun to the left the order will be
.
,

reversed .

The E ye
If i n adverti s ing packages and d i splays color i s to serve
, , ,

e ffective ends t hen a revi ew o f some o f the curi ositi es of the

,

human seeing machi ne may well be g iven Whi le the eye is .

somewhat l ike a cam era the compari son i s n o t t o be pushed ,

t o o far O ver the eyeball i s the cornea a transparent outer

.
,

coverin g shaped like a watch cr ystal Behin d t h i s is the pupil .

,

an Open i ng th rough whi ch li ght enters Wi thin the pup i l i s .

t h e lens capable o f musc ul ar adjustm ent to focus near and

,

far Objects The i ri s around and in front o f the lens exp ands
—
.
, ,

o r contracts to re gulate th e s iz e o f t h e pupil open i ng wi de

in dim l i ght narrow i n bri ll i ant l i ght Back of this i s the ret i na
, .
,

a network o f sens i t ive nerve end ings where the im pu lse s o f ,

l ight are tran sm i tted to the bra in .

The reti na h as two regi ons and t wo functi ons In the center .

i s the yellow spot (m acula) w i th a cen tral p i t (fovea ) where the

so called co n es are concentrated These cones do most of t h e
-
.

see ing job ; for only here ( the area m easures a b out hi s i nch
across ) does the eye see color fine detai l surface structure , , ,

luster form an d m ost o f the percepti ons assoc i ated wi th

, ,

vision .

O n the outer boun dar i es o f the ret ina i s the per i phery ,

populated chi efly by ro ds These nerve endings are more .

primi t ive They are extremely sens i tive to light but not to
.
,

color o r deta il They detect m oti on but not the subtlet i es o f

.

form .

Vi s i on thus h as a sort o f double acti on M ost o f the job o f

, , .

see i ng in bri ght l i ght is acco m pl ish e d by the fovea As il .

lum i nati on dec rease s th e co nes grow dorm an t an d the tas k

, ,

of see ing goes over to the ro ds Now (in twil i ght) the world is .

colorless rather flat an d wi thout evi dent detail S im ilarly

, , .
,

the foveal and peri pheral regi ons o f the eye may work to
92 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

gether as helpful partners Whi le the boxer may assi gn foveal

.

vision to the c hi n o f his adversary hi s peripheral vision may ,

keep him alert to haym akers swi ngi ng in ar ound from the
sides Animated displays signs and poster s i n bri ght contrast
.
, ,

m ay likewise catch the attention of a per son very soberly

making hi s way t hr ough traffic wi th eyes front .

In i ts sensitivi t y to brightness the eye is astoundingly ,

versatile From sunlight to the feeble glow of a candle human

.
,

vis i on responds effectively The range i n fact may be i n the

.
, ,

order of a million to one The eye also wo r ks quickly re gi ster

.
,

i ng i mpressions o f objects and colors that may be exposed to i t

for merely a fraction o f a second .

V isua l A c u ity
The eye has different sens i tivity under different conditions
o f illuminat i on In the l i ght adapted eye the spe c trum is
.
-
,

bri ghtest at yellow and yellow green In the dark adapted -

.
-

eye the spectrum i s brightest at blue green and red may fade
,
-
,

o u t i nto blackness In comparable fashion the eye w ill have

.
,

di fferent acuity when i ts field o f vi ew i s illuminated by lights

o f di fferent hue
While thi s so called spectral quality o f light puts many
-

lighting engi neers at loggerheads the major facts are to be ,

r ather safely stated Generally speaking the eye sees well in

.
,

natural l ight equivalent to daylight Acu ity is reduced as the .

spectral qual i ty approaches blue It i s substantially high .

( haps even i ncreased ) as the spectral quality approaches

pe r
—
yellow and oran ge but not so far as red .

S ome claims have been presented for mercury light ( de

c id e d ly greenish and bluish ) It is said to i ncrease the apparent
.

distinc t ness o f certain objects an observation that perhaps ,

has some meri t o f truth However a yellowi sh quali t y i n a

.
,
“

l ight source i s far easier to explain and defend from the stand
point o f acuity L u c k ie sh po i nts out that yellow i s the region
.

o f maximum select i vity the br i ghtest portion of t h e spectrum

,
.

It i s without aberration ( that i s the eye normally focuses i t ,

perfectly) and i t i s psychologi cally pleasing By experi ment

, .
,

L u c k ie sh also demonstrated that by filtering out blue and

violet radiation i n a mercury light ( also i n a tungsten lamp ) , ,

visual acuity remained practicall y constant despite the

‘

,
94 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

contrast usually handicap the eye S hi ny pap ers are o f course .

, ,

unwanted However colors o ther than white would for the

.
, ,

reaso ns given above be l im i ted to soft cream or ivor y tones

,

certainl y not i ncluding greens or blues .

In the store i nteri or and display the s imulation o f natural ,

dayl i ght is t o o frequently m isconstru ed It should be realized .

,

for example that the spectral qual i ty o f sunlight may vary

,
“
more from noon to dusk than from daylight filters to ordi
”

nary tun gsten lamps Because o f a phenomenon termed

.

color constancy ( to be descri bed later) the eye has a fairly ,

good sense of color values in any l i ght that is halfway normal

and not t o o monochromati c C ertai nl y to use filters or bluish
—
.
,

bulbs i s a waste o f money for large in st alla no n s such fil ters

screeni ng o u t from 1 0 to 70 per cent of light energy For the .

same inves tm ent i t woul d be be tter to have say 40 foot , ,

“
candl es o f yellow ish l ight than 20 foot candles of daylight ” -
.

E xtra br i ghtness here would far outweigh any advantage of

“
d im natural daylight
”
.

Nor should psychologi cal factors be i gnored Th at an .

i llumi nation approachi ng natu ral daylight is better than any

other i s more assumpti on than fact When science and i llu .

m in a t in g en gi neers go to all the trouble of matchi ng daylight ,

the public very often shows a dislike for i t S o called daylight .

-

fluorescent fixtures may be i nstalled i n a woman s ki tchen ’

,

but seldom i n her l ivi ng room M any stores and restaurants .

“
have found that daylight i llumi nation actuallyrepels trade
”

and shows many t ypes o f merchandise and fo ods to d isad

“
vantage P eople like a mellow orangi sh quali t y i n light
.
”

for psychological reasons perhaps and even though i t may , ,

cause distortions in the colors of merchandise D aylight may .

be cold and forbi dd ing .

Today however combinati ons of mercury wi th tungsten

, , ,

o r fluorescence w i th tungsten often achi eve good results

,

economi cally The fluorescent light by i tself must be watched

.
, , ,
“
fo r its spectral quality may be somewhat queer The d ay .

light tube i s inclined to be blu ish and deficient in r ed The

”
.

tube emphas izes yellow green yellow and orange -

, ,
.

The soft whi te favors the orange and r e d porti ons O f the
-
”

s pectrum . Under most c i rcu m stan ces the bluish ti nt should

be avo ide d It m ay gi ve a dayl ight appearan ce to m erchan
.
 TH E H UMA N N ATU R E O F VISIO N 95

dis e but i t may also Inak e t h e complexion of the buyer seem

,

cadaver ous should she glance at her self i n a mirror Kee p on

,
.

the warm s i de $ S uch a strategy wi ll not only assure a mellow

an d fr i endly blus h but i t may also min i miz e ultraviolet rad i a
,

ti on whi ch (in fluorescent tubes ) may fade your merchandi se

,
.

V isib il ity
The study o f l i ght s i gnals has revealed much about the
carryi ng power o f color Granted that the brighter the source
.
‘

t h e eas i er and farther i t will be seen red 1 5 perhaps the best ,

o f s i gn aling c o lo rst It 1 s eas ily produced i nstantly recognized , ,

and pla inly vi sible even at low intensi t i es Green i s second .

,

yellow thi rd an d whi te fourth Blue and purple are both

,
.

difficult to see an d to d ist in gu ish In extremely dim light .

,

however when the eye is fully dark adapted blue wi ll be

,
-
,

seen over a wi der range o f vis i on than wi ll red In fact the .

,

rods o f the eye most active in d im li ght may not see red at
‘

, ,

a ll
.
(T h e offic i al blackout illum i nan t dur ing the war was a
soft oran ge Instrum ent panels o n a irplanes for n i ght flying
.
, ,

were i llum i nated by red l ight ) These facts may seem con .

tr a dic t o r y I n m ost condit i on s o f merchand i s ing however

.
, ,

dark adapted eyes just do not exi st an d are hence of little

-
, ,

concern Therefore red in a neon sign i s one o f the very best

—
.
,

to u se q u i ck to attract the eye qu i ck to be recogn ized an d , ,

easy to read .

L e gib il ity
When all colors are seen in the same light however , ,

the hue o f hi ghest v is i b il i ty is yellow Yellow in a word is the .

, ,

bri ghtest and m ost lum inous o f colors T his accounts for the .

fact that the most le gi ble o f all color comb inati ons i s black o n
yellow Next in order are green o n white red o n whi te blue
.
, ,

o n whi te whi te o n blue w i th black o n w hi te s ixth an d w i th

, , ,

the weaker comb inat ions be ing red on yellow gr een o n red , ,

and red o n green (C omb inati ons o f red and blue are t o o
.

hopeless to in clude ) .

It must be kept in m in d however that whi le whi te m akes , , ,

a good backgrou nd i t lacks attenti on value There is a d if

, .

ference between ease o f see ing an d eagerness to see Wh i te .

or pale i vory m ay be i d e al fo r a book ; but for a package ,

96 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

poster o r display the more excitin g fascination o f pure color

, ,

seems demanded .

O n e thing to remember i s that the eye wear ies o f color if

exposed too much an d too long to it Black on yellow makes .

an excellent poster Yet in a book the yellow wo u ld soon gr ow .

trying It would build up a strong afterimage of blue and it

.
,

might also be emotionally monotonous if n o t displeasing , .

A tte n tio n v a l u e -

R e d and yellow are the best attent i on getters the one be i ng

'

aggr essive the other extr emely bright and visible They hold
,
.

a never failing attracti on to human eyes The question might

-
.

be raised however as to their relative appeal and beauty

, , .

L e t me caution the reader that a fairly tricky matter i s in

volved here The colors that people like best are not always
.

the colors to whi ch they will show the most active response .

“
Again one i s reminded o f the difference i n philosophy
,
”

between designing color s for merchandise and design ing

color s for posters packages and advertisements , ,
.

A few year s ago the Wrenn P aper C ompany released data ,

o n a series of tests w i th color Blotters i n d i f ferent hues were .

delivered to several hundred people who were later ques ,

t io n e d Here are t h r ee results

. .

1 When asked if they recalled hav ing rece i ved a colo r ed

.

blotter ( any hue at all ) 61 per cent of women and 69 per cent ,

o f men said yes Women who had received dark blue olive
.
,

green purple yellow and red blotters did a better job of

, , ,

remembering than did those wome n who had rece ived pale ‘

blue v iolet dark green orange and light green blotters

, , , ,
.

Among men the greatest stimulat i on to memo r y was found

,

i n vi olet an d dark blue the least i n light blue and red ,

.

2 In testin g the abili t y o f people to na m e the color receiv e d

.
,

dark blue l ight blue and vi olet stood highest for women and
, , ,

vi olet light blue and purple for men

3 A
.
, ,

. s to reader i nterest the best colors for women were da r k ,

blu e light blue and vi olet and the best color s for men were
, , ,

violet dark blue and Olive green

, ,
.

S uch research needs plenty o f i nterpretation befo r e it is too

“
broadly accepted S timulation to memory does not mean ”
.

e i ther c ase o f recognition o r power o f co mm and in g attenti on .

 ’

98 SE L L I N G WI T H CO L O R

“ ”
tends to spread out over the r e tina just as a drop o f water ,

will creep over the fibers of blottin g paper Thus bri ght colors .
,

appear large and warm colors appear n e ar .

These phenom ena have practi cal appl i cati on in poster s an d

packages Bi gness i s to be accen t uated through the use o f
.

li ght warm colors E lements i n a des i gn mean t to stand o u t

,
.

wi th prominence should advisedly be red orange and yellow , ,

-
and preferably be se t o ff aga inst greenish blu ish o r
, , , ,

purpl ish backgrounds of low value ; for d imens i on in color

increases from coolness to warmth from darkn ess to bri ght ,

ness an d from grayness to pur i ty

,
.

C l
o or C o n trast

It a phenomenon o f v is i on that the sti mulation o f an y

is
o n e color will bring forth an after i mage of its complement .

After looki ng at red the eye w ill experi ence the sensati on of
,

green ; and after look ing at green i t w i ll experi ence red ,

.

O ther such pairs are to be foun d in yellow and blue orange ,

and turquo ise purple and yellow green

,
-
.

A s i mple demo n strat i on o f the after im age is illus trated

T he Afte r im a ge . l f b t th i t y
S tar e a t th e c e n ter o f th e b l ac k c irc e or a ou r

y. m ll d t
se c o n d s T h e n tr a n sfe r
th o u r gaz e t o e s a o .

herewi th The i llus io n is co m m on enough although the

.
,

au thor frequently encounters persons who have never been

aware o f i t The afteri mage has been explai ned o n a photo
.

chemi cal bas is and more recently as a phenomenon takin g

, ,

place in the brain Hypnoti zed subjects have b een able to

.

afteri mages mer ely th r ough th e suggestion o f certain

’

sti muli ( no colors really be in g present ) An d this h as .

happen ed even am o n g perso ns who in a wakin g sta te have

not kn own that su ch a thin g as the afte r im age existed $
When perfect opposi tes are uti li ze d one n ext the oth er the , ,

effect i s naturally exc i ti n g fo r the afterim ages of the hues wi ll

,

enhance each other Th is wi ll hold true when the areas are

.

of relatively l arge size If the two colors are at all confus ed or

.
 TH E H UMA N NATUR E O F VISIO N 99

visually blended an o ppos i te result may take place one color

, ,

the other The pri nciple i nvolved i s separately

.
‘

illustrated l n black and whi te .

Co l o r c o n tr a st a n d d iffu sio n . Co l o r s o f str o n

g c o n tr a s t a r e s t a r t li
n
g to th e

e ye when iso la t e d fr o m e a c h o th e r ; b u t th e y c an c e l e ac h o th e r wh en

When tw o colors are n o t exact complements both may ,

appear slightly mo d i fied i n aspect Wi th red and yellow for .

,

example the green afterimage o f the red may give the yellow
,

a slight lemon tinge L ikewise the blue afterimage o f the

.
,

yell ow may make the red purplish This i llusion has i ts value .

i n displaying colored merchandise and a few principles and ,

case histories will be quoted i n a later chapter .

It is also true that brightness will accentuate darkness just ,

as dark ness wi ll accentuate bri ghtness White looks whiter on .

Brigh tn e ss-c o n tr ast . w l

Bo th ar r o s are id e n tic a in gr a t o n e Br igh t n e ss is y .

a c c e n t u at e d b y d ar k n e ss, an d d ar kn e ss b y b r i h tn e ss
g .

black than i t does o n gray C ouple thi s illusi on wi th that of .

the afteri mage and i t i s easy to appreci ate how str iking effect s
may be engi neered through careful plan and formula .
1 00 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Co IO
r C o n stan c y

P erhaps the most unusual of all visual phenomena is that

termed color constancy This i s the curious and amazing
.

ability o f the eye to see the world o f color as normal under

wi dely di fferent conditi ons o f i llumination White surfaces .
,

in particu lar hold the i r appearan ce whether showered with

, ,

brilli ant light o r clouded i n dimness and whether seen in ,

norm al white light o r i n strongly hued chromati c light As .

an example when o n e i s sitting near a window a piece o f

, ,

whi te paper held i n the hand will be unmistakably white .

S o too will be the face of a clock at the far end of the room
—
, , .

Both surfaces will be white i n sensation although under ,

the same circums tance the camera would photograph one

,

as white and o n e as gray .

For this reason there i s no such thing as underexposure or

—
,

overexposure i n human vi sion o n e of the chi ef differences

between eyes and cameras Under bright and dim light .
,

however one phenomenon i s evident Although white will

,
.

remai n white medium and deep tones of color will tend to

,

blend together and to resemble black ; and i n very somber

darkness (where color constancy may be i ncomplete ) the ,

eye will have a grasp on two major values only : extreme light
ness will be perceived as o n e val u e and all other medium ,

and deep tones will melt together to comprise a second value

bearing likeness to black .

O n e o f the first observations o f color constancy was that of

“
Bouguer i n 1 760 : The se n sib ility o f the eye i s independent
,
x

o f the i ntensity o f the light D avid Katz in hi s rema r kable

”
.
\

book T he World of C olour has written exhaustively on the

, ,

subject C olor constancy has been Observed not only i n man

'

but in lower animals .

In cer tain fish capable of color change background alo ne

, ,

seems to be o f importance to the reactions ; degr ee o f total

“
illumination i s o f minor consequence Walls writes The .
,

shade assumed by the skin o f the fis h i s always (unless the

i ntensity of the i nc ident light i s very low o r extremely high)
in accordance with the al b edo of the substrate the per —
centage of i ncident light whi ch the substrate reflects Katz”
.

tells of similar happenings with hens When the hens wer e .

 I N G WI T H
‘

1 02 SE L L CO L O R

beings enjoy and rel ish P ervad ing a show window or a d is

.

play it may be used for the predom inant effect whi le some
, ,

of the merchand ise is spotted wi th clear l ight to reveal its

true appearance .

Co Io r in Practic e
S o m uch , then for the human nature o f v is ion a subject
, ,

that could occupy several chapters o f i ts own C oncern ing .

ourselves agai n w i th facts an d figures we wi ll set forth prae ,

t i cal rules for the use o f color in advertising packaging an d , ,

displays .

O f see ing James S outhall has wr i tten : Good and reliable

,

eyesight i s a facul t y that is acquired only by a long proc ess o f

tra in ing practi ce and experi ence Adult vis ion is the result
, , .

o f an accumulati on of observat i ons an d assoc i ati ons o f i deas

o f all sorts and is therefore qu i te di f

,
ferent from th e un tutored
,

vis ion o f an in fant who h as not yet learned to focus and adjust
hi s eyes an d to in terpret correctly what he sees M uch of our .

young lives is unconsc iously spent in Obtain ing and c o o r d in a t

ing a vast amount o f data about o u r environment an d each ,

o f us has to lear n to use h i s eye s to see j ust as he has to learn

to use h i s legs to walk an d h i s to n gue to talk ”

.

O n e hears copy w r i ters speak o f t h e need for reaching mass

aud i ences wi th words and phrases geared to the intelli gence
o f young age levels ( s imple words mind you and not n e c e s , ,

sar i ly i nan e an d maudlin i deas ) This i s also good poli cy fo r

.

color T o o much soph isticati on too much artfulness is often

.
,

m i ssed by simple emoti ons just as fancy sentences may be ,

m issed by s imple brai ns Though the pr imi tive and elemental

.

may seem banal at t i mes i t m ay w i th discreti on hurt n o

, , ,

one s feeli ngs and r ing clear i n its appeal

’
.

I am rem inded of an experi ence in the desi gn o f a pean ut

butter contain er An at t ract ive layout colored i n hues of
.
,

p al e cream tan brown an d green w as develope d after

, , ,

months o f ar tisti c d e duct io n The fin al selection o f t h is am ong

.

other s im il ar package s w as m ade through the co m peti tive

“ ”
process o f submi tti ng vari ous dumm ies to consum ers over
the counters o f retai l stores The publ i c jury after le isurely
.
,

inspecti on voted for the combi nation menti oned above

,
. .
 TH E H UMA N N AT U R E OF VISIO N 1 03

Yet a later pac kage des i gned o n good sc i ent ific prem ises
,

( v i s i b i l i
,
ty legi bil,
i ty etc ) and
. w i thout the benefit o f consumer
op in ion greatly outsold the m ore pr ized des i gn Th i s was
,
.

red whi te and blue H i gh on a shelf w i th no o n e asked to

, ,
.
,

say whether or not i t was pleasing i t had the necessary light

,

house qual i ties to com pel attenti on and t o set han ds reaching
for i t .
Cha p te r 9

MO R E PO WE R TO ADV E R T I SIN G

ADVE R TI S ING is major i ndustr i es of America

one o f the .

It is a consistent and successful user o f color Yet while many .

,

practical measurements of the value of color have been

attempted most companies are satisfied to employ it without
,

demanding proof They kn ow the human appeal o f the

.

spectrum and are wil ling to promote i t accordingly C olor .

sells Its benefits are to be admitted whether o r not specific

.
,

data are offered i n evi dence .

However there i s wisdom i n gathering as many facts as

,

possible After all colo r is expensive Business ought to know

.
,
.

what to expect for its investment In a recent survey by the .

C olor R esearch D epar tment of the E agle P rinting I n k C o m

pany among 56 users of dir ect mail 40 of them endorsed color
, ,
,

without having exact figures to present ; 9 wer e r ather sure of

themselves having p r ecise data to submit ; 5 had no com
,

ment ; and 2 out of the 5 6 definitely stated that color had no

advantage over black and white M o r e research ought to .

be attempted to encou r age an intelligent exploitation of

,

color backed up by a realistic knowledge o f its power .

D i re c t Ma il
In the field of d irect mail color tests are rather c o n v e ni
,

ently made M any organizations have sought to measure the

.

e ffectiveness o f h u e The following data have been taken from

.

various sources The author is particularly grateful for the

.

help of George D Gaw and the D irect M a il R esearch I n sti

.

tute of C hicago .
1 06 SE L L ING WIT H CO L O R

be ing arb i trarily set fo r black on white i n or d er to establish

a compar ison .

Pe r
C o o rs l C o l o rs Ce n t
s
T w o h ad e o f u e s bl B lu e an d r e d o n w h ite . 89
on b ue l . 1 08 P u rp le a nd gr e e n on gr e e n 89
l
B a ck a n d r e d o n w h e it . 1 05 Br o w n an d o r an ge

l
B a ck o n w h i te . 1 00 o n c an ar y .

l i
B u e an d r e d o n p n k 92 .

Another publ is her found that tw o colors o n a ma iling piece

i ncreased returns fr om 1 0 to 1 5 per cent over black and white ;
the extra cost was only 1 per cent In a similar instance pink .
,

letterheads were 80 per cent better than white Green was .

second best bu ff third and blue fourth

, ,
.

A manufacturer o f building mater i als d i scovered that a t wo

color letterhead produced only per cent more returns than
black and wh i te Because each i nqu i ry represented a sizable
.

prospect i n dollar volume the extra expense was justified ,

and showed great profit Anoth er company noted that tw o .

color literature pulled 2 0 per cent better than black and

whi te and produced orders at a lower unit cost .

In a test o f outside envelopes goldenrod produced ,

per cent o f orders p i nk per cent green

,
per cent , ,

white per cent kraft per cent The old envelope

, .

previously used ( color not stated ) produced per cent .

R etur n envelopes were s i mi larly tested by a publisher

among some prospects The res ul t was per cent .

fo r pink ,
per cent fo r blue per cent for ye llow , ,

per cent for green Another comp any found goldenrod best
.
,

pink second and green third

,
.

A mill i ng company testing return cards found cherry red

, ,

brought in per cent o f orders blue 3 2 17 per cent and , ,

white per cent An i nsurance company found bright

.

blue i nk o n white stock best for application car ds O rder .

blanks w i th orange borders were better than comb i nations o f

other colors .

An organization sell ing an i nvestment service found that a

blue reply card pulled per cent against per cent for
buff ,
per cent for rose per cent for gr een and , ,

per cent for a government card A man u facturer o f electr i cal .

 M O R E P O W E R T O A DV E R T I S I NG 1 07

equ i pment foun d a cherry red card to b e bes t gree n second , ,

and orange th ird S o called c 0 d car d s i n color have also

.
- . . .

been found superior to stamped government post cards .

A man u facturer o f i nked mul tigraph ribbons produces

2 0 per cent o f them i n color tod ay as agains t 1 per cent five ,

years ago .

While such case histor i es i ndicate that color o ffers profitable

returns not enough advertisers attempt to me as ure it care
,

fully M ore tangible proof is essential if direct mail i s to

.

progress on a basis o f science rather than speculation Guesses .

and mere generalizat i ons ar e not enough .

The D ire ct - m a il T e c h n iq u e
In an article for P rin ters I nk ( S ept 1 5 Frank E gner J
.
,

o ffers some pert i nent notes o n the funct i on s and values o f

color i n direct mail Bright clear hues always seem to be best
.
,
.

“
However restraint i s necess ar y S ome ma il i ng p i eces are
,
.

definitely ru ined in e ffectiveness by too much color P i ctures .

o f product o r package i n a c ircular should o f course be , ,

reproduced as exactly as seems economi call y feasible But ‘

i n gener al the mail order man tr i es to remember that he is

-

us i ng color only for cont rast and emphasis a n d that if he

uses too much there w ill be no contrast and no emph as is .

C olor for rules for i mportant headl i nes fo r occas i on al initial

, ,

letters i s usu all y sufficient for his purpose When color is

,
.

massed as for i nstance i n t i nt blocks the lighter colors should

, ,

be used C olor always requires more white space ar ound it

.

than does black i nk becaus e no color however heavy it , ,

may be O ffers so complete a contrast to whi te paper as doe s

,

black ”
.

E gner has presented seven r u l es w hi ch are pract i c al t o

observe .

1 Always use a second color i n sales letters

. .

2 Use a colored stock o r a second color i n order cards

. .

3 P r i nt dark colors o n light backgrounds rather than light

.
,

o n dark .

4 In general choose the r e ds and the comb i nations o f

.
,

yellow and r o d and yellow and blue .

5 Use color spar i ngly for b e st e ffect

. .

6 Arrange fo r plenty o fwhi te space around masses of color

. .
1 08 SE L L ING WI TH CO L O R

7Bear in mind that a color ed sto c k will often have the

.

advantage of a second color with less expe ns e .

Sp ac e A dv e rt isin g
To quote fr om another survey conducted by the E agle
C olor R esearch D epartment with the help of the author ,

here are more facts on the e ffect iveness of color this time with ,

reference to space advertising P erhaps the most compre .

h e n s iv e study has been that o f the As sociation o f National

Advertisers C olor i n M agazine Advertising issued in
”
, ,

1 93 1 This 8 8 page report i s both complete and well stocked

.
-

with figures Although i t i s more than ten years o ld much o f

.
, .

i ts information i s still pertinent .

According to a questionnaire issued when the report was

p r epared ,
per cent o f magazine advertisers used color
because of the added v al u es it gave a product ; per cent
endor sed it for its attention powers The mai n argument .

against its use ( 2 5 per cent o f adver tisers ) was high cost , .

O bviously color i s more expensive than black and wh i te I n

,
.

consequence i ts use i s not to be justified u n less i t pays both

,

i ts cost and a profit beside

'

In the AN A repor t, cer tai n research o f D aniel S tarch i s

quoted In an analysis of
. i nq u iries i nvolving ,

advertisements run by 1 63 fir ms color br ought an average ,

o f 5 3 per cent more returns per circulation than did

“
black and white T o quote the report : It i s well to remember
.

that the very magnitude o f Dr S tarch s study does n o t make .

’

it conclusive evidence o f the relative pulling power o f color

to advertise any parti cular product In the first place i t covers .

twelve years and conditions have changed markedly

dur i ng the last decade or so M any more advertisers are using .

color today than ever before so that an average over t welve ,

years must necessarily cover a per i od whi ch begins when

color competition was li m i ted and extends through a peri od
when it has become i ntense ”
.

S tarch also discovered that color did not pull equally well
for all types o f products How this 53 per cent advantage.
,

which apparently existed ten years ago ranks today will be ,

i ndicated later .
1 10 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R
Q
S t arch o ffers further facts based o n more recent analyses .

“
The conclusion is that C olor materially increases vis i b il i t y
effectiveness of advert isements ”
.

In a study of t wo identical adver tisements wh ich ran both ,

in black and white and i n color S tarch reports the following : ,

Among both men and women a black and whi te page had - -

an average vi sib il i t y o f per cent ; a four color page -

,

per cent .

Among men the visibil ity o f the black an d white page was - -

per cent ; the four color page per cent

-
, .

Among women the vi sib ili t y o f the black and white page - -

was per cent ; the four color page per cent

-
, .

These percentages were for products i n 1 2 classifications

and included advert i sements for such thi ngs as automob iles ,

c lothing ,
food household furnishi ngs l i quor cosmetics etc
, , , ,
.

S ome time ago E T Gundlach m ade an i ntelligent analysis

,
. .

o f the value o f color i n space advertising i n an ar t i cle for

P r in ter s I n k ( M a y 1 7
’
He stated that as a mere atten
, ,

tion getter color i ncreased interest from 2 5 per cent to a

,
“
normal 3 3% per cent and over In some cases because of .
,

the nature o f the mer chandise color has proved its value at ,

3 00 per cent possibly 400 per cent

”
.
,

Gundlach presented a list o f color val ues based o n e xp e r i

ence and record as follows : ,

C olor as an attention getter when i t i s not i n marked c o n 3

,
-

trast with its surroundings has a potential value o f from 2 0 to

,

2 5 per cent .

When i t is i n marked contrast wi th black and white its ,

v al ue i s from 3 3% to 50 per cent .

“
O n a back page i n a m agaz m e W 1 th glisten i ng colors , ,

its v al ue i s from 3 3% to 50 per cent

However if only o n e member o f a complete ran ge o f
,

merchan d ise i s ill ustrated in color the observer may be d isa p ,

pointed and the val ue o f the color may be zero (o r even wor se
than black and wh i te) .

In showing merchand ise if the color 1 n the advertisement

,

is merely i ncidental (such as the color o f a package) the value ,

may run from 0 to 1 0 per cent .

When the color i s i ntegral wi th the product an d real ly

l r ifie s i t the v al ue may run well over 1 0 0 per cen t
g o ,
.
 M O R E P O W E R T O A DV E R T I S I NG 111

Cas e H isto r e —
i s P bli h u s e rs

Here are individu al notes from the exper i ence o f var i ous
companies .

“
A publisher wr i tes We have estimated the v al ue $of color $
,

by setting o u r four color rate p e r page at a premium o f

-

per cent over black and whi te .

A trade journal reports that a few year s ago colored a d v e r

t ise m e n t s were rather few and far between Tod ay 1 2 per .

cent o f h is national accou n ts use color .

Another publ isher i n the business field wr i tes We h ave ,

o n e advertiser us ng e i ght four color i nserts dur i ng the year

i -

and four black and wh i te ads We have been told by him that
'

o n e four color i nsert produces as m any i nquiries as the total

-

from the four black and whi te ads We feel that i t i s a safe .

assumption to say that color advertising o f thi s type produces

4 to 1 over black and whi te space i n o u r field
”
.

A publ i sher i n the sporting field quotes fro m t wo s i m ilar

advertisements for books o n e in black and whi te and o n e i n
,
“
full color He states O u r records show that the u s e of color
.
,

has brought us approx im ately 50 per cent greater return s

than the black an d whi te page .

C A ge nc ie s
ase H isto rie s -

O n e promi nent agency that has checked the reader observa

tion o f men and women reports :
“
An average o f four magaz i nes three leadi ng weekl i es an d ,

o n e mont hl y magazine shows a comb i ned average o f

observation fo r m en as follows
Co l o rs

O n e p a ge , o n e c o o r l .

O n e p a ge , t w o c o o r s l .

O n e p a ge , fo u r c o o r s l
F o r w om e n

Co lo s r

O n e p a ge , o n e c o o r l .

O n e p a ge , tw o c o o rs l .

a
O n e p ge , fo u r c o o r l s
112 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R
‘
On e fa ilure for color i s to be noted i n the two color page -

read by women Was thi s a we akness inherent in c olor itself

.

o r merely i n the particular choice made ?

Another l arge agency points o u t that the value o fcolor may

v ar y in differ ent magazines From an analysis o f four weekly .

publications here i s the percentage o f increase in visib ility of

,

four color adver tisements over black and white

-
.

M a ga z i n e s
M a ga z i n e A .

M a ga z i n e B
M a ga z i n e C .

M a ga z i n e D
“
The agency w rites If you believe these figures fo r o b s va
'

,
er

tion there i s good reason for using color in magazines A B

, , ,

and C but not in magazine D

,
”
.

“
Fr i ends of color serve it best when they use i t judiciously
according to spec i fic needs C olor has to be mixed as a famous .
,
”
painter once remarked with brains ,
.

“
A New York agency writes We recently conducted a test ,

o f four colo r s vs
-
black and white to find in this par ticular
.
,

case at least that color produced 44 per cent more returns

,

per thousand cir culation t h an black and white b u t the ,

adver tisement was o n e that lent itself particular ly well to

color t r eatment ”
.

A C hi c ago agency wr i tes We find that two color ad v e r ,

-

t ise m e n t s have a greater attention value than the same a d v e r -

t ise m e n t s i n black and white but that the bla c k and white ,

advertisements receive greater reading t ime A layout that .

includes a four color i llustration has a greater attention value

- -

than has the same layout in black and white A four color .
-

advertisement al so has greater reade ship value than th e r

same advert isement i n black and white ”

.

C a se H isto rie s —A d i
v e rt se rs

A nat ional advertiser offering a give aw ay picture states ,

-
,

that full color reproductions d r ew four times as many i nqui

-

ries as did black and white .

“
Another manufac turer i n the clothing field writes We ,

j udge o u r color adve rt isements by two methods O n e by the .

 14 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

coul d count o n a minimum of

'

i nquiries per color page ,

while black and whi te space us i ng full page o r fractional was

al ways uncerta i n and always a higher cost per i nqu i ry O n .

the novelty which sold for 2 0 cents and sometimes 2 5 cents

,

an d which n ever was hig hl ighted i n the headlines o r text .

but limited to a smal l ment ion i n the lower corner o f th e ad I

'

coul d almost tell in advance the number o f or ders we would

get when we used color but we never could pr edict with ,

any confidence when we used black and whi te ”

'
.

C o orl T e c h n iq u e
Two facts seem apparent : 1 ) that color inc reases the
e ffectiveness of adve r tising but ( 2 ) that i ts value i s largely ,

dependent on a wise and appropriate applicati on o f i ts powers .

M erely to use color fo r the sake of color is o f course not , ,

enough .

Thus to get the most o u t o f the spectrum the following

, ,

s u ggestio n s may be considered They may serve to inspire .

reason and purpose i n advertis i ng design and to put color to

work in a sensible way .

1 AT T E N T I O N V AL U E : C olor w ill catch the eye wher e mere

.
-

black and whi te may fail However because color is com .

,

pelling i t may also be d i stracting S ome tests have shown that

,
.
,

whereas color may have hi gher n o t ic e a b ifity black and white ,

have greater readership This means that care must be taken .

i n the typographi cal layout C olor sho ul d be simple and .

appropr i ate and should be t i ed i n to hold the advertisement

,

together It should i nvi te readershi p rather than discourage i t

. .

2 R E AL IS M : In many products color is im portant i n the

.
,

display o f a prod uct As a d i men s ion i t may be as descriptive

.
,

as s i ze weight pri ce etc Here p erhaps i s the most obvious

— —
.
, , , , ,

use o f color and o n e o f the best to glorify a pro duct in

i ts full reality .

3 ID E N T IT Y : C olors are more easily retained i n the me m ory

.

than are words o r symbols Use d to ident ify a product o r a .

servi ce and pers istently employed to bu ild up reco gn i tion

, ,

color has potent force and pr im itive hues ar e generally ,

su p er i or to i ntermediat e o r modified colors .

4 P S YC H O L O G Y : Be cause o f th e many cur i ous mental an d

.

e mot i onal assoc i ations of color subtle applicatio ns are p ossi ,

 MO R E PO WE R TO A DV E R T I S I NG 115

ble The use o f color to i mply warmth coolness cleanl iness

.
, , ,

etc m ay be extr emely e ffective and m ay well support Copy

.
,

e fforts .

5 B E AU T Y : C olor lf
. a s i ntrins i c appe al Glor i fied i n draw i ng
.

or photograph it w ill command interest whether o r not i t

, ,

has a d irect bearing on the copy message Thi s ut ility d i s .

,

t inct from attention value demands greater artist i c sk i ll and

-
,

has pr oduced some o f the best advertisements ever composed

-
as aestheti cally satisfying as any good work o f art .
Cha p te r 1 0

PACKAG E S, D SPL AYS, I IN TE R I O RS

N OW we proceed to the bus i ness o f packages displays

'

, ,

and inter iors and to mor e facts and case histor ies M uch
,
.

science and theory have been considered before in the chapter ,

o n vi sion .L e t this be supported with reports from the field

and with pr inciples that d r aw from the fertile gro u nd o f fact .

As is true in the field o f space advertising most business ,

executives recognize the import a nce o f color in packaging .

But here again it is unfortunate that few well organized tests

, ,
-

have been made to prove the merits o f any particu l ar design

o r color scheme over another although in recent years pack ,

aging has become a high art New ideas new devices have .
,

been put to work by almost every org a nization The growth .

o f packaged merchandise the supermarket have demon

, ,

s tr a t e d that successful marketing demands n o t onl y a quali

ty
product at a fair price but re al eye appeal and attention
,

value D esign and color rightly and strategically handled

.
, ,

help to sell mer chandise and support well the attendant

e fforts p u t i nto advertising poster s displays dealer helps
, , , ,

and the like .

While perhaps i t is not possible to write ideal specifications

—
, ,

for the use of color in packaging becau se of the widely '

—
different requirements o f di fferent products moder n business
may benefit from the recitation o f sever al case histor ies and
experiences It may then be possible to reach more intelligent
.

conclus ions as to any ind ividual packaging p r oblem M any .

of the following data have been taken from a special survey

conducted with the C ooperation of the author by the C olor
, ,

R esearch D ep artment of the E agle P rinting Ink C ompany .

116
11 8 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Because m any food labe ls show re al ist i c i llus trations the ,

pr ocess colors ( red yellow blue ) are naturally i n predo

- -

nance However if there is any strong predilect ion beyond the

.
,
“
p r i m aries i t i s overwhelmin gly i n favor o f l i ght blue as a
,

supplementary color to provide special emphasis for borders ;

letter ing letter shading o r some other detail o f the label
, ,
”
.

Incidental ly blue lined c ontai ners have been found most

,
-

effect ive i n selling whi te eggs while whi te l i ned container s ,

-

sell the most brown eggs .

O n e o f Amer i ca s lead i ng soap manufactur ers quotes h is

’

experience i n testing consumer react io n s to color He writes .

,
“
We have run extens ive consumer i nterviews to determine
the preference o f housew ives for colors i n packages but have ,

never tried to extend these react ions beyond the part i cul ar
items tested When our present soap wrapper was adopted
.

sever al years ago we had made many i nterv i ews and had
,

c o n c lu siv e e v id e n c e o f a preference for green o n a toilet soap

o

wrapper Ther e was not much i ndicati on o f des ign preference

.

as long as the bas ic color was green ”

.

A m ak er of paste fl oor wax states that an i ncre as e o f

approxi mately 2 5 per cent i n sal e s f o llo w e d the introduction
o f a new design and color e f fect The colors used were red .
,

yellow and black

,
.

“
A manufacturer of razor blades writes When we originall y ,

went into the blade bus i ness about five and a half years ago ,

o u r package was a drab brown From that package we went .

to one which w as a green and blue color combination and ,

finally about three years ago we evolved o u r present package

, , ,

a blue and red . We defini tely know that the present color
o f o u r package has g i ven us greater d isplay value and h as

i nfluenced the dealer to place the package o n his c oun ter .

The Ide a l Pac kage

It is apparent that rese ar ch pays an d that i t will help to
e limi nate guesswo r k i n the use of color i n packagi ng Yet .
,

as has be en cautioned before a r i ght an d sci ent ifi c approach,

m a y be a better guide to des i gn e fforts than is t o o much

leisurely consultation wi th consumers The pe r sonal vi ew .

point here is far less vi tal t han a resourc eful exploitation of

t hose phenomena enc ountered i n a study o f vision .
 P A C KA G E S , D S P L A Y S , I I NTE R IO RS 1 19

R and blue o n e a color o f hi gh recognition the other a

ed , ,

color o f un iversal appeal are predominant and rank almost ,

equal in preference .

Yellow the color o f highest v isibility in the spectrum

, ,

naturally finds widespread u se .

Green whi ch al so ranks high i n preference s e e m s to lend

, ,

itself chiefly to certain restricted uses .

Beyond these four colors ( recognized a s primary by the

psychologist) few other hues o r tones have been employed i n
,

the majo r ity o f successful packages P robably there is a good .

reason for this While odd shades blue greens yellow greens
.
,
-
,
-
,

lavender pink etc may be i ndividually and intrinsic al ly

, ,
.
,

beautiful they lack pr i m it ive and pr imary qu al ities and hence

,

fa il either to compel the eye o r to i mpress themselves on the

Finally here is a pract ical check list of object ives i n the
,

design and coloring o f a package The six points if kept in .

,

mind in the order given shoul d aid i n achieving an effective,

and profitable res ul t .

1 The first du t y o f the package i s to command the eye

. .

Here color i s perhaps most vi tal .

2 After i t has caught the eye the second du t y o f the

.
,

package i s to tell what i t i s and to establish i ts identity .

Here typogra phy and design ar e i mpor tant .

3 The th i rd du t y 1 s for the design and the color scheme to

.

be appropriate to the product contained What factors in design .

and color seem t o lend themselves best to a particular item ?

4 The fourth duty of the package 1 5 to please the eye and

.

the emotions A startling package that catches the eye but

.

fails later to please is not so good a package as i s o n e that

ac hieves both .

5 The fifth duty o f the package i s to i nvite handl i ng and

.

further examination This is where neat deta ils count an d.

where the customer is urged to open his o r her pocketbook .

6 The s ixth duty o f the package is to be well cons tructe d

.
,

durable and handy i n use

, .

D i sp l ays
Wh en the display i tself i s meant to be the object atten of

tion as in the case o f a counter card or a window setup the

, ,
1 20 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

pr oblem o f a color e ffect corresponds with that encountered

in packaging S implici t y high vi sibility and attention value -

— these are the requirements

.
, ,

Where however the display concerns the featuring of

, ,

merchandise different s t rategies may be r equir ed In t h e

, .

concentration o f visual interest there are a number o f devices

to employ .

Br ightness against darkness .

Warm color aga i nst cool color .

P ure color aga i nst gray color .

D eta i l and texture agains t fil m in e ss .

Form against (o r surrounded by) plain space .

All these contrasts may be a p p lie d se p ar a t e ly or together '

.

Fur ther i nterest may then be stimul ated through car efu l
'

choice o f hue keeping the primary color fo r the tar get ar ea

,

and letting the background blend out into s u btle and softer
tones which lend atmosphere and yet intr oduce no major
,

distr action .

Wi th illumination dramatic e ffects may be heightened

,
.

Brightness contrasts may be a c centuated with focused spots

o f intense light S hadows rounde d forms space r elationships
.
, ,

may be enhanced through the use o f chromatic lights dir e c ted

from different angles L ights o f course differ in mixtur e fr om
.
, ,
—
similar comb i nations o f pigments red and green for ming
yellow ; green and violet formi ng turquoise bl u e ; and r e d and
violet for m ing magenta Thus an object standing befo r e a .
,

background will if illuminated by red o n o n e side and green

,

o n the other appear yellowish S hadows however will be

,
.
, ,

deep red ( where the green light is cut o ff) and deep green
( whe r e the red light is c u t o ff) By c ar efu lly spacing r e d gre e n .
, ,

and violet lights a mixtur e o f white may be effected to give

, ,

the displayed object an al most no r mal appear anc e ; yet all ,

the shadows and high lights may sp arkle with iridescent hues
having endless variety .

I n te rio rs

The use o f color in inter iors is a big subject In merchan .

dising the technique usually involves the appli c ation o f hue

,

as an accompaniment to the things being sold In this r egar d .

1 22 S E L L lN G WI T H CO L O R

things withi n the r oom S tr ong and dim illum ina tion ( color s .

the same ) will cause these two di fferences in attitude An d .

more s i gnificant light and dark colors ( illumi nation the same)
,

w ill do likewise .

There i s an explanat ion for thi s psychologi cal phenomenon ,

and a clue to effective merchandising T o be gin with the .

,

eye i s al ways attracted to brightness as against d ar kness , .

When products are exposed before a light wall the wall may ,

seriously compe te for attent ion Yet by keeping illumination .

,

at the same level and lower ing the lightness o f the wall with
a deeper color the attention may be shifted to the product
,

( where business naturally wants i t to be concentrated ) .

S tore decoration therefor e has these ide al objectives

, ,

1 S trong and br ill i ant lighting p ar t i cularly around the

.
,

entrance .

2 A sense o f brightness as a first i mpress i on upon enter i ng

.

the store This perhaps means white o r pal e ceilings and upper
.

walls to encourage the eye to make a sweeping examination

,

o f the whole interior

—
.

3 Brilliant areas o r deta ils at far ends o f a i sles as color

.

magnets to bre ak up monotony and i nvite greater store

”
,

traffi c and circulation .

4 D eeper tones behind merchand ise properly b al a nced

.
,

i n hue and value to afford hi gh v isibility to the products o n

display .

For general color tr eatment let us o ffer o n e tr i ed innovation .

This involves the device o f using color to simulate light and

o f endowing an interior with a mild and mellow atmosphere

bordering o n ill us ion Wher e large ar eas are involved ( uppe r

.
'

wal ls and ce ilings ) pale grayish tints with a glint o f hue will
,

e ffect strange results Because such delicate colors will lack

.

an obv i ous hue the eye may miss the fact that it is seeing
,

paint and may unconsciously gain the i mpression o f chromatic

illumination C oo l light will be suggested where the w al l tones
.

are greenish o r blu ish and warm light where they are yellow ,

ish o r pinkish Yet all merchand ise will i tself appear entir ely
.
,

normal being showered with light that is n o t seriously dis

,

t o r t e d Thi s effect i s made pos sible by the fact t ha t the lar ger
.

areas wi thin the field o f view are tinted the eye therefore ,

assuming that the light i tself is tinted .

 P A C KA G E S , D S P L A Y S ,I I NTERIORS 1 23

Further by us ing a var i ety o f these pale grayi sh t i nts i n

,

different sections o f the stor e o r o n d i fferent floors o n e may ,

treat the customer to a pleasant change o f i llum i nation

quali t y now p i nki sh now bluish now yellowish now green
, , , ,

ish The emotio nal e ffect i s agreeable indeed and because

.
,

the colors ar e n o t aggressive they o ffer no competition wi th

,

merchandise R ather they create a sort o f illusory atmosphere

.
,

that affects the mood without i n the least confus ing the eye .

M e rc h an dise
To F e atu re
To demonstrate how i ntell igent specificat ions for color may
be wr i tten let us n o w descr i be the theoretical and practical
,

development o f a d r ess shop Th is w ill afford an opportuni ty

.

to explain how color i n its relat i on to merchandising problem s

may be analyzed and solved i n reasonable and orderly fashion .

What i s to be accomplished The customer i s to look her

?

best Her complexion and her figure are to be flattered

. .

E very dress no matter what may be i ts color or style i s to

, ,

reveal her best features when she tr i es i t on S h e is to be satis .

fie d as qu i ckly as poss i ble so that a prompt sale w ill be

,

e ffected i .

To execute thi s ass i gnment the first question to be settled ,

i s that o f an appropriate key hue Through the phenomenon .

o f the afterimage ( p r ev i ously described ) i t i s possible to locate

a color which under the gi ven ill umi nat ion o f the store w ill
, ,

complement what mi ght be termed an i de al flesh tone .

Norm al flesh is a somewhat muddy affai r p i n kish to a slight ,

degree but mainl y gr ayi sh tann i sh and greenish ( that is , ,

why the ladies use cosmetics ) The i deal tone seen o n the .
,
“
magazine cover or i n that famous hi gh school complexion ” -
,

is obviously p in ki sh o r p i nk i sh tan A youthful blush o f the .

sort finds its complement in blue green (o n the turquo ise -

side ) The after i mage o f this hue causes aver age fl esh to pick
.

up in luminosi t y an d to appear more youthful .

S o blue gr een i s settled upon to flatter the ski n and t i nge

-

i t wi th a bloom o f pink Now to secure the r ight tone the

.
, ,

brightness o f the blue gree n i s balanced to reach a level of

-

val ue o n whi ch black and whi te wi ll be equally conspicuous .

Next thi s val ue is agai n shifted toward gray to reach a tone

, ,

slightly blue green slightly gray and halfway i n l i ghtness

-
, ,
1 24 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

between black and whi te The result str ikes an average among
.

most colors Upon looking in the mi rror and being silhouetted

.

against this special tone the customer sees ( a ) her complexion

,

enhanced ; ( 6) her dress whether i t be light o r dark pure or

, ,

gray r e d yellow green o r blue well defined upon her figure

, , , , , .

M or eover i n her dressing room the one wall opposite the

'

mirror i s o f the same special blue green The side walls -

.
,

however withi n arm s reach and active in the reflection of

,
’

light are tinted coral ; and the lighting fixtur e i s so designed

,

as to cast some o f this coral hue directly over her face .

S tor e decoration i s to be approached from many angles ,

and the functional method just described i s but one road I .

recommend i t however fo r its basic purpose reserving for

, , ,

the individual designer the right to add femininity and frills ,

to feat u re period styles textures and materi al s as he sees

, , ,

fit After all if he i s going to use color he m i ght just as well

.
, ,

have cer tain objectives i n vi ew .

P ractic al ly every item of me r chandise i s to be an al yzed and

displayed through l i ke proced ures The carpet in a shoe .

depar tment should probably not have a design upon i t ; and ,

because most o f the shoes sold are black brown o r white a , , ,

medium grayish blue may be the be st color .

Glassware and silver may be complemented not o n l y with

r i ght hues but also with soft and dull textures S uede gloves .

an d felt hats lend thems elves to shiny o r met al lic backgrounds ,

to as sure an agreeable contrast P urpose i s to be built into

—
.

almost every use o f color and sales profits .

In this fu n ctional use of color to sell merchandise and to

i nfluence human moods there are other p r i nciples to be listed
,
.

From an extensive experience i n the decoration of s c hools ,

hosp i tals restaur ants the author has ar rived at a number o f

, ,

pr actical conclusions whi ch are here passed o n

, .

O f al l colors in the spec t rum two seem to be most versat ile ,

and livable Al t hough these hues ar e not generally chosen

.

o n impulse by the consumer ; yet for al l round utility in the ,

-

decor at ion o f places where people congregate they seem to ,

have univers al qualities that are well adapted to public

places restaurants rest rooms theater and hotel lobbies The
, , ,
.

first o f these is a soft blue green the second a bright lumino u s

-
,
1 26 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

H o sp ita l D e c o ratio n
F i nally the tech n i que of color cond i t ioning ( as apart from
,

the usual aesthetic conventions o f decoration ) finds a good

example in the manner in whi ch hospitals use color .

1 In the lobby and reception room ( seen more by vi sitors

.

than by patients ) strong emotional reactions are defied

through the introduction of variety By the contrast o f warm .

colors against cool ones light against dark any precise r e a c

, ,

tion is discouraged The eye is treated to a constant sh ift o f

.

scene ( thereby keeping the emot ions fr om seizing upon any

o n e mood ) .

2 In major and mi nor Operat i ng roo m s blue green is

.
-

standard for walls The color reduces glare o ffer s vi sual

.
,

relaxation to the surgeon and holds up the acu i ty o f his eye

,

by di r ectly complementing the red color o f blood and tissue .

3 M ost service departments are whi te to encourage good

.
,

ho u sekeeping and cleanliness .

4 In private rooms par ticularly i n the matern i t y d iv i sion

.
, ,

warm tones of ivory and flesh (o n the aggressive side o f t h e

spectrum) stimulate an optimism and cheerful ness favorable
to r ecovery .

5 In roo m s and w ar ds for chronic pat i ents however

.
, ,

bl u es and greens (o n the passive s ide o f the spectrum ) o ffer a

mor e relaxing and retir ing environment and are thus kin d
to those who must be confined for a longer per i od .

I n dustrial D e sign
Industrial design is a vi t al and l ively bus i ness i n these days ,
.

Through so c a lled functionalism and streamlin ing art and

-
,

industry are endeavoring to make products more useful and

comely the matter o f appearance followi ng that o f purpose
,
. .

C olor is a thing t o be carefully engineered In p roducts such .

as typewriters adding machines instrument panels machine

, , ,

shop equipment for factor i es washi ng machi nes and other ,

commodities for the home good industrial design suggests an

,

appr opriate attention to such factors as visibility and eyestrain .

Unfor tunately this attention i s sometimes neglected L e t

,
.

us quote a fe w in st an c e s A sewing machi ne is redesigned and

'

equipped wi th a small local ized light source Instead of aiding .

 P A C KA G E S , D S P L A Y S , I INTE R IO RS 1 27

the user th is l i ght produces object ionable eyestrain tryi ng

, ,

contr as ts i n light and dark and specular reflections that are ,

annoyi ng and fatiguing if not actually i nimical ,

.

Another type o f machine ( completely changed i n aspec t

from the or i ginal form) requires the user to observe his t as k
against empty space Thi s leaves the whole efficiency o f the
—
.

user and therefore the e ffic i ency o f the machi ne i tself l

entirely at the mer cy o f the environment i n w h ic h t h e oper a

tion is to be performed An ide al seeing background should .
,

i n fact have been designed as an i nherent part o f the devi ce

,

itself .

M any home products rad i os thermometers clocks and , , , ,

the like are often difficul t to use because o f low visibility

,
.

F o r some strange reason i n their designing onl y mechan i cal ,

and aesthetic features seem to have been regar ded Vi sibil i ty

—
.
,

legib ili t y light and heat r e fle c t io n all matters that lend

,

themselves to d irect scient ific method are often overlooked -

o r confused by purely emp irical j udgments .

A great p ar t o f funct i onal des i gn i n truth i s not funct ional , ,

at all but merely represents a few mental gymnastics o n the

,

part o f someone who has fa irly good deductive faculties .

R easons are too frequently ch i ldish Green for example may .

, ,

be us ed in a certain application because i t i s supposed to be

easy o n the eyes whereas there may be no scientific bas is
,

for the conclusion R e d another hue often endowed wi th

.
,

false val ues may be used to mark controls or to be c o n sp ic u

,

o u s as a tag m ar k o r symbol o n an o il burner ; yet red among

, , ,

all colors of the spectrum will be the first to fade out i n the ,

dim light o f a basement .

Ar istotle once wrote that a fly had eight legs and fo r many ,

centuries the savants o f other generations kept repeating the

statement .

To set the record as stra i ght as poss i ble and to be o f help to ,

the i ndustrial designer we o ffer the next chapter This is a

, .

revi ew of practical experience with color and people i n i ndus

try wi th principles that contribute to human efficiency and
,

co m fort wi th techn i ques developed by Ophthalmologi sts and

,

authorities on seeing There i s much to learn here and far —

—
.

more still to be learned that should add to anyone s com ’

p e t e n c e in handling color and people .

Cha p te r 1 1

TH E AR T O F CO L O R CO N DI TI O NIN G

E VE R YTHING see n by the human eye is colored In the .

home in factories stores offices s c hools environment is

, , , , ,

i mportant While this book is essentially concerned with

.

problem s o f mer chandising and advertising the pr esent ,

chapter will furnish a slight digr ession for discussing th e ,

relative importance o f color as it has to do with physical well

being an d efficiency .

The cur i ous power o f color to i n fluence human moods is

well recognized ; yet because i t i s a thing emotional most
, ,

authority i n i ts use has been left w i th those who have an

aesthet i c atti tude C olor however i s by no means a matter
.
, ,

that concern s beaut y al one Tod ay i t is being engineer ed in

.
,

the true sense of the word to do an effective jo b i n improving

,

the health moral e and secur i t y o f the i ndividual

, , .

Those o f us who spend a cons iderable par t o f a lifetime

indoors may o r may not recognize the importance o f light
and color i n o u r surroundings In nature o u r attitude is
$

.
,

usually cas ual Nature is full of delight variety and color

.
, ,
.

We get along all right wi th her However most of o u r work

—
.
,
-
the most cr itical use o f o u r eyes brain an d hands is , ,

perfor med i n more artifici al surroundings Having these sur .

ro u ndings right o r wrong can make for good o r bad r esults

i n us.

There are m an y curious i nterrelations bet ween ease of

seeing and the functioning o f the human body Wher e ther e .

is eyestrain phys i cal reactio n s are to be noted in a number

,

1 28
1 30 SEL L ING WI T H CO L O R .

fine parts alm ost 80 pe r cent o f the mortali t y cases i n five

.
,

years involved heart trouble The trend with the rest o f the .

industr ial workers whose occupational and illness

records were studied was qu i te similar It is conceivable that .

the reflex e ffects o f cri tical seeing and the preval ence o f
mortality cases from heart trouble i n occupations demanding
cr itical seeing may be related C ertainly heart failur e is a .
,

common cause of disability and death Its cause o r ca u ses .

must al so be commonplace The subnormal conditions under .

which unnaturally critical and prolonged see i ng is performed

over the course of years and even lifetimes are worthy o f the
most seri ous examination particularly i n the light o f the
,

p r esent scourge o f heart ailm ents and fa ilure .

It is also recognized that a wretched seeing condition may

be an indirect cause o f cataract D r Neville S chuler states . .

that where the eyes are stra i ned to see a bad train o f happen
—
,
“
ings may occur al teration in the secretory part o f the ciliary
body defect ive and deficient secreti on nutri tional troubles
, ,
”
and finally cataract .

O u r att i tude may seem to be one o f undue anxiety but it ,

rests upon a desire to d r amatize the important role that light

and color may play in life .

C o orl E n gin e e rin g

The successful engineering of color o ffers a host o f benefits .

In a factory for example wi th improved visu a l efficiency go

, ,

also these attendant advantages

Increased pr oduction .

Better manu al skill .

L o wer accident hazards and i nsuran ce rates .

Higher standards of plant houseke eping and machi ne

maintenance .

Improved labor mor al e .

When more suitable worki ng environments are provided ,

management does a finer job o f p u blic relatio n s and achi eves

a greater respect n o t only wi thin the organization but withi n
,

soci ety and the community itself .

In the engineering of color there are t w o view points to be

observed an d each r equ ires a differ ent approach
,
.
 TH E ART O F CO L O R CO N DI T I O N I N G 31

1 . critical seeing where a worker i s expected to con

In ,

centrate for long period s in o n e restricted field of V i ew the ,

best pr i nci ple is o n e o f creating soft and uniform degrees of

bri ghtness .

2 In casu al se e i ng where the worker i s expected to be al ert

.
,

to hazards to pay attention to t raffic zones to watch o u t fo r

, ,

the unexpected i n machines equipment and surroundings a , , ,

more vivi d and contrasting use o f color i s i ndicated .

Critic al S e e in g
“
As to cr i ti cal see i ng H L L ogan wr i tes General fatigue
, . .
,

from any cause either physi c al o r psychologi c al predisposes

, ,

the subje c t to discomfort under marked brightness contrasts ”

.

A similar conclusion has been reached by P arry M oon :

“
Investigations o f the most diverse ki nd show that a human
being sees best and visu al fatigue i s reduced to a minimum
when the entire field o f vi ew i s approximately the same
luminosity as that to which the fovea $center o f the eye $ i s
adapted .

There is very good reason for the conclus ions of t h e above

authorities Where the eye is forced to adjust itself constantly
.

to different br i ghtnesses i t i s severely taxed ; then vi sion

, ,

production and safe ty are made to suffer

,
.

Further the action o f vision is quick from dark to light and

, ,
“
slow from light to dark L u c k ie sh states In gene r al i t
.
, ,

may be said th at the pupil contracts to a given de gree in

about as many seconds as i t takes minutes to dilate be t ween
the same limits i n size O n a machine operation for example
”
.
, ,

an adj acent white wall may tend to reduce the size o f the
pupil opening and hence lower vi sib ility o f a dark piece o f
metal In this case the wall will have the major advantage
.
,
. .

The eye will be quick i n adjusti ng i tself to a bright wall ( which

i s meaningless) and slow in tryi ng to discern scr ibe marks
_

o n a piece o f dar k steel ( which is vi tal ) Where the wall i s .

toned to a slightly darker color however major distractions , ,

may be eliminated and a good seeing condition w ill be

assured .

Thus fo r average working envir onments i nvolving machines

,

or i nspection operations these features may be planned

, .
1 32 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

1 The ceiling o u t o f r ange o f vision may be whi te , to

.
, ,

assur e an ample and effi cient flood o f illumination from

above .

2 Upper walls above 7 or 8 feet may also be white to

.
, , ,

get the most out o f existing light sources .

3 L ower walls and columns may be somewhat dar ker

.
,

with a reflectance factor o f about 50 per cent ( corr esponding

to light gray) .

4 Wher e i t i s pract i c al fl oors shoul d be reasonably light

.
,

i n color with a reflectance factor o f 2 5 per cent o r better

,

( corresponding to a medium gray ) L ight floors through .

,

multiple reflections from above will add more effi ciency to ,

lighting than an y other single factor Walls are seldom impo r .

tant in thi s regard ; but light floors will get the most o u t o f
li ght b u l bs and tubes reduce shadows increase brightness
, ,

at low levels and lessen the hazards of fal ls

, .

5 E quipment tables machines etc should al so have a

.
, , ,
.
,

reflectance factor o f about 2 5 per cent or mor e depending ,

o n the materials ( bright for light mater i al s and deeper for

dar k ones ) .

Thus the ideal working cond i t i on i s established where the

,

whole environment is relatively u niform in brightn ess Ther e .

i s absence o f gl are o f extreme contrasts in light and dark of

, ,
“
deep shadows L u c kie sh writes It may be concl u ded that
.
,

br ightnesses somewhat lower than those o f the centr al field

are gener ally most desirable All experiment al evidence .

indicates that peri pheral brightnesses higher than those o f

the centr al field are definitely undesirable It is o f major
”
.

i mportance to make sure of suffi cient light to keep ceiling ,

and upper walls white to hold lower walls a trifle darker to

, ,

paint machines i n fairly light tones to make floor s refle c t as ,

much illumination as is practical for easy maintenance .

H ue C o n trast

If the field o f view for cr i t i cal see i ng i s to be uniform i n

br ightness then the clear discernment o f objects p r o ducts
, , ,

and materials must be accomplished by some other devi ce

than by extreme light against dark o r dark against light .

Good visibility is to be aided by taki ng advantage o f the

afterimage .
1 34 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Yellow ( black and yellow stripes) i s used to mark str ike

agai n st falling and stumbling hazards It is to be used o n
, , .

low be ams dead ends the edges o f platforms and pits cr ane
, , ,

hooks and crane beams a n d all such situat ions where danger ,

i s appar ent .

O range ( arrow o r triangle ) i s to be used to mark hazards

likely to cut crush b u rn shock o r otherwise cause severe
, , , ,

i njury It should be painted along cuttin g edges ; near roller s

.
,

gears punching shaping o r forming parts ; o n the inside of

, , ,

switch boxes ( being consp i cuous when th e door is Open ) .

It is also recommended as a finish for the inside areas of guards

—to scream” at the eye when such guards are not properly
i n place .

Green ( symbol o f cross ) i s to be used to m ar k fir st aid -

equipment o f all sorts stretchers container s fo r gas masks , , ,

etc It should also be used as a mark o n the wall to enable the

.

worker to locate such devi ces from a distance .

R e d ( symbol o f square ) i s to be reser ved exclusively for

fir e protection equipment It should be painted as an area
-
.

o n t h e wall behi nd ext i nguishers and o n t h e fl oor to prevent ,

obstruction .

Blue ( symbol of circle) 1 s the precaution h ue In the railroad .

i ndustr y blue signs and lanterns are used to caution against

,

the moving o f cars that are be ing r epa ired emptied o r filled , ,
.

In a factor y the blue symbol i s to be employed to mark any

—
,

equipment shut down for repa ir machines elevators ovens , , ,

d r yer s tanks boilers etc By factory regu l ation no o n e is

, , ,
.
,

permitted to oper ate such equipment withou t firs t checki ng

wi th the per son who has put the blue signal i n place
—
.

White ( gray o r black symbol o f star ) is the traffic a nd

housekeeping standard White o n dark floors o r blac k o n .
,

light floors is to be used for aisle marks or for storage areas

,
.

This white or black mark may be changed to yellow wher e it

runs adjac ent to a haz ard Gray i s reco mmended fo r rubbish .

and waste receptacles emp ty bottle containers etc The ,

-
,
.

achromatic colors being consp i cuous enough but lacking in,

high attention val ue will thus serve a useful purpose without

-
,

project ing themselves t o o prominently with in an i nterior .

The code h as been successfully applied i n many industries .

By means o f it real sense and order are established The

,
.
 TH E ART O F CO L O R CO N DI T I O N I N G
colors seen have mean i ng and purpose a n d the worker may ,

qu i ckly memorize the locat i on o f all hazar ds and safety de

vices througho ut a plant thus be i ng ready for any emergency ,
.

Psyc h o l o g ic a l C o nside ratio n s

In the funct ional use o f color i n industry level o f brightne ss ,

and degree o f contrast are frankly more important than hue

quality i tself In other words an i de al seeing condition
.
,

( involvi ng soft and un iform values ) may be greenish blu ish , ,

yellowish o r p i nkish as i s desired or as speci al c ircums tances

, ,

suggest The pup il o f the eye regulates itself to light intensi t y

.
,

and such regul ation will be approxim ately the same for light
green as i t will be for l ight bu ff .

C olor as color however i s importan t i n bu ild i ng up acu i ty

, ,

through complementation for purposes o f hi gh visibility and ,

in establishi ng defin ite emotional and psychological effects .

O n th is latter po i nt color o fle r s many agreeable plus factors

,

that have intimate bearing o n human attitude mood and ,

morale Because i t appeals to all human beings i t is a n

.
,

e ffective med i um fo r revi taliz i ng the industrial plant and

maki ng the worker safer happier and more compatible with , ,

his environment .

Here then i s the so called psychology o f color to be

, ,
-

observed i n industry .

.1 For wor king areas color s fo r the most part sho u l d be

,

light in tone and weak i n purity too much richness being a ,

source o f distraction because o f strong emotion al interest

,
.

.2 For critic al seeing br i ghtness is best concentrated and

,

confined to important fields of vi ew on machines work ,

tables etc where the worker i s expected to fix h is attenti on

,
.
, .

For c as u al seeing br ill iant color and strong contrast sho ul d

,

mark the object o r the area that is to be clearly distinguished .

.3 Because many industr i al tasks require prolonged and

trying convergence o f the eyes end walls faced by the em ,

p ylo e e may be pleasantly colored i n soft grayish blues o r ,

greens to pro vide des irable areas for visual relaxation

, .

.4 The most suitable colors for w al ls or machi nes are soft ,

grayi sh greens blue greens blues tans buffs These should

,
-
, , , .

be subtle rather than to o aggre ssive Imp u l sive colors while .

,

cheerfu l at first sight grow extremely monotonous in time

, .
1 36 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Also , strong colors tend to weary the eye and to form dis
t u r b in g afterimages .

5 Where the work ing env i ronment i nvolves exposures to

.

high temperature pale green and blue green are by far the
,
-

best colors to use They wil l afford psychologic al relief and by

.
,

illusion will tend to lower the apparent temperature o f the

,

inter i or Where the environm ent i s c old o r vaul ty buff ivor y

.
, , ,

and yellow tones are pract i cal They will contr ibute a warm .

and sunny atmosphere and apparently i ncrease temperatur e

—
.

6 For employee facilities however washrooms rest r oo m s

—
.
, , ,

cafeterias e ta s tro n ger color i s appropriate and satisfactory

, .

Here the c olor e ffect should be i n contrast wi th the rest o f the

plant S uch a change o f pace wi ll relax the mood and help to
.

o ffset fatigue Because o f the i nherent color prefer ences o f men

.

and women blue i s the best color fo r male facilities and pink
,

o r rose fo r fem al e P each i nc identally has proved to be the

.
, ,

most satisfactory color fo r cafeterias be i ng cons idered th e ,

“
most appetiz i ng o f all l ight t i nts .

C ase H isto rie s

The technique o f applying color i n i ndustry may be demon
st r a t e d in a p r actical way by referr i ng to a few t ypi c al case

histor ies From many such experiences those have purposely

.

been chosen whi ch lack more spectacular qualities and which

may fo r this reason suggest answers to commonplace p r oblems
, ,
.

In the lar ge general office o f a factor y illuminated by good ,

natur al light from windows and skylights ther e wer e per sistent ,

complaints o f eyestrain and fatigue The employees ( mainly .

women using accounting machines) showed definite signs o f

restlessness and i rritability and seemed fr equently distr acted
from their work Tests showed that the illumination was three
.

t i mes greater on a vert i c al than o n a horizontal plane Walls .

,

pai nted i n a light cream were an evident source o f glar e an d

,

i rritation .

The react ions o n vision were as follows : The walls be ing

bri ghter than the machines constantly drew away the atten ,

tion In looki ng up the general brightness o f the i nterior

.
,

tended to reduce the O pening o f the pup il In direct ing the .

eyes again at work there w as a momentary halt period dur ing

,

which the employee had to wait for her eyes to readj u st them
1 38 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Yet color i ntangi ble though i t may seem has real magic in
, ,

i t S urely abuse of the eyes may not be too remotely connected

.
,

with the header that a worker may take down a fl i ght o f stairs .

A sick sto m ach ( resulting i n a day o ff) m ay be due less to a

salami sandwi ch than to the struggle o f tryi ng to see under
cond i tio n s o f excessive contrast or glare A lost finger o r hand .

on a guarded o r an unguarded machi ne may without too ,

much imagination be t raced to a fatal indifference brought

,

about by surroundings that might d iscourage any mortal ,

whether his forehead be hi gh or low .

i —
A ga n n ustri al D e sign
I d
W hile this chapter may be somewhat irrelevant to the main
subject of the book the author feels that i t will at least have
, , ,

some popular i nterest for the reader and perhaps add to h is

store of knowledge about color After all merchandise i s made .
,

i n factories and the selling o f color to cons umers may not be

,
“
t o o remote fr om the selling o f color to i ndustry to e ffect
”
,

the best o f production and labor relatio ns .

The engineering approach however should be o f d irect , ,

concern to the industr i al designer A large number o f products .

are to be made better more useful and more beautiful when

, ,

the color e ffect is purposeful as wéu as appealing , .

Ther e are scientifically right colors fo r any number o f

mater i al s and products The design er if he professes to b e
.
, _

thorough and funct ional i n his approach should know that ,

a c curate methods and procedures are ava ilable to him i n the

matter o f color and vis ion He should read T h e S cience of S eeing
.

by L u c k ie sh to learn how see i ng specialists and o p h t h alm o lo

,

gists go about measuring visual effi ciency and acuity P erhaps .

he will recognize th at such author i ty is helpful to call upon fo r

advice and counsel .

A blackboard rightly designed in brightness and c olor would

contribute to the well bei n g of a host o f childr en
-
.

A rightly designed automobile dashbo ar d wo u l d a ffect

many motorists .

R ight colors in desk tops in linoleum in stair treads in the

, , ,

handles of kitchen utensils in baby buggi es in beach um

, ,

brellas (see the notes on heat reflection i n the foll owing

chapter) these and a variet y of other commodities lend
-
 T H E ART O F CO L O R CO N DI T I O N I N G 1 39

them s elves to color engi neer i ng fo r the accompl i shm ent o f

spec ific ends .

The functi onal approach i n fact may often be used to

, ,

supplement a purely aesthetic approach A yellow tractor is

.

not only a p p e al in g to the eye but highl y cons picuous as well

, .

A light colored d o o rknob i s surely easier to fin d ( in the dark )

-

than is a black o r a brown o n e and the same i s true of the

,

shield around an electr i c light swi tch

-
.

Who can be sure that whi te sinks and b lack sewi ng machines
are not causing trouble i n i nnumerable households S omeone
?

ought to apply the same research technique to a woman

seeding grapes o n a whi te porcelai n surface as is applied i n a
factory for measur i ng the fatigue o f workers in machine
—
,

assembly and inspection operatio n s Industri al design an d

—
, .

merchandisi ng mi ght find some new and potent sales

arguments .
Cha p te r 1 2

CO L O R —
E N TE R PR I SE PL A IN AN D A CY F N

T HI S is a chapter o It i s concerned i n the first

f miscellanea .
,

place with a series of facts o n cer tain physic al proper ties in

,

color and it ends up with a gen er al col lection of strange uses

,

to which color has been put by man .

C olor lends i tself to i nvention and ingenuity It has been a .

hobby o f the author to gather together var ious data news ,

items and curios i t i es all bear ing o n the anomalous While

, ,
.

such materi al may serve no d irect purpose i n problems of

mer chandising it is i nteresting and i t may indir ectly inspir e
, , ,

a bit of imaginat ive and resourceful thinking o n the par t of

the reader .

H e at R adiatio n
When P i ccard made his first jaunt i nto the stratospher e the ,

gondola o f hi s b all oon was painted black The str atosphere .

has a constant temperature o f 7 5 F below zero Yet the ther°

. .

m o m e t e r in his little ark registered over 1 OO F above zero

°
. .

O n his second flight P iccard painted the gondola w hite

,
.

This time the temperature d r opped to a point belo w fr eezing

,
.

When M ajor For dney and C aptain S ettle made their flight ,

they compromised by painting the upper h al f o f the gondola

white and the lower hal f black Although a thermometer .

registered 1 0 3 above zero at the floor o f the shell and zero at

°

the ceiling the gener al mean temperature i nside was quite

,

tolerable .

The sun emits heat Its rays travel through space but do not
.

get h o t so to speak until they c ome in contact with something

, ,
.

1 40
1 42 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

on roof and shell o f a b arrel cone roof tank has one

third o f o n e per cent of normal tan k capaci t y less evaporation
loss per year than a tank finished with the paint previ ously
considered best for heat reflecting propert i es The tank con .

taining gallons regular grade motor fuel o il havi ng a

value of 0 5 ¢ per g al lon The saving would amount to
. .

g al lons per year o r $ 3 3 0 00 With the application o f both

, . .

finishes at the same hourly rate and one third more time being -

required to apply a double coat o f whi te the evapor ation

‘
-
’
,

savi ng would o ffset the higher applied cost o f D u lu x White

for Tanks in abo ut 6 months A savi ng would result thro u gh .

the use of D u l u x White for Tanks o f the first year

and per year fo r several years before the need o f
,

repainting .

As to home radiators alum i num and gold pa i nts have long

,

been thought most effi cient The fact however is that met al lic
.
, ,

paints red u ce heat tr an sm iss1 o n and are not so desirable as

other types .

Heat is distributed from a metal surface through convection

( the air that passes over the radiator ) and through radiation
( the rays that are sent through space ) A luminum paint and .

dark colors may produce a higher surface temperature o n the

radiator b u t they may also trap radiant energy from escaping
, .

White or light paint lets these hea t rays through by transmis

sion The result is that more heat is distributed throughout an
.

inter ior and that there i s more warmth in distant objects and
surfaces t hat catch the rays and convert them into heat S o .

called radiant heating systems employi ng long lines o f pipes ,

i n floo rs o r walls and depending more o n heat by radiation

than by convection are today fast coming i nto use
,
.

R egarding the relat ive merits o f metallic an d light colored -

paints on r adiators the U S Bureau o f S tandards l n its L etter

,
. .

“
C ircular 2 63 has this to say : The e ffect of adding metalli c
paint is equivalent to removing o f the radiator o r nearly

1 7 per cent O r as if o n e section o u t o f six had been removed

. .

Thus a radiator o f five sections painted with white or a light

color should be about as effi cient as another o f s ix sect i ons
painted with metallic paint .

O ther examples along this line and other enterprises are to

be quoted Aluminum foil is us ed o n chocolate bars to refl ect
 CO L O R E N TE R R
P I S E —PL A IN AND FA N CY 1 43

heat and thus prevent high temperatures from melt i ng o r

discolor ing the candy It has also been extens ively employed
.

for the i nsulation o f refr i gerators shi ps airplanes homes , , , .

Its action however i s o n e way That i s i t resists heat but n o t

, ,
.
,

cold ; yet coupled wi th thick fibrous layers o f other insulating

, ,

materials i t i s qu i te e ffect ive

,
.

From the func tional standpo i nt therefore white and light , ,

colors have al most endless applications A whi te ship i n the .

tropics will be at least 1 0 degrees cooler o n the inside than will

a black ship Incidentally light colors seem to reduce the
.
,

growth of barnacles Barnacles apparently dislike br ightness

.

and p r efer to snuggle up on the dark undersides o f a ship .

L ight colored hats clothing tents awnings are w i se summer

-
, , ,

measures Baby carriages certainly should not be black o r

.

dark gray .

Automob ile tops a i rplane cabins water tanks freight cars

, , , ,

trucks and so on and o n should advi sedly take advantage o f

, ,

the heat r e fle c t in g qualit i es o f color The heated and air

-
.

cond i t i oned colon i al home should be white ( as it generally is) ;

but the unheated barn i n re al need o f th e sun s e n ergy o n a
,
’

cold winter day should be red ( as i t gener al ly i s )

,
.

Black paint has been used o n i ce to hasten spri ng melti ng .

S mall harbors and rivers have actually been opened to traffic

well ahead o f nature s own schedule t hr ough this devi ce
’
.

From R ussia comes the re port o f a rather amaz i ng project .

Here cons ideration has been gi ven to the plan o f sprinkl ing
coal dust o n the snow covered s10 pes o f the Ukra i ni an moun
-

ta i ns to hasten spring thaw .

U l trav io l e t Rad iatio n

Ultravi olet rad i at ion tans the skin is respons i ble fo r vi tamin ,

D fades colored merchandise and raises havoc w i th many

, ,

food products Here again color o ffers an e ffective control

.
, ,
.

While ultraviolet has l i ttle power o f penetration certain ,

plasti c sheets are fabri cated by i ndustry today to transmit i ts

energy for wi ndows i n a chicken house for example where the
, , ,

rays are beneficial C onversely other wi ndow glass is manu

.
,

fac t u r e d to screen i t o u t A glass called S olex not only resists

.

ultravi olet but also i s effi ci ent in rejecting the thermal

,
1 44 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

qu ali ti es o f sunlight It is therefore appropriate for use in

.
, ,

h o t cl i mates .

Brown bottles for S chl itz represent another functional

application of color to thwart the more evil action o f light .

O n the market today w ill be found amber C ellophane speci ,

fic all y made to admit clear vi sib ility o f certain food p r oducts

but to deny access to har m ful rays Total opacity o f cour se .
, ,

will accomplish the sam e res ul t Further light colors on .

,

packages will resist heat and thus help to prevent a too rapid -

deterioration o f the ir contents .

Where th e prod uct is to be seen and i s therefor e placed in a , ,

tran sparent container some hues are superior to others fo r this

,

purpose In a study conducted by the Food R esearch D ivision

.

of the U S D epartment o f Agr i culture these facts are men

. .
,

t io n e d : L ight has long been known to cat al yze this form o f

spoilage $rancidity i n o il bearing foods$ but not until r ecentl y
-
,

has i t been shown that certain wave lengths o f light promote

rancidity more than other s do Investigatio n s have been con .

ducted by th e Bureau o f C hemistry and S oils with var io u s

color filters chosen to absorb known wave lengths o f light so ,

that all regions o f the spectrum were used selectively fo r

radiation . The ultraviolet portion o f the spectr um
“
cat al yzes rancidi ty the most while the violet indigo and , , ,

blue o f the visible spectrum appe ar to be next in activity .

Yellow o r ange and red are also active in p r od u cing spo ilage
, ,

by rancidity but about twice the amount o f irradiation wi th

,

these wave lengths is necessary to p r od u ce the same amount

o f change o r spoilage as with blue The green region o f the .

vi sible spectr um and the infrared o f the invisible appear to

be practically iner t to rancidi ty development O il bear ing .
-

foods are o f course best pr eserved from the development o f

, ,

rancid i ty when protected fr om all light O u r expe ience shows r

—
.

that a green filter transmitting light between 4900 5800 A u . .

”
$a yellowish green $ is next in protective p r ope r ties .

,
—
Apparently ther e i s need fo r further research f fo r i n stan c e ,

on the deterior ation o f vi tami ns An item in the Am er ic n . a

“
7 ou r nal f
o P h rm c
y points
a o u tathat The s u bstitution o f glass

j ar s for cans may well resul t in destruction of the riboflavin

and even ascorbic acid in pr eserved fruits and vegetables unless
the glass container is protected fr om light ”
.
1 46 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Glo organization When maps o r pri nted matter are dusted

.

with a fluorescent powder these ca n be read under ultraviolet ,

light even though the room itself m ay be i n total darkness

, .

To catch the vi cious or petty thief money cash regi sters , , ,

v al uable too ls o r other possess i ons may be spri nkled with

,

fluor escent powder When these are handled the powder

.
,

catches upon the clothes o r the fingers o f the cul prit Though .

he may see nothing his guilt will be revealed when o n his

, ,

way o u t o f the factory house o r store he passes under the

, , ,

rays o f an u l tr aviolet lamp Ins tantly the powder will flu o r e sc e

.
,

to a vivid green and the i nfamous secret will be out $

Because differ ent chemi c al s and substances have d ifle r e n t
appear ances under vi sible light and u l travi olet light much ,

detective work i s possible Fo r ge r ie s alterations i n written .

,

documents counterfeit materials may through fluorescence

, , ,

make themselves known An d such analysis may be for good .

as well as evil .

O leomargarine added to butter w ill show blue fluorescence .

Wool may b e distingui shed from cotton Beet sugar shows .

little fluores cence ; cane sugar and glucose give off a reddish
light False teeth freckles scars diseased tissues show up when
.
, , ,

activated by ultraviolet .

Hidden fl aws i nvi sible marks spots stai ns shine forth i n

, , ,
“
many mater ials The ultraviolet differentiates many appar
.

ently identical materi als structures compositions elements , , , ,

appar ently identical fiber s compounds coatings solids , ,

.
, ,

liquids gases and the consti tuents o f mixtures which are

, ,

absolutely un iform i n daylight ”

.

The sc i ence o f medici ne as well has taken i ngeni ous , ,

advantage o f fl uorescence T he R eader s D igest has recently .

’

repor ted o n an item that appeared in M edical C lin ics of N o rth

Am er ica T o determine whether or not a d i seased o r an inj ured
.

part o f the body is re c e ivi ng a proper supply o f blood a small ,

amount of a nonpoisonous dye called flu o r e sc e in is injec ted , ,

i nto the blood s tream This dye shows green under ultraviolet
.

light .

“D
r s L ange and Boyd have applied the green l i ght test in
‘ ’
-
.

many demonstrati ons at the Flower and Fifth Avenue H o s

it al in New Yo r k A patient w i th a possibly gangrenous leg
p s .

is wheeled i nto a dar kened room and given an i njecti on o f

 CO L O R E NTERPR ISE — PL A IN AN D FA N CY 1 47

If at the end o f 2 0 seconds the leg glows golden

flu o r e sc e in .

g reen under an ultravi olet lamp circulation is sound and ,

surgery i s u n necessary ; if the leg remains dark then i t is ,

gangrenous and must be amputated Furthermore by observa .

,

t i on where the green glow o f c irculati on ends the surgeon can ,

”
select the i de al s i te for am putat ion .

C o n c e rn in g B e tte r M o use trap s

For strange explo i tations o f color the e ffort does not always
have to be complex and sci entific The merchandising man .

who decided that a S cotch plaid horse bla n ket would be more
-

glamorous than an ol i ve drab one had a w i se and happy-

thought for which he was duly rewarded i n i ncreased s al es

,
.

The same is true of the maker of garden i mplements who found

that red handles produced quicker s al es the extra cost being ,

little and the extra ut il i t y none It was a canner y packer o f fish

.

who when he had a run o f white s al mon labeled hi s can so

, ,
“
as to gi ve assurance that T hi s salmon i s guaranteed not to
”
turn pink Thus he prepared his customers for the light color
.

and perhaps ins i nuated the d i sturb i ng thought that other

s al mon turned p i nk .

O n the other hand the baker who concluded that br i ghtly

— —
,

hued bread pink green blu e woul d make attractive sand

, ,

wiches was n o t so wise Here o f course the exper i ment was

.
, ,

destined for fa ilure because of the i nnate unw illingness o f

human beings to stomach color s that appear psycholo gi cally
i nedible .

Another figure on the positive side i s the maker o f coated

candies who found that a variety of colors sold more pounds ,

even though the flavor was the same S till another example i s .

that o f the progress ive o il company that extended its act ivi t i es
“
into India L u c kie sh in his book C olor and C olors writes : O il
.
,

was sold in t i n cans for use i n lamps O n the rectangular faces .

of the tin a red monkey was pri nted Apparently a co n sular .

,

o r company representative knew that the natives held the

monkey i n hi gh esteem and o f course they liked red The

, .

sides of the t ins were hung o n the walls o f the humble huts by
the natives for their own enjoyment and reverence It cost no .

m ore to pr i nt the red monkey on the sides o f the tins than the
t rade mark used i n thi s country
-
”
.
1 48 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

A few more i nstances of clever enterpr i se will be reported

here not only for the sake o f i nterest but i n the hope that
, ,

these strategi es and i nventions may encourage equally shrewd

thi nki ng o n the part o f some readers .

C o o r anl d War
To E gmont Arens o f New York we are indebted for a c o lle c
t i on o f notes o n the use o f color during the war Arens writes : .

“
Using colors for i denti fication and signal ling is not new in
i tself What is new i s the scientific understanding of human
.

reactions to color and the use o f color dyn am ically to get faster
,

action at a t i me when speed is the essential i ngredient .

O n tra i ning field and battle front o n battleship and bomber , ,

color stands by to organize s impl ify and direct action In fact

, , .
,

wherever the human eye is apt to err o r the human hand to ,

slow down wi th fatigue o r co nfusion new scientific color

applications have been discovered to simpl ify complex Oper a
tions to heighten speed and precision o f action to lessen
, ,

strain and tension i ncr ease work output

,
”
.

In an airplane the eyepiece of the gun sight is red to ai d

, ,

instant location O n instrument boards colored lights and

.
,

mar ks distinguish functions warn o f danger p r ovide constant

, ,

vi sual check E lectric wi es and o il lines a r e c oded by hue

. r
,

to facilitate quick repair in the event o f damage D eck cr ews .

o n aircraft car r iers wear bright colored caps and sweater s so

-

that they wi ll be conspicuous to landing planes Training .

planes are brilliant yellow or orange to help i n preventing ,

cr ack ups among n e o p h ite s

-
.

Ammunition is marked i n color bomb casings being thus

—
,

identified as to t ype incendiar y fr agmentation ar mor p ie r c , ,

-

i ng L ikewise torpedoes depth bo mbs mac hine gun bullets

.
, , ,
-
,

and tracer bullets have separate color symbols to facilitate

proper loading o f cartridge clips .

The insides of tanks used i n desert war fare ar e painted pale

green both to reflect light and to offer psychological c o m
,

n sa t io n for exposure to high temperature C olo ed smoke

p e . r

signals whi ch may be changed from day to d ay are used fo r

, ,

tank identification and for preventing confusion ( o r tri c kery

o n the part o f the enemy ) The undersides of self in fla t in g life
.
-

rafts a r e so colored as to make them less att active to sha ks r r .

1 50 SEL L ING WI T H CO L O R

gray boxes were thi ckly covered wi th mosqu i toes while but ,

two or three were found i n the pink or the yellow boxes .

Hoodless also found that New C aledo ni a mosqui toes prefer

blue and avo id yellow .

0 1 C h ic ks, E ggs, an d C o tto n

Now let us turn to a few i tems an d clipp i ngs o n widely

different topics .

“
From the New York H erald T rib une comes this : The m ysti
fyin g spectacle of
‘

white L eghorn chi ckens at the E ssex

C ounty penitentiar y s poultry farm wear i ng red goggles was
’

explained today by Warden Floyd Hamma who said that the ,

rose colored glasses made them more peaceful and had stopped
-

the fight i ng which had resulted i n the death of 1 0 per cent o f

hi s L eghorns this year .

M atthew Gaynor and Fred K i rsch the guards i n charge ,

o f the poultry farm which suppl i es eggs for other ins titutions
,

o f the country found that among the

,
c hi cke ns which
they keep the killing among the L eghorns was disas trously
,

high They found that a harmless peck causing a slight scratch

.

i mmediately was transformed i nto a death fight by the sight

o f blood .

“
If the chickens saw red all the t i me the keepers thought , ,

this felonious tendency m ight be c urbed C onsequently the .

,

wi ndows o f the chi cken houses were ti nted scarlet but the ,

killings continued The keepers and the warden c o n fe r r e d o n

.
‘

the matter a month ago a n d emerged with the plan to use red
goggles They devi sed goggles of a small strip o f leather fitte d
.

with red i singlass and wired to the beak This devise first was .

tr i ed on 1 00 chi ckens and at present have been equip

,

ped S ince t h e red goggles were put i nto use the warden sai d
.
, ,
”
there has not been a fat al fight am ong the L eghorns .

A s i milar protect i on has also been instituted in a C hi cago

br oiler factory where chi ckens are raised like so many
”
,

mechani c al products am id artificial sun lamps endless belts , ,

and speci al diets C ann i bal ism brought about i n chicks at the
.

sight o f blood when pin feathers push through th e skin has

“
been curbed by was hi ng out clear vi sibility of the color with
”

appropr iate red l i ghts .

 CO L O R E N T E RPR I S E —PL A IN AN D FA N CY 1 51

A group of sc i entists at the Kansas S tate C ollege have suc

c e e d e d i n getting hens to lay red and green eggs and eggs w i th
“
snow whi te yolks To quote from a newspaper report : P r o
- .

duct ion of eggs of practically any hue can be accomplishe d by

simply feeding the proper organic dye i n each case At present .
,

the most fascinating problem wi th hens i s to determine the

exact precursor of the pi gment a st a c e n e whi ch i s synthes i zed ,

by the chi cken This pigment i s found in onl y one part of the
.

chi cken s bod y the ret i na of the eye and i s present i n no

’
, ,

normal feed ever tested There is evi dence that this pigment
.

may play an i mportant role i n the color vision o f the fowl ”

.

From S an D iego (S ou the rn R ancher ) comes a lengthy report

“
o n controlling the color of meat birds and eggs The color o f .

the fat and flesh o f meat birds i s extremely i mportant in many

markets as the particular type o f trade demands milk whi te -

flesh ski n and fat There are however other s e ctions and
, ,
.
, ,

nationalities that have no objections to skin and fat ranging

from light yellow to dar k yell ow The white skinned and .
-

whi te fat birds are marketed as milk fed and br ing a premium
-
‘ ’

over the dark The term m ilk fed is more a trade name than
.
‘ ’

a fact an d could be more aptly called controlled color ‘

.
’

“
The same situation has existed for many years in the New
York C i t y egg markets The New York egg market demands
.

an egg having a lemon yellow yolk and they will n o t accept

eggs with darker colored yolks As most o f the P acific C o ast .

surplus eggs are shipped to the E ast they are candled and ,

the dar ker colo r ed yolk eggs ar e sold at home an d the lighter
color ed ones shipped E ast The color of the yolks affects grad .

ing and generally the lighter colored yolks bring better prices
than dark ones .

“
Now the problem o f controlling the color of egg yolks and
the color o f meat birds in or der to obtain the best market
values has been studied for many year s and the results of
some o f thi s work follows
“
D r W A M a w head o f the D ep ar tment o f P oul try Hus
. . .
,

bandry M a c D o n ald C ollege Quebec C anada gives the

, , , ,

results o f stud i es that hav e been carried o n for ten years .

“
‘
The color of the body fats and ski n i s closely related to the
color of the cereals in the ratio n fed Where yellow corn i s fed .

to take advantage of the add i ti onal body fat p r oduced the ,

1 52 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

c olor o f the fats is too yellow to classify as milk fed for market
pur poses A study was ther efor e made of the bleaching e ffect
.

o f such agents as Bone char E nglish nut charcoal etc Yellow , ,

.

g o u nd cor n was used as a cereal base i n the ratio n s The dif

r .

fe r e n c e s in the color o f the fats and the skin were determined

o n the basis of the amount o f car otinoid pigment in the fats .

The bleaching agents red u ced the amount of car otinoid pig
ment as compared to the amount shown in the b as al r ation
fed fats Bone char showed the best res ul ts pr od u cing rela
.
,

t iv e ly white colored fats E nglish nut charcoal did almost as

-
.

good a work .
’

“
Tests have r e c e n tly b e e n completed by several C alifor nia
i

milling firms to determine the possibility of the contr ol o f

color in the egg meat fats and skin These tests have been
, , ,
.

conducted both o n controlled battery bi r ds and under flock

size conditions The unanimous opinion is that pi gm entation
.
‘

o f the skin fat and color of the egg yolk can lar gely b e con
, ,

trolled by var ying the amount o f charco al fed .

’

This c ontrol over nat u re may also in the futu re be ex

.
, ,

tended in other and unusual ways The p r oblem o f color .

styling in cotton textiles for example may o n e day req u ire a , ,

thoro u gh knowledge o f horticu lture C olor ed fabr i c s may b e .

grown fr om the seed obviating the need fo r costly dyeing

,

p r ocesses and at the same time letting natu r e handle the

, ,

r esponsibility o f pe r manence a n d r e sist a n c e to fading T he

’

“
N e w Yo k T im es has th is to r epo r t : Natu r ally c olored c otton
r

f om which fade resistant c loth is woven is being grown in

r -

R u ssia. Thu s fa r green rose lemon and br ow n hues

, , , ,

have been developed L ast year 1 2 00 yar ds o f cloth we e

. r

woven f om the c olor ed cotton and this year 7 00 tons w ill

r ,

be grow n fr om which yards o f colored cloth will

be produced ”
.

O fT o m ato e s, C o rn , P e ac he s ,
an d F o xe s

When 1 5 a tomato ripe S ome c lever thinking at P ur due has ?

t u rned cosmetics to th e p u rpose of c olor standar dization Thus .

“
states the F ood F i ld R ep ter : Tomato picke r s all over the
e or

country have been having t ouble pi c ki ng fully ripe tomatoes r ,

becau se they have had no way o f te lling how r e d the fr uit

1 54 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Unfortunately says D r C laypool methyl bromide cannot

,
.
,

be used comme r cially to produce more colorful fruit F o r .

while i t i ncreases the color and therefore the eye appe al of

, ,

peaches and nectarines i t al so damages their flavor

, .

“
The value of the discovery says D r C laypool lies i n the , .
,

proof that the color o f some fru i ts can be i mproved through

exposure to a gas The problem now is to find a gas which
.

wi ll cause this improvement without damaging the flavor .

He points out that the gas treatment will wor k only o n

fruits which al r eady have a tendence to blush He believes ‘
.
’

the increased color produced i n peaches and nectarines may

be due to a reaction between methyl bromide and pigments
p r esent in the fruit in colorless fo r m ”
.

An d now an item about the vertebrate fox from the E aston

“
( P a ) xp ess : Because of the preference for platinum blondes
.E r ,

the silver fox is put on a vitamin B deficiency diet .

“
This diet claimed D r Agnes Fay M organ o f the Uni
,
.

versi t y o f C al ifor nia S acr amento artificially produces plati

, ,

num pelts fr om silver foxes similar to those impor ted from,

Norway last year which proved so popular and brought

,

extraordinary pri ces ”

.

O F V ario us Oth e r T hin gs

From an other newspaper repor t on a rad i cal ly differen t ,

“
matter comes the following : A means o f detecting poisonous
,

gas was indicated by a new devi ce developed by T T Wood . .

son of the General E lectr ic C o mpany The apparatus works

,
.

o n the principle that a vapor w ill absorb certain colors ; for

example mercury absorbs violet

,
.

“
A violet light is passed through a sample o f gas and on to
a photoelectr ic cell If mercury vapor is p r esent par t o f the
.
,

vi olet light is absorbed and the decreas e in light tr ansmitted

is detectable by the photoelectr i c cell whi ch actuates a warn ,

ing signal ”
.

From the New York D aily M irror we quote the following

Boric Acid Kills 5th Baby ; C i t y s Hospitals to C olor P oison ’

P i n k D eath claimed another infa nt vict i m o f New L ondon s

’
.

boric acid mixup yesterday bringing the toll of that tragedy

,

to fiv e and New York C ommissioner o f Hosp i tals Bernecker

,
 CO L O R E N T R R
E P I S E —PL A IN A N D FA N CY 1 55

took a fin al decisive step to insure against such a thi ng ever

,

happening here .

“
L ouis S amuels ch i ef pharmacist for the ci t y s 2 8 hospitals
’
, ,

was ordered to i ns truct all municipal pharmacists to color

boric acid a bright p i nk thr ough u s e o f amaranth a har mless
, ,

synthetic us ed in the past for foods drugs and cosmetics ”

, ,
.

“
From the C layton ( Ill ) E n terpr ise this article i s taken : D id
.

you know that colors can be warm o r cold that some colors ,

absorb and radiate heat A C alifornian expert W F Alder

?
, . .
,

has produced a new paint whi ch absor bs great heat and then ,

radiates i t He tested two steam heated cubes o f polished

.
-

copper o n e o f wh i ch was painted with his compound This

,
.

was found to have a temperature of 40 degrees C enti grade

more than the unpa i nted cube .

“
Trunks o f fr ui t tr ees were painted with thi s mi xture and ,

during a spell o f severe weather they defied frost S o in the .

near future we may be able to partially heat o u r homes wi th

”
pa i nt .

Another new development i s reported from L ondon : The

possibili t y of revol u tionizing i nterior lighting is foreseen by
the announcement here today of a new luminous paint
d iscovered by chemists Known as lu m o ge n this
.
‘
,
’

material can be mixed with paint of any color and will then
glow brightly when subj ected to ul traviolet rays .

“
The chief advantages o f lu m o ge n are said to be i ts low‘ ’

cost and i ts excellent lumi nescent qu al ities under all condi

tions It can be mixed wi th almost anything fr om concrete to
.

wallpaper o r floor polish so i t will be possible to create rooms

,

wi th glowing walls ce il i ng an d fl oor and even a lumi nous

, , ,

Broadway ”
.

The following comes fro m Fresno C al if : O n e of the latest ,

.

scient i fic advances for measur i ng strain on automobile parts

is to make a tran s parent plasti c model of some hi ghly stressed
metal part such as a gear o r a connect ing rod and to ex
, ,

amine the model by pass i ng polar i zed light thr ough i t When .

the model i s subjected to loads which represent the conditions

of actual use bri ght bands of color appear like mi ni ature
, ,

rainbows i ndicating the sect ions of greatest strain

,
”
.

To facilitate i ns truction i n the i ntri caci es of blind flying a ,

novel use of red and green has been reported in Illum ina ting
1 56 SE L L ING W IT H
~
CO L O R

E ngin eering : Blind flying equipment i s a con veni ent new

method o f fitting standard planes for s afer more effective ,

blind flying pr actice in daylight The equ ipment consists of .

tr anspar ent colo r ed sheeting that is attached to cockpit

windows and transparent colored goggles wor n by the st u dent
,

pilot Wearing the goggles the student pilot can read h is

.
,

instr uments but cannot see outside the cockpit The in

, .

str u c t o r who does n o t wear the goggles has an unim

, ,

p e d e d view of
ground sky other planes instruments and
, , ,

p flo t .

“
The combination o f goggles and sh eeting acts as an
e fle c t iv e o n e man blackout system because o f the remar kable
-

color selectivity o f the two plastics used The green sheeting .

t r ansmits o nl y green light blocking all other colors The red ,

.

goggles are fitted with a lens which tr ansmits only red light .

The r e d and the green color s are precisely for mulated and
c arefully controlled so as to be mutually exc lusive This ‘

.
,

means that while it is easy to see t hr ough either the sheeting

o r the goggles separately i t is impossible to see through the ,

combination C onsequently the student pilot wear ing r e d

.
,

goggles cannot see thr ough the green sheeting which cover s
the windows o f the cockpit although he can see everything
‘

within the cockpit The instr uctor not wear ing the goggles
.
, ,

is able to see c learly through the green sheeting as well as

within the plane ”
.

The C ovington ( Ky ) E n quirer offer s this account : When

.

c al led upon to paint an ice skating r ink fo r a carnival a ,

S t L ouis contra c tor found it could be satisfacto r ily done w ith

.

a spray gun After the ar ena had been flooded with an inc h
.

and a half of water and fr ozen solid a special ic e paint colored ,

blue was spr ayed over the ice It froze almost immediately .
,

d r ying with a dull surface like flat wall paint To giv e a .

~

var nished look water was sprayed over the paint coating to
,

allow ice one sixteenth o f an i nch to form About 1 2 5 po u nds

-
.

o f the special ice paint in powdered form was u sed for the

rink which measured 1 08 by 2 1 5 feet It is said that skate

,
.

runners do n o t change the color o f the finish becau se the tr ac ks

refill w ith the color Ice may be painted in more than one
.

color or in patterns b u t a br ush cannot be used to apply it

, , ,
”
as the paint fr eezes so rapidly it will leave streaks .
1 58 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

D espitethe fact that the subjects were not i nformed when

they were wor king wi th red cards they became aware of i t
, .

S omewhere below the level of conscious ness they se n sed that

involve d was some faculty which prevented them from making
a record as good as usual in i dentifyi ng the cards by telepathy .

Thi s facul t y had the same effect on the telepathic process as

a red traffi c light o r a red danger sign .

“
The C olumbia scient ists i n commenting on the unusually
,

low record o n the red cards declare : We have tentatively

,
‘

adopted a hypothesis but further research is ne c essar y befo r e

,

much can be said about it It woul d appear at least that there

.
, ,

may be somethi n g about the red white situation which ar ouses

-

negativism This may be becaus e o f obscure effective fac tors

.

the symbolic values o f red and wh i te are deeply ingrained in

o u r culture at least and thi s general effective tone o f the
, ,

material used may have something to do with the type o f

resul ts obtained .
’
Chap te r 1 3

TH E PSYCH O L O G Y O F CO L O R

TH E author hopes that the reader will understand the pur

pose o f thi s and the next chapter They are concerned less .

wi th practical i n struct i on than wi th a revi ew o f o d d and

sentimental things more related to the background of color
than to i ts real substance However j ust as a doctor should be
.
,

interested in the histor y o f medici ne o r a lawyer i n the b e ,

gi nnings of law those who work wi th color sho ul d find i nterest

,

and p r ofit i n the romance of the i r o wn endeavor .

M any o f us are fr equently called upon to popular i ze the

subject of color to design booklets releases and promoti onal
, , ,

materi al that wi ll excite public fancy and thu s enhance the

products o r servi ces that are the more pract i cal concern o f
business A wellspring o f such reference materi al will be
.

found i n the pages that follow .

There is for example value i n br i ngi ng together all avail

, ,

able data o n the so called psychology o f color While the term

-
.

i s not easy to define most o f us i n us i ng i t have i n mi nd the

, , ,

i nfl uence and affective power o f color wi th reference to the

mind emotions and body o f man
, , .

Incidentally thi s makes for good reading j ust as i t adds

, ,

authority and knowledge to all efforts at selling color R evi ews .

o f the psychology o f color are hard to find Few wri ters o n .

color have gone to the trouble o f diggi ng i nto scientific and

medical literature sometimes for a page or two o u t o f an
,

entire book o r for a few sentences lost i n a maze of phraseology

,

that is fr equently more confusing than a fore i gn lan guage .

This present chapter the author admi ts has been a d iffi

, ,

cult o n e to gather together ; yet he feels that the i nconvenience

.

1 59
1 60 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

o f co ns ulting
medical libraries technical books monographs , , ,

publicatio ns and reports to satisfy his o w n inq u isitiveness

, , ,

has be en more than balanced by the pleasure he has had in

it and by the prospect of satisfyi ng some o f the natur al C U I I O S l ty ‘ '

of others .

C l
o o r an d H e a l in g
The influences o f color o n man s being probably need no ’

strong defense S ince the begi nning o f time he has looked

.

upon light as the emanation o f a divine and omnipotent for c e .

In this he has been less fanciful than practical for color has ,

always been asso c iated with life itself To the ancient the hues .

o f the rainbow were symbols which he related to almost ,

every aspect o f his civilization Far more o f a mystic than an .

artist he was convinced that color ruled over hi s destiny and

,

securi t y The same impulses that al l of us exper ience today

.

in the sensation o f color wer e to him the whisperings of high

powers and he p r omptly sought to comprehend them and
,

tur n them to good purposes .

In the art o f medicine the E gyptians d i agnosed and healed

wi th color P apyri dating back to 1 500 B C prescr ibe medi
. . .

cines compounded o f certain colored materials P ythagoras in .

the sixth century healed wi th mus i c poetr y and color , ,

.

C elsus and G al en in the first cent u r y A D wrote o f yellow and . .

“
red poultices : There i s one plaster almost o f a red colo r ,
”
which seems to b r ing wounds very rapidly to cicatrize .

Av i cenna the Arabian i n the D ark Ages declared that

, , ,

red and yellow were inj urious to the eyes blue soothed the ,

movement of the blood red st i mulated i t P aracelsus and the

,
.

alchemists too were all convi nced that the philosopher s

, ,
’

stone and the elixir of l ife ( invariably red ) were within the
ability o f m an to formulate He al th was a condition o f har .

mony with d ivi ne forces ; d i sease a disruption o f harmony ,

.

C olo r s i nvocations talismans herbs leeches must be called

, , , , ,

upon to counteract a ffliction .

M o d e rn A ttitu d e
The
A fter many centur i es this v i ewpoint was suddenly
,
i nter
ru
p t e d by the microbe hunters With the mysteries o f disease .

exposed i n the m i croscope m e n ab an do n e d all thi ngs pr e ,

1 62 SE L L I N G WI T H CO L O R

dilates th e blood vessels ,

D ouglas Howat , i n
R . arti cles for the
B ritish j o urn a l o
f P hysical M edicine , has referred to its val ue i n
lumbago arthritis and ne u ritis
, ,
.

Blue o n the other hand has bacteri cidal properti e s It is

, , .

said to i ncrease the output of carbon dioxide in certain cold

blooded creatures whereas red exerts the most i nfluence
,

among birds and rodents M o le sc h o t t h as shown that light.

in general increases the el i mi nation of carbonic acid in animals .

“
Blue h as been prescr ibed to cure thumping headaches high
”
,

blood press u re of nervous ori gin and i ntractable i n somnia ,

.

Whether its action i s dir ect o r i ndirect ( through the eye and
emotions ) is something to be determined more surely .

Yellow has been found by some qu al ified investigators to

raise blood pressure associated wi th anemia neurasthenia , ,

and general debility Appl i ed abdominally i t is said to

.
,

increase the flow of gastric j uices .

Green seems to be generall y neutral .

I n other experi ments a definite antagonism has been found

,

between red light and u ltraviolet light S ubstances activated .

by ultraviolet light have been rendered inactive by red light .

The activity o f hormones has been i ncreased by red and

destroyed by ultraviolet L udwig and von R ies believe that
.
.

vari ous portions o f the spectrum have a specific influence on

the hormones of the body and tha t endocrine problems may ,

some day find the ir soluti on through more i ntens ive pho to
b i ologic studies .

M odern medicine may hesi tate to accept color for i ts direct

therapy but certainly makes common use o f i t i n d i agnosi s
,
.

S ome years ago D r John Bens on i n an article for the Am er ican

.
,

n ical M edicin e ( D ecember remarked that

j o u rn a l
qf C li ,

as a general r ul e a whi te tongue reveals a system i n need o f

alkal ies while a person wi th a bright red tongue i s likely to
,

need acids He po i nted out that dark red i s often a sign of

.

i nfection o r sepsis a browni sh red tongue a sign o f typhoid

, ,
.

The broad flat fl abby tongue may i ndicate a gas tri c i ntestinal
, ,

wrong .

P i gmentat i on of the skin may be even more symbol i c .

Be ns on presented the follow i ng interest i ng list :

Thick dirty muddy complexion ( also the ruddy face and
, ,

bulbo s nose ) : evidence o f autotoxemia

u .
 T H E P S YC H O L O G Y o r C O L O R 63

Yellow face : hepatic cond i ti on .

Greeni sh waxy ski n and pallid lips : a sign of an emi a

,
.

R estr i cted spots of deepening red often shading i nto purple

,

pulmonary lesions o f pneumonia .

In some diseases the affli cted perso n may experience

colored vi s i on a sensation i n whi ch the field o f vi ew appears
,

weakly or strongly ti n ted I n jaund i ce the world may appear

.

predomi nantly yellowi sh R e d vi sion may follow retinal

.

hemorrhage o r snow blindn ess Yellow v is ion may follow

.

digital is or quinine poisoning Green vision may be caused by

.
‘

wounds o f the cornea Blue vis ion has been reported i n cases
.

o f alcoholism In tobacco scotoma the v i s i on may be reddish

.

o r greenish.

In santoni n po isoni ng the world may at first appe ar bluish .

There may be a second state of yellow vision o f longer dura

tion and a stage o f vi olet sight before complete recovery .

Following the extraction of a cataract the patient may e xp e r i ,

ence red vision someti mes followed by blue vision

,
.

P h ysic al R e actio n s
C olors have e ffect upon the mind emot i ons and body o f , ,

man They cure d iseases indirectly i f not directly They have

.
,
.

influence upon human effi ci ency The sensation of color i s .

affected by the cond i tion o f the body and the body i n turn ,

is affected by colors They are i mportant to human welfare

.
,

and they o ffer therap i es that are of real consequence to the

“
indivi dual and to soc i ety L u c k ie sh wr i tes O n e should not
.
,

be surprised if i t i s revealed some time i n the future when we

know more about the human be i ng that all wave lengths of ,

rad i ant energy from the sun and sky are intri cately en t wi ned
in the l ife and heal th processes of hum an be i ngs ”
.

In 1 91 0 S tein called attent ion to a general light tonus i n -

the muscular reacti ons of the body The word tonus refers to .

t h e condition of steady activ i ty ma i nta i ned i n a liv i ng person .

M uscular tension and muscular relaxat i on for example are , ,

tonus changes F e r e discovered that all light i ncreases tonus

.
,

blue slightly from a normal 2 3 to 2 4 red cons iderably from ,

a normal 2 3 to 42 M etzer observed that when light was

.

thrown upon one eye a tonus condition could be produced in

t h e correspond i ng ha lf o f the body D a it sc h and Kogan .
,
1 64 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

followi ng a ser ies o f experiments concluded that yellow and ,

purple light had the best effect upon human metabolism .

R e d tended to weaken it co n siderably green to weaken i t ,

slightly .

E ven the human aura i s be i ng studied Bagnall of E ngland .

has mentioned i ts possible val ue in the diagnosis of such

af fli ctions as epilepsy E ach of us of cours e has an aura
.
, ,

heat rays ( as well as odors) emanating from the body S ome .

year s ago ,V a n d e r p lan k announced that the tawny owl had

'

vision for infrared radiation and co u l d fin d i ts prey in what

“
to man i s pitch dar kness by actu a lly seeing heat as i t
”

emanated from a mouse o r a rat .

An interesting series o f experiments with animals and colo r s

was conducted a few year s ago i n Japan These experiments .
,

whi ch are well wo r th mentioning will be found reprinted in ,

the j pa ne se journ al (y Ob s te trics and Gynecology

a
‘

The secretion o f milk i n guinea pigs was acc elerated when

the mammary gla n ds o f the animal were irradiated wi th red
light Blue rays retarded the secretion The young o f those
. .

mother s which had been exposed to red light grew strong and
healthy while the offspring of the blue irradiated mother s
,
-

were under nourished D r M e nju who conducted the tests

. .

“
declar es I am convinced that these effects of the visible
,

light upon the milk secretive function a r e induced thr ough

the vegetative ner vous system and the func tion o f endocr ine ‘

glands ”
.

In the study o f the sex cycles of animals blue light wa s ,

found to cause irregular cycles R e d light caused sho ter and . r

r egular sex cycles L ong wave length and short wave lengt h
.

have antagonistic effects upon the sexual cycle thyroid gland , ,

ovary and adrenal body S imi lar res u l ts have been achieved
,
”
.

in Am erica by Bissonnette with starlings the sexu al cycle ,

being hurried al ong i n m al e birds by the action o f r e d light .

As to the gener al e ffect of color o n the vegetative ne r vous

“
system o f rabbits D r Yogo o fJapan concl u ded In case red
, .
,

ray radiation is applied to the whole body o r abdomen it ,

affects to ac celerate the tension o f the par asympathetic

nervous system Its first action is to inc rease blood pressure
”
. .

After i rradiation however the blood pressur e may grow

, ,

stead ily lower .

1 66 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

a gi ven length o f t i me C onversely cool colors are subdu ing

.
, ,

and ti me speeds on wi th less noti ce pai d to i t .

Human senses as well are more alert un der red than

,

under blue or green l i ght D r Gilbert Bri ghous e o fO ccidental

. .

C ollege L o s Angeles has tested th e muscu l ar responses of

, ,

several hundred college students R eactions were 1 2 per cent.

qu i cker than normal un der red light while green light ,

retarded the response .

Psyc h iatry
Back i n 1 875 a E uropean doctor by the n am e of P onza
,

sought to deal wi th i n san i ty by fitting hosp i tal rooms wi th

colored glass wi ndows colored walls and furnishings R e d
-
, .

and blue were the hues p rinc i pally used O f red he w rote .
,
“
After passing thr ee hours i n a red room a man a fflicted w i th
taciturn delirium became gay and cheerful ; o n getting up the
day after his entry i nto the room another madman who had ,

refused all food whatever asked for bre ak fas t and ate with
“A
surprising avi dity As to blue
”
. vi olent case who had to
,

be kept in a strait j acket was shut i n the room with the bl u e

window ; less than an hour afterwards he became c al mer ”
.

C olor may not be a cure for i n s an i ty and today the applica ,

tion of fever therapy and i n s u l i n shock are achi eving far more
potent r esults However the magi c of color in its influence on
.
,

human moods seems to i nsp i re constant i nquiry Quotation .

i s made from further work more recently conducted at the

Worcester S tate Hosp i tal i n M assachusetts
“
The expe r i ments now i n progress are c onducted in a small
ward with a nurse and attendant in charge A regul ar program .

is followed with periods for work play meal s and rest The , , ,
.

pat i ents spend the i r entire waking day i n this ward whi ch is ,

lighted by seven 1 00 watt lamps daylight be i ng excluded

-
,
.

All light p as ses through filters of the color being tested These .

fil ters are similar to the gelat i n fil ters used in theaters for color
light e ffects C areful notes a r e kept on the reacti ons o f both
.

the patients and attendants Three color s have been tried and
.

o n e i s n o w in u s e .

“
M agenta used wi th distur bed patients had a qui eti ng
effect fo r several weeks wi th a diminution o f effic i ency after
the initial peri od There was an associated stimulating effe t
.
c
 T H E P S YC H O L O G Y O F C O L O R 7

w hi ch contr i buted somewhat to a feel i ng of tens i on However .

,

when magenta was replaced by white light after a month ,

the patients became quite exc i ted .

“
Blue had a striking and prolonged quieting e ffect P atients .

and attendants commented on i ts soothing effect Thi s color .

was the most effective o f those used .

“
Ye llow was us ed wi th depressed melancholy patients and ,

had a very slight St i mul ating e fle c t R e d used with the same

. .

group of patients produced more stim ul ati on than the yellow .

The reaction o f the depressed patients to color was short and

-

less obvi ous than that of the d i sturbed pati ents .

“
The work i s st ill quite i n i ts experimental stage but we are ,

rather hopeful that some o f the colors may p r ove to be useful

adj u ncts on certain wards where d isorders of the two extremes
of mood a r e be i ng treated ”
.

( The author has been advised however that further

,
‘

re ,

search has since been set aside ) .

C olor and its value i n psychi atry have been elaborately and
skillfully investigated by Felix D eutsch ( see F olia Clin ica
Or ien talis V o l 1 Fasc 3 and 4
,
.
, . D eutsch i s a physician
, ,
“
and hi s work i s very fascinating i ndeed E very action o f .

light has in i ts influence physical as well as psychic compo

nents By using color to help co r r ect adverse ment al states
.
”

that br i ng about phys i cal d i stress he has been able to speed

,

his patients back to recovery His procedure has been a simple

—
.

one merely to expose the pat i ent to a strongly hued environ

ment (o f his own choice ) and then to let it exert i ts i nfluen ce
,

in arousing thoughts and moods favorable to recove ry '

.

Though the treatment m ay to a large measure be psychic ,

nonetheless the results are physical and tangible things

are exper ienced by the ent ire vasc ul ar system o f the
body .

Here for example are two case histor i es O n e patient

, , .

troubled wi th angi nal fear compla i ned o f shortness of br eath ,

a ir hunger and palpitat i on of th e heart S h e feared the return

, .

o f a spasm whi ch years before had caused her to lose con

sc io u sn e ss An examination o f her heart revealed a fairly

.

normal condition S h e had a sl i ght thyroid enl argement Her

. .

pul se rate at the time o f her examina ti on was 1 1 2 her blood ,

r ess u re 1 1 5 7 0
p .
1 68 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Thi s patient w as placed i n a red envi r onment ( Green as a .

color was decidedly unpleasant to her ) .

First session : pulse 1 1 2 ; after treatment pulse was 80 .

S econd session : pul se 92 ; after tr eatment pulse was 76 .

Thir d session : pulse 92 ; after treatment pulse was 80 .

Fourth session : pulse 84 ; after treatment pulse was 74 .

D uring following sess ions her pul se was always 74 The .

patient exper ienced a comforting sensation o f warmth Her .

insomnia disappeared and she felt restor ed calmness .

In a second case the patient com plained o f attacks of weak

,

ness shor tness o f breath and pressur e sensations over the

, ,

chest which led to fear o f choking When she was admitted

, .
,

h e r blood pressure was M edical ther apy did not

produce any changes in thi s reading n o r did it lessen the ,

patient s subjective complaints

’
.

When she was placed in a green room fo r sho r t per iods ,

however the following reduction in blood pressure took place

, .

First session : later

S econd session : 245/ 1 3 0 later
T hi rd session : later
Four th session : later
Fifth session : later
S ixth session : later 1 8 0 .

S eventh session : 1 95 ; later 1 80 .

In the course of other sessions the blood pressure fell to

1 8 0 mm Hg and was attended by subjective relative feelings
.
,

o f well being
” -
.

De u tsch assumes that biological actions take place following

the use o f colo r He summar izes his conclusions in these four
.

points
1 C olor b r ings about a reflex action upon the vascular
.

system if only thr o u gh the feelings and emotions

,
.

2 The e ffect ac h ieved is not specific for any o n e o r any

.

cer tain hues Warm color s may c al m o n e person and excite

.

another C ool colors may likewise be st i mul ating to o n e person

.

and passive to another .

3 Irradiation with red or green light may produce

.

elevation of blood p r ess u r e and a quickening o f pulse rate .

O r the opposite may take place depending on the par ticular ,

psychic make u p o f the individ u al -

.
1 70 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

regi on of blue and green was chosen The relatively great .

hue range covered by such perceptually cool objects provides

oppor t unity for the psychological associati on o f c oolness wi th
a relatively great range of hues .

Syn e sthe sia

There are many persons who associate colors qu i te spon
t a n e o u sly with other t hi ngs They may t hi nk o f the letters .

o f the al phabet as being hued Numbers may suggest colo r s .

and so too many sounds mus ical notes the days of the week
, , , , ,

and a wide variety of other tokens T h is facul ty whi c h seem s .

,

to be inherent in the psychic make u p o f an individ u al and to -

exist without change during his lifetime is called synesthesia , .

O ver fifty years ago Francis Galton made a study o f these

,

color thinkers O n e man associated colors with numeral s

-
”
.

as fo llows : 1 w as black 2 yellow 3 a pale b r ick red 4 brown, , , ,

5 dar k gray 6 reddish brown 8 blue 9 brown A woman

, , ,
.

saw the letter A as whi te E as red I as yellow V as p u rple

”
, , , ,

and T a dingy hue .

With music synesthes i a often accounts for many other

,

strange notions In a program for the Boston S ymphony

.

O r c hestra some years ago P hilip Hale commented o n a few

, ,
“
o f the color he a ring reactions o f musicians He told that
” -
.

R aff held the tone of the flute to be i ntensely sky blue The .

oboe was clear yellow the trumpet scarlet the fla ge o le t deep

'

, ,

gr ay The trombone was purplish to br ownish ; the hor n

.
,

greenish to brownish ; the bassoon a grayish black He r e ,

.

marked that A major was green to o n e musi c ian and th at

another felt the hue of the flute to be red rather than blue ,

as it was to R aff .

In 1 8 90 a woman was found to whom the mus i c o f M ozart

was blue that of C h O p in yellow and that of Wagner a l u mi
, ,

nous atmosphere with changing colors To another su b je Ot .

Aida and T a nnhciuser were blue while T he F lying D u tchm a n was

'

a misty green .

L iszt is credited with a number o f pet phrases whi ch per ,

“
haps had their origin i n synes thesia M ore pink here if you .
,
” “ ” “
please That is too black
. I want i t all azure Beethoven
”
. .

is said to have called B minor the black key S chubert likened .

“
E minor unto a maiden robed i n w hi te wi th a rose red b o w -
 TH E P S YC HO L O GY O F CO L O R 1 71

“
on her breast O n e R ussian comp o ser said R ims ky
.
”
,

Korsakoff and many of us i n R ussia have felt the connection

between colors and sonori ti es S urely for everybody sunlight
“
.
,

i s C major and cold colors are minors An d P i s dec idedly .

1

”
strawberry red $

E id e tic I m ag e ry

Finally t h e r e is another singu l ar human tal ent a bit rar e

, , ,

which the psychologist terms eidet i c i magery E R Ja e n sc h . . .

,
“
who has wri tten a book on the subject states : E i detic images ,

are phenomena that take up an intermediate position between

sensations and i mages L ike ordinary phys i olog i cal afte r
.

images they are always seen i n the liter al sense They have this .

proper ty o f necessity under all cond i t i ons and share it with

”
sensations .

E idetic imagery i s the g ift of childhood and youth While .

seemingly akin to the supernatural i t is no n etheless a sensory ,

re al ity The ch ild playi ng wi th his toys may be able to project

.

living pictures of them i n hi s mind These may not be mere .

products o f the imagination They may be far more tangible .

,
“
w it h d im e n sio n color movement They are lantern slides
‘ ”
.
, ,

o f the eye and b ra i n projected i nto definite loc al ized spa c e

, ,
.

They are i mages as real as projected lantern slides .

What occurs A person endowed with the faculty may

'

glance for a few seconds at a showi ng o f pictures wo r ds , ,

letters o r colors and then be able to hold the image clearly

, ,
“
before him H Kliiv e r wr i tes : F o r example an eidet i c child
. .
,

may wi thout spec i al e ffort reproduce symbols taken from

, ,

the P hoenician alphabet Hebrew words etc O r a person

, , .

with a strong eideti c imagery may look at a number of pri nted

wo r ds for a while and then go to the dark room and revive
the text e idet i cally It i s possible to photograph the eye move
.

”
ments occurring dur i ng the read i ng o f the eidet i c text .

Becaus e the phenomenon see m s to vani sh w i th age be i ng ,

l ikely to disappear d u r i ng adolescence the adul t mind , ,

capable of de aling with i t relegates i t to the fervid per iod of

,

childhood Nevertheless i mages are seen P i ctures stand before

.
, .

the eyes and details are disti ngui shed in them that may be
counted and identified in hue .
1 72 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

We may seem to be wander i ng afield from the problem s of

selling color ; yet the mo r e one learns of people and their
,

reactions to the wo r ld of color the broad er his vi ewpoint ,

should be and the closer to an understanding of those forces ,

cur ious or other wise that influence people

,
.

We are all sensitive to color We take it seriously p r ais i ng.

,

its goodness and c ondemning its evil ; a n d at times it r ous es us

to very strange ac tions The following item recently appear ed
.

in the L ong I sl n d S tar journ l

a -
a
—
.

“
C amden N J ,
C ity C ommi ssioners we r e pondering an
. .

amazing complaint which was handed them today by resi

dents o f Newton Avenue .

“
The complaint was registered against the newly painted
t w o story ho u se o f one o f thei r neighbo r s R esidents said the
-
.

c olor of the house was affecting their health and petitioned

the commission to make the owner change its color S aid the .

r eq u est :
‘ —
The building i s a bright glaring yellow with red and ,
—
black lette r ing which reflects a ghastly sickening glare o f ,

yellowish light in the front o f the ho u ses O pposite It cr eates .

a nuisance whi ch endanger s health physical and mental ,

well being
-
.
’
1 74 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

As to the sense of touch colors may appear warm o r cool

, ,

dry or wet What better to bespeak the pleasures o f an air

.

conditio n er than blues and greens o r the co m fort o f a heating ,

system than red orange and yellow?

, ,

In the sense o f smell the sweetness of perfume is surely

,

lavender p i nk or del i cate yellow Here the odor o f June

, , .
,

may rec al l green ; o r blue may seem most refreshing in an

after shave lo ti on I wonder however who made the mistake
-
.
, ,

o f a brown cake o f to ilet soap not i ced o n e day o n the bargain

counter of a retail store ?

As to the sense o f hearing the phenomenon o f synesthesia ,

has al ready been ment ioned According to the extensive .

research o f T F Karwoski and H S O d b e r t the majority of

. . . .
,

human beings w ill as sociate slow music with blue fast music ,

with red high notes wi th light colors deep notes with dark
, ,
“
color s M ore subtle The horizontal dimensions might be
.
,

related to the development o f music i n time ; th e vertical

dimension to changes in pitch A third dimension o f depth .

may eventu ally be available to denote volume o r intensity ”

.

In other words music moves al ong quickl y o r slowly depend

,

1n
g on i ts tempo It jumps up
. i nto tin ts for high notes o r drops

down into shades fo r low notes When i t i s for tissim o the colors .
,

are near heavy and bulky When i t is p ian issim o the colors
, ,
.
,

are fil my and far away .

C olors also suggest defini te form s Although these associa .

tions may not be so fixed i n most minds they are perhaps ,

worthy of mention here for those who may feel ( as the author
does ) that shapes and hues bear resemblance to each other :

R e d suggests the form o f the square and the cube It is hot .

,

dry and opaque in quali ty It i s solid and substanti al It is

,
. .

extremely advancing and holds the strongest o f all attractions

to stimulus Because i t is sharply focused by the eye i t lends
.
,

i tself to structur al planes and sharp angles .

O range suggests the form o f the rectangle It i s less eart hl y .

in quality than red more t i nged wi th a feeling o f in c a n d e s

,

cence It i s warm dry compelling O ptica lly it produces a

.
, ,
.
,

sharp image and therefore lends itself t o angles and to well

d e fin e d o r nament .

Yellow suggests the form o f the triangle o r the pyr amid ,

with i ts apex down It is the color o f highest visibil i ty in the

.
 TH E R O MA NCE O F CO L O R 1 75

spectrum and therefore sharp angular and cr isp i n qual i t y , ,

but it i s more celesti al than worldly It is wi thout solid base .

,

lofty, and reaches upward into space .

Green suggests the form of the hexagon o r the i cosahedron .

It i s cool fresh soft It i s not sharply focus ed and therefore

, ,
.

does not lend i tself to much an gu l arity It is a b ig color and .

can dominate th e eye wi thout distress i ng i t .

Blue suggests the form o f the ci rcle o r the sphere It i s cold .

,

wet transparent atmospheric Blue is ret iring dignified a n d

, ,
.
, ,

tends to create a blurred i mage i n the eye While it may have .

bulk it does n o t seem to lend itself to angularity

,
.

P ur ple suggests the form o f the oval It is even more refined .

than blue The eye finds diffi cul ty i n focusing an image o f it

.

sharply It i s thus soft fl owi ng and never angular Unlike

.
, , .

blue however i t i s not so lofty but clings closer to earth

, ,
.

A sso c iatio n s O th e r
L anguage be ing an expression o f huma n thought and
,

emotion becomes sign ificant when studied for i ts slang meta

, ,

p h o rs sim i les
,
and colloqu i al i s m
,
s For a qu i ck rev i ew of .

color j argon cons ider these exam ples ,

.

At once red i s the pass i onate an d ardent hue o f the spec

,

trum m arki ng the sai nt and the s i nner patr i ot ism and
, ,

anarchy love and hatred co mpassion a n d war T h e word red

, , .

in R us sian means beautiful M an must pai nt the town red . .

He sees r e d and thereupon works hi mself i nto a purple rage

, , .

The red lamp is a brothel the scarlet woman a prost i tute , .

R e d hot news is i n his daily paper He reads o f red tape and

-
.

the draw ing o f red herr i ngs across the l i ne There are reds .

i n R ussia red letter days businesses i n the red and bums

,
-
, ,

without a red cent to their names .

Yellow man despises for the most part The scoundrel i s

—
, .

yellow S ensational journal i sm i s yellow an expressi on that

.

sprang up in 1 8 95 when the N ew 1 ork World ran a picture in

”
,

yellow as an experiment in pri nt ing .

Green i s the demon o fjeal ousy Greenbacks are paper cur .

Greene r s are i nexperienced workers

ren c
y .
; greenhorns are
dolts from the country .

“
Blue is indispensable The expression to feel blue i s a .

masterp i ece of vivid statement There are blue laws blue .

,
1 76 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

gloom (for reformers ) blue M ondays bolts fr om the blue , , ,

blue bloods and bluestockings You c a n be true blue curse

,
.
,

the air blue or exp erience something once in a blue moon

,
.

As to other hues yo u can have a purple time and if you are

, ,

n o t careful be done up b r own You can cast black looks o r

,
.

feel black despair There is blackballing and blackmailing

. .

There are blackguards blacklegs bla c k coats ( c ler gymen ) , , ,

black boxes and black books To say that a man is white all
— —
.
,

the way through o r j ust whit e i s an Ameri c anism dati ng

R R0 0 YO -
Y YG -
G BG -

E xc iting T ranquilizmg
S ubd uing Ch e e ring

T he af
fe c t iv vl
e a ue l
o f c o o rs . R e d -o r a n ge is se e n as th e m o st e xc itin g o f

h u e s, vi lo e t as t h e m o st su b d u in g, y lle o w -gr e e n as th e m o st tr a n qu i l , an d

y ll w th m t h f l (Aft W ll )
e o as e os c eer u . er e s .

back to 1 87 7 There i s also the white man s burden the white ’

—
.
,

haired boy and the white feather each telling enough i n

, ,

i ts i mplication .

A number o f psycholog i sts have carr i ed out research to

determine the moo ds that people associate with the colors of
the spectrum Few of them however seem to be awar e o f the
.
, ,

fact that a color may have cont radictory qu alities depending ,

o n the par ticular vi ewpoint of the observer Green is an excel .

lent case in point As seen objectively it is cool fresh clear

.
, , , ,

and altogether pleasing But green illumination shining on .

the human flesh may i nspire a subjec tive viewpoint that w ill
i n stantly make the color repulsive Thus no list o f color .
,

associations i s adequate unless it takes into cons ideration these

1 78 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Whi te the symbol o f light si gnifies innocence and purity

, , ,

jy
o and glory R e d the symbol of fire and
. blood signifies
, ,

The Mo de rn Sym b o l ism o fCo l o r

C 0 1“
G e n e ra l M e n ta l O b je c t i e v S u b je c t i e v
a p p e a r an c e asso c ia tio n s im p r e ssio n s im p r e ssio n s

v
a c ti e

J vi l liv ly Hil
o a ,
e , a r it y ,

g i
ener e t c, e xu ber
f f l
o rce u an ce ,

sa t ie t y
Ye ll ow S u n n , iny S u n ligh t High sp ir it ,

c an d e s c e n t l
h e a th
r a dian t

C l e ar , m o ist C oo l ,
G l
h a st in e ss ,
P a tr ic k
’
n atu r e , s

w a te r

v
S e r ic e , Fl ag

P u rp l e De e p , so ft , C oo l , m ist , M o u rn in g ,

a tm o s E as t e r

Coo l ,
sn o w B r igh t n e ss

d ar k n e ss

F ro m T he S tory qf C o lor .

ch ar i ty and generous sacrifice Green the symbol of natu re .

, ,

signifies the hope of eternal life P urple the gloomy c a st o f .

,

the mortified represents affli ction and melancholy Black is

,
.
 TH E R OM A N C E O F CO L O R
. 119

symbol i c of the sorrow o f death and the sombe rness o f the

'

tomb .

In Freemasonry there are glints of colors once sacred to

E gypt Babylon Judea and the teachi ngs o f the C abala
, , ,
.

C raft M asonr y i s blue the symbol o f etern i t y b e n e fic e n c e

, , ,

and char i ty R oyal Arch M asonry i s red In the S cottish R i te

. .

eight color groups ar e recogni zed : black white blue red , ,

‘

, ,

green yellow blue and yell ow pink an d blue S trict funda

, , ,
.

mentalis m is not observed unfortunately O n e M asonic e n ,

.

A$ UR E

PU R PUR E S ABL E T E NNE MU R R E Y

( Purp e ) l l
( B ac k) ( Orange ) ( R e d p urp e )
-
l
T he tin c t u re s a n d
”
h a t c h in gs o f h e r a ld y Bl
r . ack an d w h ite s ym b l o s u se d
l
in th e d e sign a t io n o f c o o rs.

“
cycloped i a states : Thi s scheme i s motley for the draperi es ,

o f L odges and C hapters may o r may not correspo nd with the

insign i a o f O fficers and M embers ”

—
.

Another i nteresting survi val is that o f heraldry still a part

o f culture i n E ngland Bri tai n has i ts coats o f arms whi ch
.

have been extended even to corporations such as the British

Broadcasting C ompany L loyds o f L ondon the Worshipful
, ,

C ompany o f Haberdashers and to m un i ci pal i t i es schools , , ,

R ugby teams .
1 80 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Ni ne colors or tinctures are recognized and the symbol i sm

, ,

i s as fo llows
Gold ( o r yellow) is called o r and stands for honor and
loyalty S ilver ( or white ) is called argen t and represents faith
.

and puri t y R e d is called gules and is a token of courage and

.

zeal Blue i s called azure and signifies piety and sinceri ty

. .

Black is c alled sa ble and means grief and penitence Green .

is called cer t and means youth and hope P urple i s called .

p u p ure and means royalty and ran k T enn i s an orange color

r .
’
e

signifying s trength and end u rance M urray o r sangu ine is a .

, ,

reddish pur ple and repr esents sacr ifice .

Heraldry i ncidentally has left an efficient means o f id e n t i

, ,

fyin g colors i n black and whi te The vario u s ha tchings used to .

signify hues i n drawings and engravings ar e separ ately

printed These designations in black and white have many
.

conveniences outside the field o f her aldry and are frequently

used to indicate colors where actual r eproduction of them is
impractical .

In moder n times color is m ade to serve a few more humble

,

and honorary functions The hues o f the mu sic sc al e as con

.
,

c e iv e d by Newton and still recognized a r e red for note C , ,

orange for D yellow for E green for F blue fo r G indigo

, , , ,

for A and vi olet for B

,
.

In Brazil a coun t ry abounding in precious and se m ip r e

,

c io u s stones professional ra n k is d e noted by ge m s The physi

,
.

c ia n wears an eme r ald ring the engineer a sapphir e the , ,

lawyer a ruby The professor affects the green tourmaline the

.
,

dentist the topaz the commercial man the pink tourm al ine
, .

In Amer ica ( since 1 893 ) the universities and colleges have

recognized a code o f color to identify their major facul ties .

These hues make up part o f the insignia of the lear ned and
are worn in gown cape braid o r tassel as follow s : s c ar le t
, , ,

represents theolo gy ; blue 1 8 fo r philosophy ; white is for ar ts

and letters ; green is for medici ne ; purple is for law ; golden
yellow i s fo r science ; orange i s for engineer ing ; pi rik is for
music .

In stock horse dog and cat shows the fir st p ize awar d i s

, , ,
r

gener al ly a blue ribbon ; the second prize is a r e d r ibbon ; the

third yellow o r gold ; the fourth w hite P ur ple may b e used . .

fo r winner over all classes and g een for special p r izes ,

r .
1 82 SEL L ING WI T H CO L O R

S ymbol i sm often has i mportance i n sell i ng color Beyond .

the fact that i t o ffers a chance for romance it may at times ,

actu al ly cause trouble There are t hr ee stori es to tell about .

C hi na In one i ns tance the whi te serv ice stations of an

.
,

Am er i can o il company h ad t o be changed i n hue becaus e o f

‘

a strong national association wi th white as a token o f mourn

ing Nor co ul d pins in blue packages be sold well among the
.

C hinese for the same reason The famous Flying R e d Horse a .

,

brilliant red had to be changed from a mare to a stallion

,
“
because o f the high regard held for mascu line pr inciples
among the C hinese and for red which is a masculine color , , .

C l
o o rs an d P e rio d Sty l e s
For a revi ew of color traditi ons in home furnishings and
wear i ng apparel the reader is referr ed to two excellent books
by E l izabeth Burri s M eyer H istorical C olor Gu ide and T his I s
-
,

F ash io n Both volumes a r e wr i t ten in schol ar ly fashion and ar e

.

gener ously illustrate d with actual color chips

”

—
.

P ractically al per i od s tyles draw from two wellsprings the

l
classical and rather severe traditions o f an c ient Greece and
R ome and the more sumptuous and baroque elegance of the
,

R enaissance .

The French periods notably that o f L ou i s XV are lu xu r i , ,

o u s with bri lli an t and refined h u es

— light blues violets odd
—
, ,

greens purples grays gold p r obably thro u gh the influenc e

, , ,

of M adame de P ompadour whose favorite color was rose ,

.

The L ouis XV I style goes back to simpler classical ideals as to ,

’

both design a n d color Under the influence o f M ar ie An .

to i nette colors are delicate and affected Under the influ e nc e

,
.

o f the em i nent painter D avid there is extreme sever ity and ,

formality French E mpire was to a large extent inspir ed by

.
, ,

Napoleon s visits to Italy Napoleon showed prefer enc e fOr

’
.

red green white and gold ; Josephine fo r the mor e delicate

, , , ,

tints of blue violet purple tan , , , .

The E nglish periods are more tempe rate The Geor gian .

style is l ar gely R oman and P ompeian although more reserved ,

.

The Adam style i s directly P ompeian Josiah Wedgwood s .

’

c lassical Greek ceram i cs are s i mple in c olor severe and pure , ,

i n tradition Adam however introduced less brilliant colors

.
, ,
 RO MA N CE
'

TH E O F CO L O R 1 83

-
soft blue pale yellow l ilac del i cate gray blue green
, , , ,
-
,

yellow green and pink

-
,
.

The craftsmanshi p o f C hippendale Hepplewhi te and , ,

S heraton al so emphasized the subtle beauty o f wood tones ,

whi ch becam e definitely tied in w i th i nterior schemes The .

Victorian style is flamboyant C olors were generall y o f lo w .

key brown purpl ish red deep green The wide use of
-
, , .

purples and magentas has d i sti ngu ished the era as the M auve
D ecade .

In Am eri ca the coloni al style had much i ndividuality

,
.

The most co mm on hue i n the sevente enth and early eighteenth

cent u ri es was a dark red c all ed S pani sh brown This was ,
.

made from a p i gment dug out o f the earth It was nearly .

al ways used for the prim i ng coat o n the ex terior of a hous e

and was often the sole pai nt appl i ed In 1 7 69 John Gore o f .

,
“
Boston advertised Very good red black yellow paints the , , ,

produce and manufacture o f North Amer i ca ”

.

For i nteriors blues and greens were favorites often with

, ,

the green made olive o r the blue grayed by the addition o f

black Vivi d colors were found on spattered floor s plastered
.
,

walls and woodwork Whi te gray pearly tones and stone

, .
, , ,

shades seem to have been favored for meetinghouses .

The Williamsburg styl e very beautifully preserved and ,

recorded i n M r R ockefeller s distinguished restoration has

.
’
,

colors o f a soft deep beauty In predominance are grayi sh and

,
.

olive greens warm tans browns w i th some dark r i ch reds

, , , ,

and greens The general feeli ng is o n the subdued side with

.
,

an occas ion al use o fo ff whites Wh i te i n fact i s today perhaps

-
.
, ,

overemphas ized i n colonial revi vals al though i t did have a ,

co ns ider able vogue in the late eighteenth century M ostly .

,

the colonists preferred deeper and stronger colors These they .

appl i ed wi th a s impl i c i ty and candor that well fitted their

architecture .

In the matter o f early Amer i can dress E l i zabeth Burris ,

M eyer ment i ons a few i nterest i ng restr i ct ions and customs .

In 1 63 4 M assachusett s had a law forbidd i ng gold and silver

,
‘

stitchi ng and a ccessori es Town records were full o f penalti es

.

for the wearing of r i bbons broad br i mmed hats and lace ,

-
,
.

Among the M ennon i tes o f P ennsylvania red was worn by ,

yo u ng girls rose by unmarri ed women blue by the marr i ed

, , ,
1 84 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

and white by w idows An unmarr i ed woman m i ght wear .

all whi te wi th rose ribbons o n her close fit t in g cap The men -

.

”
usually wore brown o r gray .

C l
o o rs a n d Pe rso nal ity
M uch has been wr i tten about the harmony o f color i n dress .

Yet because such advi ce so frequently gets lost in Clouds o f

.
,

vain rhaps o dy a bri ef and humble statement may be refresh

,

ing There are sure and scientific ways o f relating colors to

.

complexi on tones and to the hues o f eyes and hair Al though ‘

.

glamour may be the end i n vi ew the mean s to such an end ,

may be quite sober and del i berate .

The all Am erican brunette (so called ) i s perhaps the most

- -

prevalent and typical of nat i onal ty pes Her hai r is brownish .

in quality neither light nor dark Her complexion is creamy

,
.
,

with good natural tinting that i s neither bleached n o r olive

in cast Her eyes may be brownish o r hazel o r perhaps on th e
.
,

grayish blue side None o f her coloring i s extreme ; nor should

.

the colors she wears be extreme except in small touches Her ,

.

o n e best hue i s a soft blue green O ther su i table tones are -

.

natural be ige on the tan s ide maroon nav y soft rose peri , , , ,

wi n kle blue gray ish vi olets and dull flesh tones Accent colors
, , .

may well be br i ght preferably to match the gl i nt o f her eyes

,
.

The compos i te blonde has hair o fa fai rly deep golden cast ,

frequently streaked l ike molasses taffy Her skin i s usually

,
.

creamy o r toned with a blush of tan Her eyes are bluish

—
.
,

greenish o r grayi sh and also compos i te i n that they a r e

, ,

seldom extreme in hue S h e must be careful o f rich colors .

,

whi ch by contrast w ill compromise her own endowmen ts

, ,
.

Ti nts are dangerous shades more dramat i c Her best color

, .

i s a soft per iwi n kle blue O ther good hues are white soft .
,

grayi sh gree ns wi ne grayi sh blue navy ol ive green purpl e

, , , , , ,

and black .

The vi vi d brunette wi th fai r ski n and deep brown eyes and

,

hai r has almost the whole world of color to command S h e

,
.

may l ike red best of all but w ill probably look best in green , ,

blue o r vi olet Hers i s about the onl y t ype that can wear
,
.

yellow and orange effect ively Grayi sh tones also become her .
,

especially when set o ff by rich br illiant accents and accessor ies ,

.
1 86 SE E L ING WI T H - CO L O R ? ”

It i s r ather certain th at you ar e a really great person that ,

u have a compassionate h ear t but that you may in perfect

y o , ,

innocence demand considerable from others P eople are sure

—
, .

to like you not all people o f course but m ost In your turn
, , .
,

u are likely to seek many friends and perhaps arouse some

y o

j eal ousy o n the part of thos e w h o kn ow you i ntimately ; but

you make an excellent husband o r wife You have a pleasant .

way o f confessing your s ins an d then sweetly starting all over

agai n to commit more .

P I N K : The gentler wa y o f l ife is the o n e for you S ur ely i f .

,

you like pink yo u are a wo m an and have much feminine

,

charm Were you very smart as a child Were yo u the idol o f

.
?

doting parents o r relatives D id those who loved yo u keep you

?

in pret t y starched dresses an d hold from you all the sord id

,

details o f a nasty world?

Yo u have good taste i n fr i ends and clothes and a ver y
gracious social manner You like people who are cultured and
.

refined While you may have sympathy for persons l n ci rcum

.

stances less fortu nate than yours i t i s not your habit o r ,

des ire to associate wi th anyone outside your o w n genteel

class .

Yo u adore a ffecti on but somet i mes are a b i t fr i ghtened by

i t P eople are drawn to your charms and sometimes you have
.
,

rather a hard t ime holding them o ff .

O R ANG E : C hoose orange and yo u are a person to be envi ed .

“
For you ar e a hail fellow well met P erhaps not so ardent
”
.

and so passionate as the red type you still have a grand love ,

Your taste runs to cheerful friends an d good foods Yo u .

are just as much at ease among sinners as among saints I n .

fact much o f your life is devoted to things social Yet you

,
.
,

shoul d be careful P eople may say behi nd your back that

.

your last fr iend i s always your best friend .

Yo u are not o n e to be alone You l i ke emi nent people , .

whether they ar e p r iz e figh t e r s or presidents You want life .

to surround you warm and mellow like the orange glow

, ,

from a fir eplace .

Yo u make the ideal bachelor o r s pinster pe r haps because ,

ou are inclined to know a little about many people and not

y
very much abo ut one o r two .
 TH E R OM A N CE o r: C O L O R 1 87

YE L L OW : This hue i fte n p icked as a favor i te c olor by

sr o
'

very i nte lligent people If you like ye llo w yo u are probably

'
‘

.
,

high minded and perhaps a person who i s drawn i nto

-
, ,
'

reforms o r strange cults .

Yo u have a beaut i fully controlled temp e r Yet the temper .

is ther e none theless and you are quite capable Of putting

‘

, ,

people in their places if you feel so moved P eople you meet .

for the fir st time may n o t al ways t hi nk you the most friendly

soul i n the world ; but those who know you i nti mately w ill '

respect and cherish your profound character .

Yo u long Secretly for the adm i rat i on o f others While you

'

ou twardly resist flattery you i nwardly glory i n it Yo u are ,

. .
.

i nclined to live alone mentally You are a true fri end and a .

rare so u l who can keep secrets .

GR E E N : This i s nature s color preferred b y human be i ngs’

,

who are likewise fresh an d natural in personali ty If you like .

green you are sure to have a rather broad interest i n the

,

world to be aware of the problems o f-l ife to be tolerant and

, ,

somewhat liberal .

Because your mind is clear and full o f vari ed attent ions you ,

are an a greeable person Yo u like to play bridge to shop to .

, ,

read al l the best selling books Yo u respect money and are .

a n xious to i mprove your standard o f living In this perhaps .

, ,

you are like many others Yet the chi ef difference i n you i s .

that yo u delight i n fri ends travel sens i ble luxuries without , , ,

being either miserly o r i ncl ined to put o n a false front Yo u .

a r e good and norm al and relish the scand al s o f others while

,

carefully avoiding them within your o w n household .

B L U E G R E E N : A few persons will choose blue green as a favor

- -

ite hue If you are o n e among them you no doubt are a rather
.
,

fussy person This color i ndicates a well ordered life a sens i

.
-
,

tive nature and a person who has pretty set not ions about
,

many things .

Yo u are quite capable of manag i ng your o w n a ffa i rs without

aski ng for advi ce or help You are orderly and want things .

just so You can be generous wi thout bothering yourself about

.

rewar ds Yet you are emotionally a tr ifl e cold and not the

.

easiest person i n the world to get along wi th .

Being your o w n m aste r p e r h a p s now and then yo u c o m ,

'

mit a few sins that may seem pr etty b ad t o others al though .

,
1 88 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

to you they are qu i te harm less Ar e you good looki ng? S urely .
-

you have excellent taste in clothes Yo u ar e sweet and charm .

ing i n your man ner ( when you so des ire) and wholly self
possessed .

B L U E : Here i s the color o f conservatism and digni t y Yo u .

a r e sensitive to others sens i tive to yours e lf Yo u have real

, .

weight to your character and never enter i nto any silly

enthusiasms without careful thought .

You are not one to monopol i ze conversatio ns although you ,

can hold your o w n when you once make up your mind to do

so Yo u are cautious i n wor d dress and action What tro u bles
.
, , .

you most however is an inabili ty to let go i n moments o f

, ,

excitement P erhaps s i tuat i ons and personalities bother you

.

unduly .

When you s i n your conscience i s bothered b u t yo u will

, ,

sin just the same Thi s i s because yo u have a rational mind and
.

know h o w to j usti fy yourself

—
.

P U R P L E : T w o different types o f people like purple very

profound be i ngs a n d those who merely wish to appear
so.

C hoose purple and yo u are no doubt a mystery to yourself , ,

as well as to others Aristocratic and artistic people often favor

.

the hue for i ts exclusive dig nity S uch persons are generall y .

satisfied w i th them s elves somet i mes conceited and nearly , ,

always capable o f great thi ngs .

If you like purple you no doubt lay claim ( if o n l y in your

,

heart) to a rather super ior attitude toward the world ; but ,

if yo u are extremely clever are you also i nclined to be a ,

$

tr ifle lazy ?

P urple types are e as y to live with They are neither too .

bold like red nor too strait laced like blue Yet they must
, ,
-
,
.

beware o f any lavender and old lace tendencies which

$ ” - - -
,

may snare them if they don t watch out ’

.

BR O W N : C hoose brown and you are o f the earth su b sta n l

, ,
-

tial dependable steady Yo u avo i d thi ngs showy o r gaudy

, , . .
‘

There is always an admirable sameness about you which ,

.

“
may lead people to say Ah you never change a b i t over the
, ,
”
years $
Yo u are not one to take the spo tlight Your brain is slow .

but sure i n i ts acti on Yo u never S hirk responsibilities P eople

. .
Chap te r 1 5

TH E SPEC IFI CATI O N O F CO L O R

M O S T books on color start with an exposition the phys i on

c al nature o f light and radiant energy This bo ok ends with .

such a discussion There is good reason for this C olor as

. .

sensation as we explor e its myster i es in human consc io u sness

, ,

has little t o do with the science o f physics D eane B Judd . .

“
writes C olor is not a stain a specimen or a sp e c t r o p h o to
,
'

, ,

metric curve Nor is it a wave length or a shower o f electrons

”
.

upon the retina .

The i ntroducti on to a cookbook wo ul d hardly be relevant

if it were devoted to a techn ical study o f the chemical com
—
position o f meats and vegetables To develop a good color
scheme o r to bake a good cake d emands first attention
.

—
to the strange qualities o f human appetite .

However a few notes o n matters o f physi c s will probably

,

interest the reader as well as serve for a prologue to the sub

,

je c t of this particular chapter .

P h ysic al N atu re o fC o l o r
The
The exact nature o f light and color is still an eni gma L e .

“
Grand H Hardy wr i tes A wave theory an electr i cal theor y
.
, ,

o f matter o r an atom i c theory o f energy can be made p e r

,

fe c t ly legitimate a n d defensible Newton who for mulated

”
.
,

the first plausible explanation supposed that light was ,

generated by an emission o f particles Though he was opposed .

by Hooke who championed a wave theory his ideas pre

, ,

vailed fo r a full centu ry and a h al f Then the wave theo r y .

again came into vogue to be still later questioned by ex

,

1 90
 TH E SPE CI F I C AT I O N O F CO L O R 1 91

p o n e n ts a corpuscular theory In the midst o f all this

of .

wavering S ir William Bragg was once led to remark that

,

scientists ought to use the wave theory o n M ondays W e d n e s ,

days and Fr idays and t h e corpuscular theory o n Tuesdays

, , ,

Thursdays and S aturdays

,
.

T hrough the efforts o f such m e n as P lanck and Bohr h o w ,

ever scient ists today are i n pretty fair agreement R adiant

,
.

energy is said to be propagated thr ough space i n the form o f

electromagn et i c waves The visi ble portion o f t hi s energy is
.

seen as light A substance excited to luminosity radiates

.

energy i n the form o f electromagnetic waves This collection .

o fwaves is characteristic o f the substance and may be analyzed

i n a spectros c ope In addition the waves that a substance

.
,

r a diates when excited are identical w i th those i t will absorb

when radiant energy falls upon it $

GAMMA R AYS

R O Y G B V

T he l
e e c tr o m a gn e tic sp e c tr u m . T he v i ib l
s e p o r t io n o c cu p ie s one o c ta v e

ou t o f se v tyen .

R adiant ener gy however has not only a wave structure

, ,

but a cor puscular structure as we ll Th is means that radiant ,

.

“ ”
energy has tangible substance It has mass and may be bent .
,

for example by the for ce of gravity In a sen se o n e is justifie d

,
.
,

in speaking of a pound o f light energy just as he might speak ,

o f a pound of sugar The sun emits rays the mate r ial pressure
.

o f which is said to be equa to about tons a minute

l 2 50 .

F e e b le though the ir strength may be these rays can push ,

things .

The complete spectrum o f electromagnet i c waves i s charted

in an accompanying diagram The visible waves whi ch we .
,
“
see as light occupy but a narrow sect ion about o n e octave
,
”
,

o u t of 60 or 70 Waves o f greater length than the visible waves

.

correspond to i nfrared and radio rays Waves o f lesser length .

are found i n ultraviolet X rays radium rays and cosmic rays

,
-
, ,
.
1 92 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

All thi s energy travels at the same rate o f speed

—
miles a second and d iffers only in len gth of wave as measured -

from crest to crest R adio waves measure about

. feet
from crest to crest Waves o f red light ( longest of the visible
.

spectrum) measure about 1 inch Waves o f v iolet light .

( shortest o r the visible spectrum ) measure about 1/

inch Fabulous though these figures may seem measurements
.
,

o f the speed of light and of wave lengths are extremely accurate

and are accepted throughout the scientific world

—
.

There is however o n e joker i n the deck the ether R ad i

, , .

ant energy producing light and color to have substance and

, ,

a wave length must travel i n o r upon something Although .

science assumes the existence o f an ether men like M ichelson ,

and M orley have fail ed to detect it L ight will move at the .

same speed past a movi ng observer regardless o f whether he ,

is going with i t o r agai nst i t S ir James Jeans writes The “

.
,

ethers and their undulations the waves whi ch form the u n i ,

verse are i n all probabil i t y fict i t ious

,
”
.

It is much as i f phys i cs measured the size shape and speed , ,

o f waves set up by a ship and then was unable to prove the ,

exi stence of the sea upon whi ch the ship sailed .

C o orl V isio n an d C l
o or Bl in d n e ss
“
L e Gr a n d H Hardy writes What happens when light
.
,

acts upon a photoreceptor i s in essentials unknown There ”

.

are many theor ies o f color vision some mechanic al some

—
, ,

electrical some chemi cal There are for example two types
,
.
, ,

o f nerve endings o n the retina o f the human eye rods and

cones The rods distr i buted mainly on the outer boundar ies
.
, ,

give rise mai nl y to sensat ions o f bri ghtness The cones con .
,

c e n tr a t e d i n the center o f the eye ( fovea ) gi ve rise to sens a ,

tions o f hue .

When light str i ke s the eye var i ous thi ngs take place , .

E lectr i cal currents are produced i n the opt i c nerve P igment .

“
granules i n the ret i na may mi grate the pigments hiding
”
,

when darkness exists and coming up into the spaces between

the rods and cones under the stimulation of light Agai n the .
,

cones thems elves m a y contr act under the influence o f light ,

while the rods may swell The vi sual purple whi ch floods the
.
,
1 94 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

H o w M an y C l
o o rs ?
You may take your cho ice : e i ther there ar e i nnumer able
“
—
colors or there are very few much depends upon attitude .

If you were an average person tak ing an average V iew o f ,

colors ( as i n a departm ent store ) if the illumi nation was ,

average if the samples before you were isolated fr om o n e

,
.

a nother and if you looked at them from a slight distance

, ,

the chances are that yo u wo u l d n o t be able to distinguish o r

recognize more than a few hundred d ifle r e n t tones .

Frankly the author holds to the contenti o n that there are

,

few colors e ssentially and very few as far as average human

,

i nterest a n d a t te n tio n are concerned There seems to be little .

reason for spe a king o f vast numbers when it is so natural for ,

m ost o f us t o look at colors i n s i mple ways and to be little

concerned over mi nor di fferences .

P lenty o f estimates have been made E dwin G Boring has . .

revi ewed the work o f several i nvestigators As to pure spectral .

hues surprisingly few ca n be discerned by the average person

, .

V o n Kr i es placed the number at 2 0 8 ; Kiilp e at 1 50 In recent

,
.

“
years S e lig Hecht wrote The normal eye can separate the
, ,

visible spec trum with complete cer tainty i nto about 1 80

patches o f hues whi ch cannot be made to look like o n e another
by varying their intens i ties L A Jones put the figur e at 1 2 8
”
. . . .

P ure spectr a l hues are o f cours e o nl y a small part o f the

, ,

world of color Variations toward whi te toward black and

.
, ,

to w ard gray account for many more As to estimates of the .

total number of c olors to be seen by the human eye Titchener ,

set a low figure o f D orothy Ni c ke r son and S idney M .

Newhall after careful figur i ng arrived at a total o f

, ,
“
D eane B Judd and Kenneth L Ke lly have mentioned about
. .

ten million surface colors distinguishable i n daylight by the

trained human eye ”
.

S o I repeat colors may be few o r many depending on the

, ,

way a person goes about thinking of them and loo king at them .

C l
o or O rgan izatio n
O rgan i zed systems o f color and method s o f color designa
t i on are useful equipment E very practic al worker in industry
.

will recogn i ze the pr oblems o f setting up standar ds keeping ,

notations and otherwise pr eserving some method o f contr ol

,
 T H E S P E C I F IC A T IO N O F CO L O R 1 95

and order over the colors Wi th whi ch he deals There are i n .

exi stence today several convenient systems charts and in , ,

s t ru m e n t s ; a brief descr i ption of them should have v al ue .

O n e or more of these should probably be adopted and us ed

by man y of my re aders .

A rather thorough l i st of Ame ri can color standards w ill be

found in Appendix B of this book A fuller descripti on o f the .

more i mpo r tant ones i s presented here .

P u b l ic ati o n s
The most vene rable set o f color standards i n Amer i ca is
that o f R obert R id gway C olor S tandards a nd N o m en cla ture
,
.

The last edition was published at Was hi ngton by the author

i n 1 91 2 This book which conta ins abo ut 1 000 samples
.
, , ,

each named by word has been extens ively used by naturalists

,

and archaeologists .

In the field of hort i cul ture there i s T he Am eri can C olor is t

, ,

written by the a u t h o r o f this book Thi s contai ns 1 2 pr ocess

'

charts exhi biting some 500 different samples Another source .

o f reference i s the F ischer C olo r C ha r t contain i ng 1 0 8 colors ,

fo r the descr i pt i on and identification of flowers and publ i shed ,

by the New E ngland Gladiolus S ociety Very elaborate .

standards have been published in E ngland These are known .

as the H orticu ltural C olour Cha r ts They contai n abo ut 800

‘
.

samples and are i ssued by the British C olour C ounc il .

As to commercial standards useful i n business and i ndus

,

tr y a very competent service i s rendered by the Text ile C olor

,

C ard Association of New York This organization al so issues

.

T he S ta ndard C olor C ard ofAm erica Ninth E dition The purpose

,
.

o f this i s to standardize colo r s for the textile and allied indus

tries I t contains some 2 1 6 samples of staple colors that have

.

been widely accepted by consumers and manufactured by

various industri es .

In E ngland the Br i tish C olour C ouncil publishes a set o f

,

charts containing 1 80 samples o f dyed silk extens ively used ,

by British i ndustry to designate color names .

A D ictio nary o f C o l o r
—
A very practical reference book o n e that many o f my
—
readers should have i s A D ictionary Qf C olor by A M aerz , .
1 96 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R '

and M R e a P aul
. M
Hill Book C o mpany Inc New
( c G r a w -
, .
,

York) Thi s contains over

. samples E ssentially a book .

of names and color s this is not a colo r system A very scholarly

, .

jo b has been done i n coo r dinating the term i nology of many

industries and arts and attempting to establish logical id e n t i

fic a t io n s To anyone who o ccasion al ly wonders what a certa i n
.

color sho ul d be called this book will be o f real help and will
,

give hi m a mean ingful term that has a sound basis i n previ ous
usage and i dentity .

M u n se l l S yste m The
Today there are tw o major systems o f color that may lay
,

c laim to wide recognition both i n Am er ica and in E urope

—
, .

These ar e t h e creations o f Albert H M uns ell ( 1 8 59 1 91 8) .

and Wilhelm O stwal d ( 1 8 53

They are greatly al ike i n several respects and probably ,

both should be o w ned by anyone active in the field o f color .

The two systems have these elements in common : ( a )

an orderly seq u ence of colors that plot the entire realm of
visual sensation ; ( b ) a thr ee dimensional concept i on i n which -

the general form o f the sol i d compr ises a whi te and a black
apex a neutral gray axis pure hues about an equator and
, , ,

intermediate scales of tints shades and tones i n methodical , ,

ar r angement ; ( c) a method o f color identification i n whi ch

each individual tone w i thin the solid i s to be measured and
noted .

The color solid o f the M unsell S ystem follows the general

shape o f a sphere However because the pure colors do not
.
,

have identical lightnesses or satur ations light colors like ,

yellow are placed near the whi te apex and dark colors l ike ,

pur ple near the black Agai n colors of strong saturation .

, ,

like pure red extend farther from the neutral gray axis than
,

color s like blue green These features are illustrated i n a c c o m

-
.

panying diagrams and make the M unsell solid take somewhat

the shape o f a rhomboid with rounded corners .

For M unsell the thr ee dimensions of color are hue value , ,

and chroma .

Hue is the quality that distinguishes red from orange orange ,

from yellow etc It is identified in the system with letters as

,
.
,

follow s
1 98 .
‘
SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Hence hue is g iven a symbol i c letter ( somet i mes preceded

,

by a number to i ndicate i ts exact location o n the M unsell

color c ircle) The ident ification of value foll ows next wi th a
.
,

number ; and the ident i ficat ion of c hr oma is t hird wi th ,

another number .

WH I T E

BL AC K
T he M u n se ll l
c o o r so l id .

Here then are a few notat i ons duly translated

, , ,

Y 3 /2 This wo ul d be a deep olive color being a yellow

.
,

equival ent in value to a deep gray ( 3 ) and weak in chroma

( only two steps from neutral i ty ) .

1 0 P B 7 6 This would be a lavender The value ( 7 ) is e q u iva

. .

lent to a fair ly light gray ; the chroma s i x steps from neutrality , ,

is clear and bright .

R 5 3 Th is wo u l d be a soft grayish red midway i n br i ght

.
, ,

ness between black and whi te and o nl y three steps removed ,

from gray .

The M unsell system holds a sympathetic place in the heart

of many leading American scientists S ince 1 91 2 work by .
,
 TH E SPE CI F I CAT I O N O F CO L O R 1 99

the Nat i onal Bureau o f S tandards the Agr i cultural M arket ,

ing S ervice o f the D epartment of Agr i culture and commi ttees ,

o f the O ptic al S oc i ety o f Amer i ca has led to many i nqu ir i es

and to the perfecti on o f the system on many details The .

M u nsell B ook Qf C olor as publ ished today conta i ns 40

, ,

BL U E GR E E N

P U R PL E BL U E

YE L L OW

S e c t io n s o f th e M u n se ll lc o o r so lid : re d a n d b l u e -gr e e n ; y ll
e o w an d p u rp e l
b l ue .

charts ( M unsell C olor C o Baltimore ) It i s unquestionably

. .
,
.

the most widely used method o f color designation i n America .

S yste m The O stwa l d

Whereas the M unsell system fin ds i ts dimens i ons i n hue ,

value and chroma O stwald i s concerned w i th hue white

, , , ,

and black Followi ng principles stated by psychologists such

.

as E wald Hering O stwald s system recognizes that ever y

,
’

color seen by the eye i s compr ised o f proport i ons o f hue whi te , ,

an d black and that all such elements are measurable

,
.

Hi s sol id as i llus trated has the form o f a double cone H is

, ,
.

color c ircle at the circumference i s made up o f 2 4 hues

, ,
.

whi ch are desi gnated wi th numbers and letters as follows : ,

2 00 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

13
Yellow 14 Ultramar ine blue
15

O range 1 7 Turquo ise

18
19
2 0 S e a green

10
1 1 P urple 23 L eaf green
12

ach o f the 2 4 hues i s m ade to comprise a monochroma tic

E
triangle havi ng 28 tones The neutr al gray scale has eight
.

l l i l
T h e O stw a d co o r c rc e .

steps and i s identified w i th the letters a ( for whi te ) ,

c, e, g ,
t,

l n p ( for black )
, ,
.
20 2 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

numeral refers to the hue as o n the color c ircle The first , .

letter refers to the W hite content and the second letter to the '

—
,

black content both traced from correspond i ng amoun ts o f

white or black o n the gray scal e .

8 pa : This wo u l d be a relatively pure red The first letter .

,

p ( black) indicating an absence of whi te in the m ix t ure and

, ,

the second letter a ( white ) i ndicating an absence of black

, , .

2 pi: Th is would be a deep ye llow or olive the first letter , ,

p,
indicating an absence o f wh i te and the second let ter i a , , ,

slight amount of black .

1 2 ea : This woul d be a lavender with an e amount of whi te ,

as on the gray scale and without black ,

.

8 le : This would be a soft grayish red h avi ng an 1 amount ,

o f white and an e amount o f black as o n the gray scale ,

.

The O stwald S ystem is receiving increased recognition both

in America and abroad It h as its limi tations however Its .
, .

end points fo r example ar e at all times fixed ( New and more

, ,
.

brilliant chromas cannot be added as they may o n the ,

“
M unsell tree without reforming the ent ire scheme ) Two
”
,
.

sets o f standards ar e available today O n e is published by .

Winsor Newton o f L ondon The other more elaborate i s .

, ,

issued by the C olor L aborator ies D ivisi on o f the C ontai ner

C or poration o f Amer i ca C hicago ,
.

The ISCC N BS M e th o d -

There is one method o f colo r des i gnation whi ch I feel should

be far more widely known in America than it i s S ome years .

ago the Inter S ociety C olor C ouncil in collaboration wi th

,
-
,

the National Bureau o f S tandards studied the problem o f ,

devising a system of color descr iption for d r ugs and chemicals

to be used by the U S P harmacopoeia This system known
. . .
,
“
today as the I S C O N B S M ethod was to be sufficiently
-
,

standardized as to be acceptable and usable by science ,

su fli c ie n t ly broad to be appreciated and used by science art , ,

and industry and sufficiently commonplace to be understood

, ,
”
at least m a general way by the whole public ,
.

Briefly the system is based upon a meaningful use of words

,
.

All but very grayish colors are described by hue names ( red ,

green blue purple etc ) preceded by modifiers ; such as

, , ,
.

p al e light bri lliant ; weak moderate strong vivid ; dusky

, , , , , ,
 TH E SPE CI F I CAT I O N O F CO LOR 20 3

dark deep ( pale blue moderate blue str ong blue deep blue
, , , , ,

For very grayi sh colors hue names become mod i fiers o f

,

whi te gray or black ( blu ish whi te med i um blu ish gr ay

, , , ,

bluish black ,

/2 /4 /6 /s /1 0 /1 2 /14
MU NS E L L CH R OMA
I S C C -N BS t e r m s as a p p li d t
e o a M u n se ll l
c o o r c h ar t fo r b l ue .

This will all be rather clear i n studyi ng the accompanyi ng

diagram i n which the I S C C N B S method has been appl i ed
-

to a M u n s e ll bl u e chart In effect it is possible to write fairly

.
,

i ntelligible descr ipti ons o f color by this means M ore stand .

ar d iz a t io n o f the sort i s hi ghl y desirable in many instances .

2 04 SELLING WI T H C O L O R
The M unsell S ystem h as
been completely tr an slated into
I S C O N BS terms and the two together make an ideal pa ir
-
, .

A descript i ve booklet ava ilable thr ough the Nation al Bureau

,

o f S tandards at Washingt on i s known as R esearch P aper R P

,
“
1 2 3 9 M ethod o f D es i gnating C olors
”
, .

S yste m The I I C
In the scientific speci fication of color through the u se o f
instr u ments ( colorimeters ) the light emitted transmitted o r
, , ,

reflected by an obje c t o r by a material is analyzed C o lo r im .

e tr
y gets down to fun damentals A color i s spl i t up.into its
component spectral p a r ts through the u se o f a pr ism and the ,

amount of each part is meas u red by photometry The basic .

tool o f moder n colorime t ry 15 thus the spectrophotometer .

“
Judd wr i tes : After taking light beams all to pieces modern ,

colorimetry puts them together agai n by a synthesis like that

o f the human eye The res ul t o f putti ng the beam back
.

together i s to compute a specificat ion of the color just as the ,

human eye synthesize s the spectr al components o f the beam

by responding wi th a certa in color sensation These computa .

t io n al steps are based upon the tr istim ul us method o f spec ify

ing color It was found by M axwell that most color s can be
—
.

duplicated by shining thr ee spot lights o n a whi te screen a

red a green and a blue spotlight The amounts o f flux in
, , .

these three lights co ns t i tute the specification o f the unknown

color .

“
O f course the trist i mulus specifications o f each part o f
,

the S pectrum have to be known These specificat i ons vary .

somewhat from observer to observer and may be given for

any of a wide number o f pr i mary tri ads It is almost universal .

practi ce however to use tr ist imulus specificat ions o f the

, ,

spectrum accord i ng to the standard observer and primaries

recommended i n 1 93 1 by the Internat ional C ommission o n
Illuminat i on The system of color specification so produ c ed
.

i s known as the I C I system The primaries used in t h e I C I

.

system were chosen for the express purpose o f simpl ifying the
reducti on o f spectrophotometric data ”
.

An accompanyi ng chart shows a mixture d i agram of the

I C I system The spectral quali t y of any color is rep r esented
.

by a point o n thi s diagram I C I designations are expressed

.
206 SELLING WITH COLOR
compl i cated to be enco u ntered anywhere i n the sc i entific

C l
a o rim e te rs

A num ber of mechani cal devi ces and optical i nstruments

are available for more scientific and accurate measurements
o f color An excellent revi ew o f them has been p r esented by
.

K S Gibson i n the journal of the S ocie ty of M o tion P ictu e

. . r

E ng ine ers for April 1 93 7 S ome of these use material stand

,
.

ards chi ps disks ; others use spectrum pri maries formed by

, ,

prisms or diffr action grat i ngs ; and still others employ filters .

The L o v ib o n d colori meter makes us e o f colored glasses for ,

example and i s widely employed for the grading o f liquids

, .

In this method red yellow and blue glasses o f di fferent

, , ,

depths ar e arranged to absorb whi te light and thus aecom

p lish a match .

Bausch and L omb ha s manufactured a disk colorimeter

“
using M unsell standards The most serious drawback to the .

method would seem to be the uncertainty in the color imetr i c

values o f the M unsell papers used as standards either due to ,

lack o f i ni tial certainty in the values o r t o change result i ng

from handling o r other usage ( K S G IB S O N )
”
. . .

'

Tu color imeters using spectrum pr i maries ( G u ild Nutting , ,

P riest ) the color i s matched e i ther thr ough a combination of

,

pr imaries ( red green blue ) o r m o r e d ir e c tly against a sp e cific

- -
\

region o f the spectrum (domi nant wave length) Gi bson writes .

,
“
In general these i n struments are more suited to research
,

than routine testing o r control p u rposes and h ave probably

been used most i n investigations o f the color imetric pr operties
o f the eye
”
.

In fil ter photometers (D uboscq P ri est L ange M artens ,

-
, ,
“
P fun d ) the color o fo n e side o fa comparator field is adjusted
, ,

usuall y by vary ing the length of optic al path through a

solution until it is brought to the near est color match with
,

the other side o f the field whose color i s produced by a

s tandard solution or fil ter .

P erhaps the best known and most distinguished instrument

today i s the Hardy R ecording S pectrophotometer manu ,

fac t u r e d by General E lectric This employs an electr i c eye .

an d automatically draws the reflect an c e c urve o f a sample

 TH E SPE CI F I C A T I O N O F CO L O R 01

all wave len g th s throughout the vis i ble spectru m Al t hough

fo r .

the i nstrum ent is qui te expe n sive readings from i t may be ,

had from several sources such as the E lectr i cal Testing,

L aborator i es of New York Wherever a permanent record o f

.

a color i s desired a s p ectrophotometr i c chart is des irable and

,

very useful for futu re reference .

A Psyc h o l o gic al C a l o rim e te r?

The problems o f color measurement have al ways troubled
the author While i nstru ments such as the recording spectro
.
,

photometer serve an essent i al purpose i n wr i ting highl y

,

scientific notat i ons they seldom meet the more commonplace

,

needs o f industry .

The average form o f color i metry today may be described

as an attempt by the phys i c ist to adapt certain k nown facts
about rad i ant energy to the more psychologi cal respo n ses o f
the human eye an d mi nd This is generall y a complex even
.
,

a clumsy process The gap be t ween phys i cs and psychology

,
.

has been well rec ogni zed L A Jones writes that many in
. . .

the field o f phys i cs have felt that so long as color i s defined

as a sensat i on i t can n ot be measured by phys i cal i nstruments
,

or by procedures reconcilabl e w i th phys i cal princi ples o f '

‘

measurement The measurement o f color as i t is

.
,

practiced at the present time i s admittedly not a purely ,

psychologi cal measurement nor o n the other hand are such , , ,

”
measurements purely physic al .

C olor spec ificat i on i n i ndustry i s commonly performed by

skill ed workers They are however by no means versed i n
.
, ,

phys i cs They are m e n who must mix a c olor and prepare a

.

formula They m ay use pai nts i n k s dyes text iles cerami cs

.
, , , , ,

and a wide array o f di fferent materi als In color i metry there .

is tremen dous advan tage in havi ng the means to record the

p sychologi cal appearance o f any color to specify i t and ,

describe i t i n defini te term s and to be able to see what it ,

looks like at any t ime i n the future .

Nearly all c olor matchi ng i s a process o f skill an d judgment

in repeat ing what h as been done before and i n relyi ng upon
the worker s ab il i ty to effect a satisfactory duplication
’
.

M ost color i meters i n exi stence today thus fall short o f the
follow i n g count s :
208 SE L L I NG WITH COLOR
1 . They do not show the sample in i ts actual psychological ,

appearance .

2 The measurement taken i s usuall y remote and foreign

. .

to the worker s o w n procedure i n mix i ng colors

’
.

3 The charts drawn requ ire complex interpretation

. .

4 Few if any allowances are made for numerous factor s

,

—
.
,

that enter into the problems of color matching luster gloss , ,

texture top and under tones etc

—
.
, ,

5 The psychologi cal elements o f sensation notably black

—are n o t regarded
.

6 The qual i t i es measured the manipulations o f the dials

.
, ,

the ways i n whi ch notati ons are recorded bear lit t le compari ,

so n with the worker s o w n m ethod and expe r i ence

’

— —
.

I mention these shortcomi ngs and end my book hav i ng

“
two thoughts i n mind F irst I have been worki ng o n a p sy .
,

c h o lo gic a l
”
ins trum ent myself This i s bei ng designed to help .

clar ify color speci ficat i on i n the s i mplest possible way to gi ve ,

prominence to hum an factors to avoid the complexi ties and ,

i rrelevancies o f phys i cs and to o ffer i ndustry an i nstrum ent

,

that might read ily be used and understood by any average

—
person s p e c ific ally the type o f practical i ndividual e n
,

co u ntered in business fields Wi th luck o n my s ide a crude .

,

model already bu ilt ( and i t works surpri singly well $) will

,

be perfected manufactured and marketed o n e of these days

, ,
.

S econd th is whole business art and science o f color has a

, , ,

long way to go Great progress w ill follow a number o f wise

.

reconciliations The aesthetics o f styling will have more to

.

do with sc ie n t ific r e se ar c h techn i ques An d highl y scientific .

things such as color imeters wil l become mor e humble in

, ,

conception and better adjusted to the sing u larities o f human

perception .

The hall of beauty and the h al l o fscience wil l be less isolated

from each other They wi ll be built closer together and w ill
.

be connected by an arcade crowded with people ,

.
21 0 SELLING WITH COLO R

I nte rio r Paints

The same nat ion al paint dealer found the foll owi ng totals
for a ll grades o f interi or pai nts

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The popularity of the colors was as follows

Co lo r Co or l
I orv y tan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

C r e am P o wde r blue

l an
H o l d b ue l il
N e gr e e n
P e ac h n
S u sh in e e y ll ow

i t
L gh b u ff . l ra
P e ar g y
L e tt c eu gr e e n t
D u s y r o se

D e c o rativ e E n am e l s

.
For decorat ive enamels i n all grades the following per ,

centages held true

Co lor

To t l w h it
a e

To t lc l
a o or .

The color s ranked as follows

Co lo r C o lo r
M e d iu m gr e e n 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

V e rm l ii on l
F o r e nti n e b u e l
C re am C anar y e o w y ll
l
G o d e n o ak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

O ld o ry iv F r e nc h gra y
tt
L e u c e gr e e n O r c h id
i
S m m o n s b ro wn O r an ge
Iv o r y tan
C l
a c im in e

In a line of hot water c al c i mi ne su i table for i nter ior walls

-
,

and ceilings the consumer had the following color preferences

,
.
 I
A P P E N DIX A 1

Co lo r Per Ce nt Co o r l
29 23 i t in
L gh p k
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 i t
L gh gr e e n
c i
Or h d .

in
P k
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 S e a gre e n .

L igh t b l u e
G a y ish gree
r

N e utr al gray
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B o w nish gray
r

A sp h a l t R o o fin g
The preference for a whi te house w i th green tr im i s proba
bly i n large measure influenced by a s i milar preference for
green roofs From the records o f o n e large manufacturer of
.

asphalt shi ngles come these sales figu res

C olo r P e C e nt C o l o r r

B i gh t green
r R sse t b l end u

B l e b l ac k
u G y bl e b l d
. ra - u en

G r ee n b l e nd (te xt ) u re

B l e b l end
u Wa m b o w n b l e nd r r .

C o o l b o w n b l e nd r S l ate g een . r

T ile e d r 4 81 G a y g e e n b l nd . r - r e

R e d b l end ( te xt e ) ur

B l e g e e n b l nd
u -
r G y g en e ra - re

R u gs an d C a rp e ts

We present here the resul ts o f consumer cho i ces i n 1 940 ,

1 94 1 and 1 943 as shown by sales o f one company i n medium

, ,

priced plai n broadloo m .

1 940
Per Per
Co lo r ( R ank ing O nl y ) C o l o r C nt e Co lo r Cen t
1 . D sty o se
u 1 Du sty r o se 1 0
r . . 1 . M au v e 11
2 . F enc h b l e
r 2 L i gh t g ay 1 0 u . r . 2 . Du st y o se r . 10
3 .
J a d e g re e n 3 L i g h t b l u e 9 . 3 . a n gr y
D w a 8
4 . D wn g ay
a 4 J d g een r 7 . a e r . 4 . F e nc h b l e
r u 7
.

5 . B gu nd y
ur 5 M a ve 7 . u . 5 Ja d e gr e e n
. . 7
6 . Ap p l e gr e e n 6 Ap p l e g e e n 7 . r 6 Ap p gr e e
. le n 7
7 . C astilian e d 7 De e p e d r7 . r . 7 De e p r e d
. . 7
8 .
J e w e l b l e 8 B u guun d y 5 . r . .

9 . Ivo ry b e i ge 9 R o se tau p e 4 . .

10 . R o se t a p e 1 0 Bl e g e n
u 4 . u - re .
21 2 SELLING WITH CO L O R

The Inst i tute o f C arpet M anu facturers o f Amer i ca devel

Oped a very extens ive report which has bearing not only on ,

color but o n design as well and represents a cross section o f

the entire i ndustry .

In general floral and leaf patterns have been i n greatest

,

favor dur i ng the past few years and now compr ise about half
o f all designs in Axm i ns ter Wilton and printed velvet r u gs , ,

and carpets Texture designs and O riental patterns have

.

decreased i n popularity .

In all t ypes o f rugs and carpets design types were d is ,

tributed as follows dur i ng 1 941 .

D si g
e n P Ce t D e si g P C t er n n er en

L af t w t
e ,
a d fl l 47 3 P io d d e i gh t e nth
o- one, n o ra . er an e

O ie t l
r n a 19 1 c t y en ur

M o d e rn
P l ain an d l nial
M o r e sq u e . 5 4 . Co o .

ines Ch e .

As to ground colors the i nst i tute report o ffe r s very compre,

h e n siv e figures We quote color percentages o n all types o f

.

figured patterns and plain colors .

Co l or

B l ue

R o se .

B u r gu n d y
R ed .

Br o w n a n d w o od
R us t
T u pea
v y
I o r an d w h it e

P e ach .

B l k ac .

P u rp l e

Y ll o w a d go l d
e n

V ic o l o r
ar

R egarding color trends the i nst i tute report al so i ncludes ,

data based on a survey among buyers and merchandise

managers in retai l storc a the main blue has be en the color ,

o f greatest populari t y R ose has shown great r i se in favor . .

21 4 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R

C o m p o sitio n T il e
In o n e composi tion floor t ile havi ng a jasp é effect three , ,

tans sold 36 per cent of volume ; two blues 2 3 per cent ; two ,

reds 1 6 per cent ; whi te a n d black

, per cent ; and two , $

g r eens ,
per cent .

A manufacturer o f asphalt t i le reports the following sales

percentages :
Col or P e C e nt C o l o r r

B w m o tt l d
ro n eS o li d e d s r

T an m ttle do S l id g y o ra s

G re e n m ttl d o eR e d m o tt l d e

S o l id b w s ro 1 2 3 0 Wh ite m o ttl e d
n .

S l id b l c k
o a . S o l id b l s ue

S o l id g e ns re Bl m o ttl d ue e

G y m ttl e d
ra o S o l i d ta s n

B l k m o ttl d
ac e S l id w h ite o

Though solid and mottled blacks were the least expens ive
o f the tiles t h e y r an k e d fifth and eighth in consumer cho i ce
, ,
.

Wa l l C o v e rin gs
“
One manufacturer of wall l i noleum reported a very light
“
salmon p i nk as hi s most popular color followed by a white
”
,

ground wi th veini ngs o f red wi th l ight buff thi r d Though

”
, .

he made no menti on o f other r ankin gs he d i d put green at ,

the bottom o f the l ist .

As to wall paper o n e m anufacturer wr i tes “E lim i nating

, ,

ivory and tan backgrounds the most popular colors in our ,

wallpaper mi ght be said to be soft rose colors instead o f d usty ,

p i nks terr a cotta peach was also pop ul ar Blues still soft as
,
.
,

also the greens ”

.

U p h o l ste re d F u rn itu re
The followi ng records o n color preferences o f upholstery
are from a national manufacturer who makes goods i n every
pri ce range .

P e r C e nt C o lo r
1 7 7 L i gh t gre e n
1 1 0 E gg h e ll s

R o se
 $A PP E N DI X A 21 5

C o or l
O O O O O O O O O O l
B u e -gr e e n O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O C e d r ru sa t O O O O O O O O O O O O

R us t
O O O O O O O O O O O O O Br o w n O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O L i gh t b l ue . O O O O O O O O O

B l ac k . O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

B ige e O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

G o ld . O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

G ayr . O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

There are few i mportant cl as s d istinct ions in colors selected

,

for fu rniture except that the preference for wi ne is hi ghest in

,

low priced upholstery as i t is for green while in the upper

-
, ,

brackets rose rust an d blue green become more popular

,
-
.

O utd o o r F u rn ish in gs
used for porches and gardens sell best i n the following
C hairs
—
colors as reported by o n e manufacturer .

P orch shades whi ch can be ornamental as well as u seful

, ,

are sold i n serviceable colors as is shown by the report o f ,

o n e man u facturer .

Co or l Per Ce nt Co lo r

D a r k gr e e n . 80 i t tan
L gh .

D ar k b r o w n 10 M is c e ll an eou s

H o m e F u rn ish in gs
From a department store and the headquarters of a large l

chain come general facts o n color preferences in home furnish

ings which will serve as a handy revi ew to some o f the
'

stat istics already quoted

In general th e best sellers i n home furnishi ngs have been
,

the rose family the blue fam ily be ige natural and green
,

, , , ,
.

In items of home equi pment and supplies report g ives ,

these data :
21 6 SE L L ING WITH CO L O R

G lassware Kitc he n It e ms
Co or l Per Ce nt Co orl P er C e nt
in ti g
R e d p re d o m a n 45 R ed 70
l i ti g
B u e p re d o m na n 20
O ange p d m i ting 15 W h ite an d iv y 10
It m
r re o na or

Yell o w p e d m i ti g
r o na n . 10 Bathro o m e s

G een p edo m i ating

r r n . 10 Colo r P e r Ce nt
W h ite 85
C hro m e 15

Ki tchen ware : top seller whi te with red tri m , .

Bathr oom suppl i es : whi te wi th pearl effect trim -

.

Kitchen furniture : white with red or black tr im .

Upholstered furni ture : rose tones first beige second , ,

burgundy third .

M attress t i cki ngs : blue first grays second roses t hi rd , ,

.

B l a n ke ts
Here are the sales records o f o n e large manufacturer of

blank ets for three years The reduction in the number . of

color s offered has o f course been a wart ime measure

, ,
.

Co or l
D u st y r o se

B ue l
W i n te r r o se

Gr e en
h
P e ac
B i ge
e

I vo y o r r wh it e .

C e d ar o r ru s t
Du b o nn t e

De e p bl e u

Ye ll o w

S h e e ts
The bedroom preference for blue and pink i s as evident i n
sheets as it is in blankets T he follow ing figures were for 1 940.

and 1 94 1
s1 e SE L L I NG WI T H CO L O R

the other 2 0 per cent i nclud ing peach yellow and p i nk as , ,

m ost pro m inent

”
.

Kitc h e n Ware
P op u lar ki tchen colors are wh i te black red and green , , ,

year i n and year out Good pr i mary colors that stay clean
.

are apparently what the housewife has in m i nd when she

buys kitchen towels o ilcloth and other equipment
, , .

In porcelain enamelware whi te wi th red tr im accounted ,

fo r per cent o f sales wi th black tr im fo r

,
per cent
, ,

and ivor y wi t h green tr i m per cent .

In li thographed bread boxes canister sets step o n cans , ,

-
,

waste baskets etc whi te wi th red tr i m sold 52 per cent with

, .
, ,

blue tr im 2 7 per cent and wi th green trim 2 1 per cent

, .

A hi gher quality line of decorative ware i n sol id pastel colors

sold as follows : whi t e per cent pastel yellow per ,

cent pastel blue

,
per cent pastel green per cent , ,

pastel rose per cent .

In oilcloth white with red remains the preference wi th

, ,

green a fa ir second and blue a poor t h ird ”

.
.

C o tto n Ya rd Go o ds an d T rim

F c quality
in -
percale sold for a wide var i ety o f purposes
, ,

including domestic uniforms children s garments etc had ,

’
,
.
,

the followi ng sales r anking .

Ye o w ll
P e ac h
W h ite
B l ck a

L i gh t b l ue

P o w de r b l ue

E ggsh e ll
T e a r o se
M id ni gh t b l u e

It is interesting to compare these cho i ces with those o f bias

tape also available in a wide vari ety o f colors whi ch might
, ,

often be used to bind the yard goods .

 i A P P E N D IX' A A

Per Ce nt l
Co o r
30 Na y v .

21 il
N e gr e e n
11
6 l
S e a b ro w n .

i t bl
L gh ue 4 O ld s ro e

4 Du bo nne t .

3 L a v e nd e r

P l astic s
The generous color ranges o f modern plast i cs and their ,

almost countless uses are i nd i cative o f consumer preferences

,

i n a wide var i ety o f products for plasti cs and color seem ,

synonymous .

In sheet C ellophane the top ranki ng color is red Next in , .

order are deep blue deep green l ight blue p i nk orchid , , , , ,

vi olet black and brown Yellow and amber however are

, ,
.
, ,

also b i g sellers but mostly fo r the ir utility as wrappers to

, ,

retard rancid i ty i n certain food products .

O n e manufacturer of mold i ng powders whi ch are c o n ,

verted i nto fin ished products of all types reports hi s best ,

sellers to be wh i te then i vory natural red tan and blue

“

, , , , , .

From another source come figures o n several d ifferent

types o f plast i cs .

Mo ldin g Po wde rs
Per Ce n t l
C o or
W t
hi e . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 l
B ue . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

13 3. Ye ll o w an d a m b er 0 0 0 0 0

Br o w n .

Plastic She e tin g with Pe arl E ffe ct

Per Ce nt Co lo r
Go l d

Br o w n
 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

Plastic She e tin g

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

B l ue

Plastic Tu b in g
Per C en t Co or l
O O O O O O O O O O O B uel . O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O Gr e e n O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O 9 7 . Ye ll o w an d am b er O O O O O O

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Br o w n . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Plastic R o ds
Co lor
’

Per Cen t C l o or

Ye ll o w a n d am b er R ed

T r a n s ar e n
p t 24 9 . B l ue

W h ite
B l ack

These figures may be somewhat confusing because plastics ,

are not sold to the consumer as such but as products c lo su fe s , ,

etc o f all so r ts Yet it is i nteresting t o observe that the simpler

.
,
.
,

hues find the widest sale and that greatest volume is confined ,

to few rather than many colors .

A u to m o b il e s
We include finally the sales records o f a large maker of
—
, ,

automobiles covering the last year o f production before the

war .

D espite a trend toward light colors v i sible in almost every ,

commod i ty black was the best seller The demand fo r black

,
.
,

however has been dropping steadily through the years Green

,
.

appeared to be rising i n popular i ty ; alone o r i n combination ,

it accounted for 2 7 per cent o f output Beige increased from .

per cent to 3 per cent fr om 1 940 to 1 94 1 Gr ay in shades .

,
Ap p e ndix B

I
CH E CK L ST O F CO L O R STA DAR DS N

TH E list below represents a thorough compilation o f color

standards found i n industry science and art S ome o f these , ,
.

comprise general systems o f color designation O ther s are for .

specific products o r for purposes o f ident ification and safe t y .

AM E R I C AN C O L O R IST : D esigned by Faber Birr e n and w i dely

used in horticulture art and i ndus try C harts contain over
, , .

500 samples printed i n 1 2 process charts The C rims on P ress .

,

Westport C onn,
.

AME R I C AN S T AN D AR D S ASS O C I AT I O N : The most i mportant

recent standard fo r color identification i s that issued by
“
American S tandar ds Association New York S pecification , ,
”
and D escr iption of C olor 2 44 1 942 Approved by a number
, ,
.

o f associations and manufacturers ; i t recommends the use of

the recording spectrophotometer a standard coordinate ,

system ; the M unsell S ystem o f material standards ; and the

Inter S ociety C olor C ouncil method o f designation
-
.

AR T I ST S O I L P AI N T S : M inimum standards to assure sat is

’

factory color worki ng qualities and permanence in o il

, ,

paints used by ar tists Adopted by a conference o f manu

.

fa c t u r e r s distributors
,
and users C ommercial S tandar d
,
.
,

C S 98 42 U S D epartment o f C ommerce National Bureau

-
,
. .
,

o f S tandards Washington D C
, ,
. .

B AT HR OO M Ac c E SS O R I E s : A group o f seven colors for bath

roo m accessor ies : white bath green orchid ivory maize
, , , , ,

bath blue royal blue Accepted by the National R etail D ry

,
.

Goods Associat ion and approved by a co n ference o f manu

fac t u r e r s distr i butors and users
, ,
C ommercial S tandar d .
,

222
 2 APPE N DI X B 223

0 8 63 -3 8, U S D epart m en t o f C o m m erce , Nat i onal Bureau

. .

o f S tandards , Washington , D C . .

B AU M ANN C O L O R GU ID E : A card i ndex system conta i nin g

over standards wi th extra booklet showi ng complete ,

samples in smaller s ize The or i gi nal edit i on was German but .

,

an ed i ti on wi th E ngl i sh text has been produced ( C urrent .

source of d istri but i on unknown ) .

BR IT IS H C O L O U R C OU N CIL : A d i cti onary o f 1 80 samples o f

dyed s ilk used and accepted by British i ndustry to standard
,

i ze color names P ublished at L ondon . .

C AM O U F L AG E C O L O R S : A ser i es o f ni ne colors used as ,

standards by the Arm y S peci fication T 1 2 1 3 S upplement A .

-
,

and B U S Arm y C orps o f E ngineers Washi ngton D C

, . .
, , , . .

Also C olor C ard fo r C amouflage Finishes issued by U S

, , . .

Air C o rps C onta i ns eight samples i ncluding i ns i gnia red

.
, ,

white and blue Air C orp s B ulletin

, .

C AS T S T O NE : A group o f 1 4 color s for the finish o f cast stone .

R ecommended C ommerc i al S tandard C S S3 3 5 U S ,

-
. .

D epartment o f C ommerce National Bureau o f S tandards , ,

Washington D C ,
. .

C O L O R KI T : D es i gned by Faber Birr e n C olor i dent i ficat i on .

i s achieved through the use o f d i sks and a mechan i cal sp i n

ning devi ce Numeri cal proportions are dev eloped fo r all
.

notations The C rimson P ress Wes t port C onn

.
, , .

C O L O R F AS T N E ss : S tandards for the testing o f var i ou s text iles

wi th reference t o lightfastness and launder i ng are ava ilable
for cotton goods l i nen pile floor cover i ngs rayon silk and , , , , ,

wool Am erican S ociety for Testing M aterials P h iladelp hi a

.
,
.

D ICT I O N AR Y O F C O L O R : Wr i tten by A M aerz and M R e a . .

P aul S hows over

. samples w i th color nam es based on ,

hi stor i cal ori gi ns and current usage P ubl ished by M c Gr aw .

H ill Book C ompany Inc New York ,

.
, .

D U P O N T C O L O R C OD E F O R S AF E T Y : D es i gned i n collabora
tion with Faber Bir r e n S ystem conta ins eight color standards .
,

used fo r purposes o f safety and i dentification i n i ndustry .

E I d u P o n t de Nemours
. . C o Fin i shes D i vision W ilm in g .
, ,

ton D e l
,
.

F IS C HE R C O L O R C HAR T : A chart of 1 08 colors for the d e sc r ip

tion and i denti fication of flowers New E nglan d Gladiolus .

S ociety Norwood M ass , , .

2 24 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

F L AG O F T H E UN IT E D S T AT E s : S ci entific definitio n s of the

red white blue approved by a ll departments o f the govern
, , ,

ment S ection I V Federal S tandard S tock C atalog S p e c ifi

.
, ,

cation T T C 591 July 3 1 93 4 S uperintendent o fD ocuments

- -
, , .
,

Washington D C ( The Text ile C olor C ard As sociation has

, . .

prepared samples of these colors also the flag colors o f S outh ,

American R epubl i cs ) .

FOU N D R Y P AT T E R N S O N WOOD : S tandard system o f mar king

wood foundry patterns us i ng black yellow and red accepted , , , ,

by vari ous associ ations C ommercial S tandard C S 1 9 3 2 .

,
-
,

U S D epartment o f C ommerce National Bureau o f S tand

. .
,

ards Washi ngton D C

, , . .

FR E N CH C O L O R S T AN D AR D s : T wo wi dely used French

sources for color standardization are the C ode U n iverseal aes '

C oule urs by E S eguy ( 7 2 0 samples ) and the R ep er to ire ae

’
.
, ,

C oule urs o f the S oc i ét é Fr an ga ise des C h r ysa n t h ém ist e s .

G AS M AS Ks : A system to ident ify respirators and gas masks

i n i ndustry The colors u s ed are white black green blue
.
, , , ,

yellow brown red B ulletin 5 1 2 U S D epartment o f L abor

, , .
, . .
,

Bureau o f L abor S tat i stics Washi ngton D C , ,

. .

H IL E R C O L O R C HAR T : A system o f color harmony and c olor

identificat i on i n chart form L ater edit i on exhibits 1 62 samples .

wi th card index box containing mask matchi ng apertures

-

and show ing mat and gloss finishes o f the colors Available .

through Favor R uhl C o C hicago an d New York ,

.
, .

HO R T I CU L T U R AL C O L O U R C H AR T s : P ubli shed under the

direction o f the Bri tish C olour C ounc il L ondon Two volum es , .
,

contain i ng about 8 00 color samples us ed for d e sign a t io n i n ,

hort i culture and i ndustry .

I N D U ST R I AL ACCID E N T P R E V E NT I O N S I GN S : S tandards fo r
the use o f colors o n signs in factori es : red for danger S igns ,

yellow for caution s i gns green for safety i nstruction si gns

black for directional signs etc — 1 94 1 Am er i can S tand
,

,
.
,
,

ards Associat ion New York ,

.

I N T E R S O C IE T Y C O L O R C O U N CI L : An e ffort to develop a
-

standard des i gnat ion fo r colors us i ng words commonly ,

understood Approved by various associations and applicable

.

to widespread use in sci ence art and i ndustry R esearch P aper , ,

.

R P 1 2 3 9 U S D epartment of C ommerce Nat i onal Bureau

, . .
,

o f S tandards ; Was hi ngton D C , . .

2 26 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

an atlas a man ual o n color harmony and a mechan i cal

, ,

devi ce for m i xi ng and formulation .

P IP I NG I DE N T IFIC AT I O N : S cheme for the uniform id e n t ifi c a

tion o f p i ping systems i n industry : red for fire protection ;
yellow ( or orange ) fo r dangerous materials ; green (white ,

black o r gray) for safe materials ; blue fo r protective materials ;

,

purple for valuable materi als Approved by American

S tandards Assoc i ation A1 3 1 92 8 ,
— .

P L O C H E R E C O L O R GU ID E : O n e o f the most complete color

systems ever produced i n America C onta i ns over .

samples boxed and i ndexed Ava ilable thr ough G P lo c h e r e

, . .
,

1 8 2 0 Hyper i on Av e L o s Angeles .
, .

P O IS O N S E XP L O S IV E S G AS E S ; The I nterstate C ommerce

, ,

C omm i ssion recogn i zes and i nsists upon special labels for
s hi pments of gases i nflammable liquids explos ives acids
, , , ,

etc The colors generally us ed are whi te black red yellow

.
, , , ,

blue green
,
.

P R O C E SS C o L O R s : Adopted ( 1 92 7) by the S tandard i zat i on

C ommittee of the American Ins t i tute of Gr aphi c Arts and
approved by the Am erican As sociation o f Advertising
Agencies and the Nat i onal As soc i ation of Advertisers R e c o m .

mended standards for process red ye llow blue black , , , .

R AD I O M AN U F A C T U R E R S ASS O C I AT I O N z C olor standards

'

have been established for fixed resistors ( see Textile C olor

C ard Association ) .

R ID G W AY : The most renowned h i stor i cal wo r k i n America .

C onta i ns about samples each identified by name ,

.

Widely used by archaeologists and naturali sts P ubl ished by .

R obert R i d gway Wash i ngton D C 1 91 2

, ,
. .
,
.

S A N IT AR Y WAR E : S tandard colors for plumbing fixtures

and allied products made o fvi treous chi na enameled iron etc , , .

The colors are green orchid ivory blue light brown , , , , ,

black Adopted by a conference of producer s distributors

.
, ,

and users C ommercial S tandar d C S 3 0 3 1 U S D epart

.
,
-
,
. .

ment o f C o m m erce National Bureau o f S tandards Washing

, ,

to n , D C . .

S CH OO L B U S C HR
O ME : S tandard yellow adopted for school
buses and approved by representatives of the 48 state depar t
m ents o f education International Textbook C ompany .
,

S cranton P a , .
 APPE N DI X B 22 7

S CH OO L FU R N IT U R E : S tandard colors for schoo l furni ture ,

as adopted by a conference o f producers d i stributors and , ,

buyers o f school equ i pment S implifie d P ractice R ecom m endation .

,

R 1 1 1 3 0 U S D epartm ent o f C ommerce Nat i onal Bureau

-
, . .
,

o f S tandards Washi ngton D C , , . .

S E D IME N T AR Y R O CKS : Goldm an and M erw i n C olor C hart ,

S how in g 1 1 4 colors for the descr i pt i on of sedimentary rocks .

D iv i sion o f Geology and Geography Nat i onal R esearch ,

C ounc il Was hin gton D C, ,

. .

S I GN AL G L ASSE s : S c i ent ific descr i ption o f colors used i n

si gnal g lasses : red yellow green blue purple lunar whi te , , , , , .

S i gn al S ection S pecificat i on 69 3 5 Amer i can Association o f ,

-
,

R a ilr oads Was hi ngton D C , , . .

S O I L C O L O R S ; A show i ng o f 54 di fferent colors o f soil .

M iscellane ous P u blica tion 42 5 U S D epartment of Agr i cul ture ,

. .
,

Washington D C ,
. .

T extile C olor C ard Associa tion : S easonal color cards for the
s tyli ng of consumer merchand i se are i ssued at re gular inter
vals to members However the S tandard C olor C ard o f .
,

Am er i ca 9t h c d contains 2 1 6 samples and represents staple

,
.
,

colors hav ing continu a l acceptance over the years in a wide

var i e t y o f products and i ndustr i es This book contains proba .

bly the most i mpo rtant l ist o f color standards i n America

today It may be used for reference o n the followi ng standards :
.

U S U niform C olors ; O ffic i al C olors o f W AC ; C olors o f

. .

R ibbons for D e c orat i ons and S ervice M edals ; U S Flag

‘

. .

“ ”
C olors ; Army Nav y E P ennant C olors ; S tandards set up by
-

National E lectrical M anufacturers Associ ation and R adio

M anufacturers Assoc i ation .

TR AFFIC D E V ICE S ; S tandard practices i n the use of color o n

—
streets and highways tr a ffi c lights signs curb marki ngs etc , , ,
.

Amer i can Assoc i at i on o f S tate Highway O ffi c i als Washing ,

ton D C
,
. .

U S AIR C R AFT L INE S : A chart showi ng color m arki ngs

. .

used o n United S tates and Bri t ish a ircraft l ines Thi s is an .

Army Navy standard T O No 0 0 2 5 2 9 ( restricted ) It

-
, . . . .

also includes a chart for hose m arki ngs des i gned to e ffect
better standard izati on .

U S AR MY C O L O R C AR D : Army colors standardized for

. .

the d ifferent arms and servi ces and approved by the Quar ter
2 28 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

m aster General I ssued by Text ile C olor C ard Assoc i ation

.
,

New York .

U S AR MY GE NE R AL P AIN T S P E C I F IC AT I O N s : A S howi ng
. .
,

o f 72 colors in var i ous finishes used by the Ar my i n the pur ,

chase o f paint and related materials S upplem en t to No 3 1 . .

-
,

issued by the Quartermaster General Washington D C , , . .

U S AR MY THR E AD C O L O R C AR D : O fficial color standards

. .

for ol ive drab khaki and drab sewi ng thr eads wi th a l ist
, , ,

describing the use o f each thread Issued by t h e Quarter .

master General Washi ngton D C , , . .

U S AR MY N AV Y AI R C R AFT S T AN D AR D S : A group o f 1 5
. .
-

colors used i n the purchase o f finishing mater i als for aircraft ,

Issued by the Bureau o f Aeronautics Navy D epartment , .

Washington D C ,
. .

U S NAV A L M E D IC AL S U P P L Y D E P OT : S tandards have

. .

been established for the color s o f slate green mosqu i to netting

:

and wool blankets dental smocks and dental towels and R e d

, ,

C ross i n s igni a for arm bands U S Naval M ed i cal S upply . . .

D epot Washi ngton D C

, ,
. .

U S R I B B O N S F O R S E R V ICE M E D AL s : General color sp e c ifi

. .

cations for the r i bbons used o n medals and decorations .

U 8 Army S pecifi cati on 7 3B Washi ngton D C

. .
,
-
, , . .
 30 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

and not i ons While doze n s o f references could be given the

.
,

followi ng li st i ncludes the best among them The fin est revi ew .

o f color harmony i s that o f Klein The author s M on u m en t to

’
.

C olor expresses m any advanced princi ples der i ved from the ,

science o f psycholo gy H ile r s book is beaut iful and impr essive

.
’
.

The other works are good standard references widely known ,

over the years .

Faber Birr e n C olor D im ensions, C rimson P ress , C hicago , 1 93 4

, .

M on u m en t to C olor , M c F ar la n e , War de , M c F ar la n e , .

New York, 1 93 8 .

Fia te lle , T he C olor H elm ( a chart ) , Fia te lle , Inc , R idgewood , .

N J . .

H ilaire H iler C olor H arm ony a nd P igmen ts Favor R u hl C o

, , , .
,

C hicago and New York 1 94 1 , .

Adrian Bernard Klein C olour M u sic the Ar t of L igh t The ,

-
, ,

Norman W Henl ey P ubli shing C ompany New Yor k

.
, ,

1 930 .

Al bert H M un s ell A C olor N o ta tion M unsell C olor C o

.
, , .
,

Balt i more .

Wilhelm O stwald C olour S cience P arts I and I I Wins or

, , ,

Newton L ondon and New York 1 93 3

, ,
.

Arthur P ope T he P ain ter s M odes ( j E xpr ession Harvard Uni

’
, ,

versity P ress C ambridge M ass 1 93 1 , , .

,
.

Walter S argent T he E njoym en t and U se of C olor C harles

, ,

S cribner s S ons New York 1 92 3

’
.
, ,

M E R CHAN D IS ING :
There are not many books to be found in
thi s particular field o f color The most comprehensive is that .

o f E lizabeth Burris M eyer The problems of color i n mer

-
.
’

c h an d isin g however are frequently presented in v ar iO IIs

, ,

t rade magazines .

E l i zabeth Burri s M eyer C olor and D esign in

-
,
the D ecora tive Ar ts,
P rentice H al l Inc New York 1 93 5
-
,
.
, ,
.

M L . u c kie sh , L igh t an d C olor in Adv er tising a nd M er cha nd ising ,

DVan Nostrand C ompany Inc New York 1 92 3

.
,
.
, ,
.

C olor and C olors D V an Nostrand C ompany Inc ,

.
,
.
,

New York 1 938 ,

.

L ouis We i nberg C olor in E veryday L ife M o ffa t Yard

,
C0 , g
,

New Yor k 1 91 8 ,
.
 A N N O TATE D B BLI IO GRAPHY 231

O G Y: Almost any good textbook o n psychology

P S YCH O L
will be found to devote considerable space to color The .

follow ing references however are o f partic ul ar i nterest , ,

.

Godlove and L aughl in present a bri ef and popular revi ew .

Bo r i ng s work i s general That o f Katz i s part i cularly con

’
.

cerne d with color constancy Jae n sc h deals w i th the strange .

phenomenon o f e ideti c im agery .

Edwin G Bor i ng S ensa tion and P ercep tion in the H istory of

.
“
,

E xp er im en tal P sych ology D Appleton C entury C ompany , .

-
,

I n c New York 1 942 .

, , .

I H Godlove and E R L aughl i n T he P sychology of C olor

. . . .
, ,

Technical Associ at ion o f th e P ulp and P aper Industry ,

2 3 : 47 3 52 5 June 1 940 -
, , .

E R J a e n sc h E ide tic I m agery George R outledge

. .
,
S ons , ,

L td and Kegan P aul Trench T r u b n e r

.
,
Co L td , ,
.
,
.

L ondon 1 93 0 ,
.

D avi d Katz T he World Qf C olo ur George R outledge

,
S ons , ,

L td and Kegan P aul Trench T r u b n e r

.
,
Co L td , , .
,
.
,

L ondon 1 93 5 , .

I ND U ST R Y : The problems o f color and illum i nat ion in

industry fin d the ir best expos i t i on i n the work o f L u c k ie sh .

Because books are scarce o n thi s subject several pertinent ,

magaz i ne articles are i ncluded i n the followi ng l ist .

Faber Bir r e n , F u nctiona l C olor, C r i mson P ress , N e wYo k r ,

1 93 7 .

C olor for P roduction , Arch itectural F or u m , July ,

C olor -conditioning i n M odern Industry, D un s

’

R eview, July, 1 942 .

“ ”
C olor in the P lant , F a ctory M anagemen t a nd M a in te
na nce , February , 1 945 .

M L u c kie sh , T he S cience ofS ee ing, D Van Nostrand C ompany,

. .

Inc , New York, 1 93 7 . .

“
Br igh tn e ss C o n tr a st s i n S ee i ng ( Wr i tte n w i th Fra n k
“
K M oss ) , I llum ina ting E ngine eri ng , June , 1 93 9; Bri ghtn ess
.

E ngi neer ing , ib id , February , 1 944

”
. .

“
P arry M oon , Wa ll M ater i al s and L i ghting , jou rn al of the
Op tical S ocie ty of Amer ica , D e cember , 1 94 1 ; “
R eflection
2 32 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

“
Factors of Fl o or M ateri als ib id Apr il 1 942 ;
,
.
, , C olors o f
Furni ture ib id ,
.
,
M ay 1 942 , .

—
VI S I O N T H E Great books on V is ion and the anatomy
E YE :

o f the eye have r ecently been published The works o f P olyak .

and Walls are remarkable achi evements The Bausch L omb .

item is illustrated wi th a series o f str i king full color drawings -

printed o n trans parent sheets and i s unusual i n format

T he H u m an E ye in Ana tom ical T ra nsp arencies, text by P eter C .

Kronfeld , H i stor i cal Appendix by S tephen L P olyak, .

illustrations by Gladys M c H u gh Bausch L omb P ress , ,

R ochester N Y 1 943 , . .
, .

S tephen L P olyak T he R e tina U ni versi t y of C hi cago P r ess

.
, , ,

C hicago 1 941 , .

James P C S outhal l I n troduction to P hysi ological Op tics O xford

. .
, ,

Univers i ty P ress New York 1 93 7 , ,

.

Gordon L ynn Walls T he Ver te b ra te E ye C ranbrook Institute

, ,

o f S cience Bloomfield H i lls M i ch

,
1 942 , .
, .

S C IE N CE
Textbooks and pop ul ar works on physics contain
:

many references to the sci entific aspects of color In the follow .

ing list L u c k ie sc h s book is something o f a m i nor classic and

,
’

belongs in every color library .

S ir William Bragg T he U n iverse of L igh t The M acmillan

, ,

C ompany New York 1 93 4 , ,

.

M L u c k ie sh C olor a nd I ts App lica tions D Van Nostrand C o m

.
, ,
.

pany Inc New York 1 92 1

,
.
, ,
.

Inter national P rinti ng Ink C o r p T hree M o n ogr phs o n C olor .

,
a
“ ” “ ” “ ”
C olor C hemistry C olor as L ight C olor in U se , , ,

New York 1 93 5 , .

H D M urray and D A S pencer C olour in T he ory a d P r ctice

. . . .
,
n a ,

America n P hotographi c P ublishi ng C ompany Boston , ,

1 93 9 .

C OLO R IM E T R Y : F o r a complete list of commercial color

standards and color systems the reader S hould consul t Ap
n d ix B o f this book P erhaps the best known wo rk o n
p e .

colorimetry today i s that o f Hardy There are not many books .

o n this subject However a very significant contr ibution is

.
,

n o w in p r ocess under the direction o f the C olorimetry C o m

I N DE X

Att e n tio n a u e , - vl —
96 97 , 114
Au r a , h u m a n , 1 64
v
Ac c id e n t -p re e n tio n sign s , 22 4 v
A ice n n a , 1 60
Adl e r , W F , 1 55
—
. .

v
Ad e rtisin g, 1 04 1 1 5
h ist o rie s, 1 1 1 1 1 4 —
—
case

l te c h iq 1 14 1 1 5 Ba b b itt , E d win D 1 61
m il 1 04—
co or n ue, .
,

dir e c t - a1 08 ,
Ba c k gr o u n d , ef
fe c t on

re v en u e fo r co o r l in m a gazin e s , 1 09 e n ce, 2 3, 2 5
sp a c e ,
—
1 08 1 1 5 Ba gn a ll, O sca r , 1 64
yli g l l
—
an d st n , di ffe r e n t ap p ro ach e s B arn a c e s, dis ik e o f b r ig h tn ess, 1 43
q i d 42 43 , 8 8 8 9 Ba t h r o o m a c c e sso r ie s, st a n da r d s, 2 2 2
G
-
re u re ,

Affe c ti v v le a u es o f c o o r, l 2 7, 3 4 B a u m an n C o l or u ide , 223

on hum an se n se s,
—
3 5 36 Be e t h o v en , 1 70
Aft e r im a ge , 98 , 99 Be n h a m
’
s disk , 90, 91
ad v an ta ge s o f, in m a c h in e p ain tin g, Be n so n , D r . J o hn , 1 62
1 33 Be rt h o ff, 3 0
l l
A b in o p an ts, 1 53 Bir ds, ef
fe c t o f c o o r o n , l 32 33—
ll
A ah , 1 0 Bisso n n e tt e , T . H .
, 1 64
Al e n , F r an k , 3 6
l B la c k , a de fi n it e c o o r , l 90
l
A u m in u m fo il, u se d t o c o n tr o l te m l
B in d flyi n
g, u se o fc o o r l in , 1 5 5- 1 56
p e r a tu r e , 1 42 -1 43 Bl on d e s (b l on ds ) co o r l p fe fe r e n c e o f, 37
Am e ric an C o l or T re n d s, 50, 66, 67, su ita b e l l
c o o rs fo r m a k e -u p an d
209 d r ess, 1 84
”

Am e rica n m ar k e ts, 45 4 6 — B l ue, l

b a c t e ricida p r o p e rtie s, 1 62
Am e rican S o c ie t fo r P s y y c hi c a l R e co l o r p r e fe r e n c e o f a d u ts fo r , 3 9 4 0 l —
se a r c h , 1 57 l
co o r t h e ra p y o f, 1 62
Am e rican S o c ie t y fo r T e st in g M a te ef
fe c t o n th e in sa n e , 1 67
r ia s, l 22 3 g l ifi
or ca tio n o f, 82
Am e rica n S tan dar ds Asso cia tio n , 2 22 , m e a n in g in c h a r a c te r an a ly is s, 1 38
2 2 4, 22 5, 2 2 6 yp
G
in sa fe t r a c tice , 1 34
Ar c h it e c tu r e , re e k , 1 1 su gg ts
e s fo rm o f c ir c e , l 1 75
Are n s h E gm o n t , 66, 1 48 B l u e -gr e e n , m e an in g in c h ar a c t e r

l
Ar ist o t e , 1 6 an al sis, y 1 87
Artis ts o il p a in ts , sta n dar d s, 22 2
’

—
Bo h r , 1 91
Asso c ia tio n o f N a tio n a Ad e r tise rs, l v Bo ric a cid , co o r e d l fo r sa fe t y ,
1 54 1 55
1 08 Bo rin g, E d win G .
, 1 94
2 35
2 36 SEL L I N G WI T H CO L O R

Bo st o n S m p h o n y yO r c h estr a , 1 70 Co l o r, e f
fe c t o n flies d m os q u it o e s,
—
an

Bo u gu e r , 1 00 1 49 1 50
y
Bo d , D r .
, 1 46
'

e fle c t o n ju d gm e n t o f tim e , we igh t ,
Br a gg, S ir W illia m , 1 91 an d dista n c e , 1 65
Br a h m a , 1 0 l
e e m e n t s o f, 17
Br igh o u se , G i b e r t , 1 66 l e m o ti o n a l a p p r e cia tio n o f, 5
gy
Br igh tn e ss
B ri tis h C o l
c o n tr ast ,

our C o u n ci
99
l ,
1 95, 2 2 3 , 224
as e n e r

an d fo rm , 1 74 1 75
an
—
d as se n sa tio n , 89

B r o wn , m e a n in g o f in c h ar a c t e r a n a l fu n c tio n a l ,
1 27
ysis , 1 88 an d gr o wt h o f p l an ts, 3 1 - 32
Bru n e tt e s ( b r u n e ts ) co o r l p re fe r e n c e hist o r o f, 8- 1 1 y
f, 37 fo r id e n tit y
—
1 14
—
o ,

s u it a b e l l fo r m ak e -u p an d d l 1 3 1 5, 1 7 5 1 7 6
1 60—
c o o rs an an gu a ge ,
d r e ss , 1 8 4 in m e dicin e , 1 0, 1 46, 1 66
Bu d d h a , 1 0 an d m e n ta l l te e p ath y ,
—
1 57 1 5 8
Bu r ris M e - y e r, E liz a b e t h , 1 8 2 , 1 83 an d m o o ds, 1 76 1 77 -

d m u sic , 1 70 1 7 1 , 1 7 4
—
-
an

d p e rio d st yl 1 82 1 84
li y 1 8 4—
an es ,

an d p e rso n a t 1 85
f 1 90—
,

l
C a ifo r n ia , so u t h e rn , l
co or p r e fe r
p hyi l t s ca n a u re o 1 92 ,

e me e s , 60 phy i l ti t 1 63 1 66 -
s ca re a c ons o ,

C am e ra, diffe r e n t fr o m h u m an e ye , o fpl t 9 an e s ,

1 00 p y h l
s g i
c l t yp
o o 8 9 ca e s,

C am fla ge d l d a r ds, 22 3 d ligi 1 0
—
ou c o o rs, stan an re on ,

C a rn e gi e I n sti t u tio n , 1 53 ifi i f 1 94 20 8
—
p s ect ca on o ,

C a st st o n e , c o o r sta n l d ar ds, 2 2 3 i t tm t fi i y
t 1 66 1 67
1 33 —
n re a en o n sa n

—
,

C a su a l se e in g, 1 35 d w ar , 1 48 1 4 9
—
an

C e lsu s , 1 60 w a r m an d co ld q liti ua e s, 1 69 1 70
C h a r ac te r an a ly i s s t h r o u gh l
c o o r, Co l or l
b in d n e ss, 1 92 1 94 -

1 85 1 89 — fr e q u en c y o f, 1 93
C hi c k e n s, fe c t o f c o lo r o n ,
ef 1 50 Co l or co m b in a tio n s, p r e fe r e n ce fo r ,
l l —
p r e fe r e n c e s
—
C hi d r e n , co o r o f, 2 1 , 2 4 24 2 5
l
1 00—
C h o p in , 1 7 0 C o o r co n ditio n in g, 1 28 1 3 9
y
C la p o o , D r L L , 1 53l . . . Co l o r c o n sta n c y , 94, 1 02
ll
C o e ge I n n o o d P r o d u c ts C o m p anF y de r c h r o m a ti c ligh t 1 0 1
1 00 —
, un ,

1 53 n o te d in h e n s , 1 01
Co ll e ge s an d v
u n i e rsitie s , l
co o r sym Co l or t
c o n t r as , 98-
99
h o ism l o fm j
a or fa c u li
t es, 1 80 Co l o r c o o r din a ti o n ,
—
5 1 54
Co l o n ia lp e r io d, u se o f co lor in , 1 8 3 m a n u fa c tu r e rs, 5 3
Co l o r, af
fe c ti v vl e a u es o f, 2 7 , 34 st o re s, 52
— l
—
a t tr a c tio n to in se c ts, 3 1 , 1 49 1 50 Co or diffu sio n , 99
v s. bl a ck an d w hi t e in ad v e r t isin g, l
C o o r e ffe c t v s l
c o o r sc h e m e , 8 5 87
—
.

1 05 l
C o o r e n gin e e rin g, 1 2 6 1 3 9
d c h ar a c t e r an a ly i 1 85- 1 8 9 v
a d an ta ge s o f, 1 3 0
—
an s s,

an d cu l tu r e , 8 Co or l fo rm s, 1 9 20, 7 8
(1 d e sign , 5
VS . d e sign , 6 l
an a o go u s , 79, 81
de fi n itio n o f, 17 ba la n ce d, so, 81
2 38 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

C o n su m e r re se a c h , c o n su m e r p an e l s, E gn e r , r an k , 1 0 7 F
70 y
E g p tian s , 8
m ai lq u e stio n n air e s , 70 u se o f c o o r l in m e dicin e , 1 60
m a n u fa c t u r e rs , 5 3 E id e ti c im a ge r y 171
g iv
—
66 6 7 E l t i lT i
,

L a b o r a t o r ie s, 2 07
67—
ne at e, e c r ca e st n g

p o s i iv
t 69 e, E l t m g ti
e c ro a ne c sp e c tru m , 1 91
st o r e s, 51 El m tey l e n ar c o o rs , 18
C o n ta in e r C o r p o r a tio n of Am e rica , E lem e n ts , a n c ie n t c o n c e p t io n o f, 9, 1 6
2 02 E v a p o r a tio n , c o n t r o l o f t h ro u gh l
c o o r,

C o n t in e n t a l L ith o gr a p h C o rp o ra tio n , 1 41
1 45 E xtr ase n s o r y p e r c e p tio n ,
in fl u e n ce d

C oo l n e ss an d w arm t h in c o o r,l 1 69 by l
co o r, 58
1 70 E ye , h u m an , 91 92 —
C o sm e tics, o r igin o f, 8 da r k -a da p te d , 93
C o t t o n , gr o w n in co o r, l 1 52 fo c u s o f, a f
fe c t e d by co o r, l 97
C r e sla s, A , 3 2 l 40
—
. to p u rp e,

C r itica l se e in 1 31 1 33 sim i ar l t o ca m e r a , 91
Cu ltu re an d
g,
co o r, l 8 E y es t r ai n , 1 2 9 1 30 —
c a u se s o f, 1 29
D ‘

r e su l ts o f, —
1 2 9 1 30
Da lt J h
on ,
o n ,
1 93 E y se n c k , H J . .
,
2 1 , 2 2 , 24
Da yligh t ill u m in a tio n , ar ti fiil c a , 94
D e sign , an d c o o r, l 5
vs . l
c o o r, 6
D e u tsc h , C l ar e n c e , 22 5 Fa c t o r y d ec o ratio n 1 2 8- 1 3 9
—
,

D e u tsc h , F e li x, 1 67 , 1 68 case h ist o rie s , 1 3 6 1 3 8

Dic tio n a r y o f C o o r, l 1 95, 22 3 y c h o o gic al l c o n sid e r a tio n in , 1 3 5
D im e n sio n in l —
97 98
ps
1 36
— F h io 7 1 —
co o r ,

D ir e c t -m ai l dva e r tisin g, 1 04 1 0 8 as 73 n,

l
c ir c u a rs, 1 05 F gu sso J m e s 9
er n, a ,

en vlp e o e s, 1 05 F an d R
e rre e d 93 an ,

l e tt e r h e a ds , 1 05 Filipi c lo p ef
n o s, o r r e re n c e o f, 21
re
p ly c ar ds , 1 06 Fi N ils 1 61
n se n e

—
, ,

ru e s l f o r co o r, l 1 07 1 0 8 Fish c l c h n ge in
, o or a , 1 00
D ir e c t M ai R l e se ar c h I n stitu te 1 04 ef
fe c t o f c o o r o n , l 33
— —
,

Di p l y 1 1 9 1 2 0 1 23— 1 25 F lies e ffe c t o f co o r o n l 1 4 9 1 50

—
s a s, , , ,

m e r c h an dise , 1 2 3 1 2 5 F li t L e wis G 32
—
n ,
.
,

l
D r ess sh o p , c o o r sc h e m e fo r , 1 2 3 1 24 F lo o r co v e r in gs, h ar d su r fa c e , e xp e r i
-
l
D u F o n t C o o r C o d e , 1 3 3 1 3 5, 2 2 3 e n ce in c o o r st l yli n g o f, 68
Du P o n t de N e m o u rs an d Co E I se c tio n a lp r efe re n c e s o f, 60
—
.
, . .
,

Co or l C o d e fo r S afe t y 1 3 3 1 3 5, F lo rida c o lo p f 60
o f 1 46—
, ,
r re e re n c es ,

223 Fl o e i m dica l
u re sc 1 47
n e u se
—
, ,

D u lu x w hi te fo r ta n k s, 1 41 F l o re sce c 1 45 1 47
u n e,

F l o re sce t ligh t 94 95
u n ,
E
F l o e sc e t m a t i l 1 46 1 47
u r n e r a s, -

E ag e l P ri n tin g I n k C o m pa n y , 1 04, F ds e dib le c o lo 1 2 5 1 73

oo ,
rs, ,

1 0 8, 1 1 6, 2 0 9 p re v e n tio n o f r an cidit yi n, 1 44
E ggs, c o n tr o l o f co o r o f, l 1 51 F o rd, He n r y , 1
 I N DE X 2 39

F dn y He a t
or

F o rm ,
e

an
,
M ajo r , 1 40
d co o r, l 1 74 1 75— in
ra

r a dia t o r s,
dia ti o n , 1 40- 1 43
1 42
m e n ta l a p p re c ia tio n o f, 5 in st o r a ge tan k s, 1 41
F o d y p a tte rn s
un r ,
l
c o o r stan d a r d s, 2 2 4 He c h t S e lig 1 8 1 94
, , ,

F u r q ar t e rs o f
o u e ar t h , s ym b o lism o f, He lm h o ltz He rm an n , von , 90
8, 9 He lso H a r y 1 0 1
—
n ,
r ,

F ve l v
o a isio n , 91 H e ra l d y 1 7 9 1 80
r ,

F An t o le 3 4
ra n c e , a , h a t c hin gs, 1 7 9
F anr R a ym o d 1 1 7
ze n ,
n , He rin g E w a ld 1 2 1 1 99
, , ,

Fre e b rn S B 1 49 o ,
. .
, He r o d o t s 9 u ,

Fr e ch c lo sta da d 2 2 4
n o r n r s, High fash i n m ar k e ts 2 3
-
o ,
-
, 59
Fr u it c tr o l o f c o lo r 1 54
,
on , p r e fe re n c e fo r c o o r , 8 5 l
F tio a l lo 1 2 7
un c n co r, Hl l
i e r C o o r C h ar t , 224
ad v an t a ge s o f, in in d u s tr y 1 30 Hi d U p i h a ds 9
n u an s

—
, ,

H ry o c o l 8 1 1
i t s o f o r,

Ho ffm 1 65 an ,

Ho llyw o o d i fl e c e l
G
,
n u n on co or o f
ale , An n V an N ice 24 l
Gl
’
, wo m e n s a p p ar e ,
71
Ho m e s v l
G ll
a en , 1 60 , a e r a ge num ber o f c o o rs in
fu rn ishin gs, 49
Gl
a up, 66
F r a n c is, 1 70 Ho o dl s 1 50
G
a to n ,
es ,

Ho o k e 1 90
G
a rt h , T . R .
,
21 ,

Gaw , e o r ge D .
,
1 04 H o o ve r W H , . .
,
32
Ni H i l ym b
G
G ay n e tie s, 73 o p , co o r s o lis m , 9
lEl t i C y 1 54, 2 0 6 H l l l
G
e n era ec r c om p an , o r t ic u t u r a c o o r c h ar t s, 1 95 , 2 2 4
K S 206 H ld
G
ib so n , . .
,
o sp it a e c o r a t io n , 1 26
v Ho w a t Do u g l 1 62
G
o dl o e I H. .
,
83 ,
R . as,

v l Hu m a n
Gl
o dlo e s p r in c ip e , 83 au r a, 1 60
K u r t , 3 4, 3 5, 1 65 H u m an —
G
o ds t e in , e ye , 91 92
J
G
o re , o hn ,
1 83 d a r k -a d a p t e d , 93
l
G
r e e k a r c hi t e c t u r e , 11 fo c u s af
fe c t e d by co o r, 97
re e n ,
l fi
g o ri c a t io n o f, 8 2 fo c u s t o p u rp e , 40 l
m e a n in g in c h ar a c t e r an a ly i
s s, 1 87 l
sim i a r t o c a m e r a , 9 1

in safe t yp r a c tic e , 1 34
I
su g ge sts fo r m o f h e x a g o n , 1 7 5
G r ise w o o d , E N , 30 l
G
Ice , co o re d fo r sk a t in g r in k , 1 56
—
. .

ui lf J y l
G
o rd, . P .
,
2 1 , 24 2 9, 7 9, 8 2 , 89 IC I s st e m o f co or d e sign a tio n , 2 0 4
un d l ac h , E . T .
,
1 10 2 06
I llu m in a ti on ,
l
c o o re d, 1 01
in disp a s, 1 2 0 ly
in st o r e s, 1 2 2 1 2 3 —
H a e,l P h ilip , 1 70 I m a da M 24 ,
.
,

H ar d y I n dia o igi al fo r
G
, ,
r n u c a st e s, 10
H ar d y L e a ,
r n d H .
, 1 90, 1 92 I n dia s Am e ric an
n , ,
co o r l p r e fe r e n c e
Ha d y R e c o r di
r n
g S p e c tr o p h o t o m e te r , o f, 21
2 06 s ym b li m 8—9 o s

— —
,

Hat c h in gs o f h a ld y 1 7 9 er r , I d sra
n u t i l d ig 1 26 1 2 7 1 38 1 39es n , ,

He a t a b so rp t io n u se o f pain ts , , 1 55 I n fa n s c o t l p f
,
f 21 or re e re n ce s o ,
2 40 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

I n sa e n , co o r l
p re fe re n ce o f, 2 1 L o d ge , 0 . C .
, 1 49
I n se c ts a t tr a c t io n t o c o o r , 3 1 l L H L 131
—
,
o ga n , . .
,

l
co o r v isio n o f, 30 3 1 L o r d, s ym b li ze d by b l 10
—
o u e,

I n te r io r d e c o r a tio n , 1 20 1 2 6 L u b r ica tio n o fm ac hin e r y l

co o r st an d
—
,

co m m e r c ia l ,
1 20 1 2 5 ar ds, 225
in fa c t o rie s, 1 3 2 1 3 8 -
L u c kie sh , M .
,
40, 92 , 1 29, 1 3 1 , 1 3 2 ,
l
—
fo r h o sp ita s, 1 26 1 3 8 , 1 47, 1 63
l
id e a d r e ss sh o p , 1 2 3 1 2 4 L u d w ig , 1 62
r e sta u r an ts , 1 2 5 L um in e sc e n t p ain ts, 1 55
in st o r e s , —
1 22 1 2 3
I n t e r - S o c ie t yC l o or C o u n ci l ,
2 02 , 2 22 ,
224
I n t e rst a t e Com m e r ce C o m m issio n , M ac D o n a ld C o e ge , 1 5 1 ll
226 y
M a c h in e r u se o f c o o r o n 1 33
, l ,

I S C C -N B S m e th o d o f l
co o r d e sign a M ae r z A , 1 95 2 2 3
—
.
, ,

tio n , 2 0 2 2 0 4 M a ge n ta e ffe c t o n in sa n e 1 67
, ,

M an a ge m e n t (b u sin e ss) r e sp o n sib ilit , y

in m a tt e r o f co o r , l 61
M arie An t o in e t t e , 1 82
J ae n sc h E R 3 4, 3 7 , 1 7 1 M a r k e t d a ta dist ri b u t io n of to ta l
—
,
. .
, ,

J e a n s, S ir J a m e s, 1 92 U S . . c o n su m e r b u d g e t , 45 4 6
J e we r ly ,
o r igin o f, 8 num f U S d w e in gs , 45
ber o . . ll
J o n e s, L . A .
, 1 94, 207 o c c u p a tio n s an d tr a d e s, 45

J u d d , D e an e B .
, 1 49, 1 94, 2 04 re tai l l
sa es, 46
t o tal U S p o p u a tio n , 45
. . l
u r b a n a n d r u r a dis tr ib u tio n , 45 l
M ar o o n , m e an in g in c h ar a c t e r a n a l
K S t t C ll g ysis , 1 8 5
— —
a n sa s 1 51 a e o e e,

K w ki T F 1 7 4
ar os ,
. .
, M ass m a r k e ts , 4 5, 45 46
K t D vid 1 00
a z, a , p re fe re n ce fo r l
co o r, 85
K t S E 21
a z, . .
,
yli
st n g fo r , 1 1 1 3
-

K lly K e h L ,
1 94 20 5 ennet .
, ,
Ma e uv d e ca d e , 1 8 3
Ki h F d 1 50
rs c ,
re ,
M a w Dr W A , 1 5 1
,
. . .

Ki h tc i en l t a c c e sso r e s , co o r s an d a r ds , M axw e ll J
am e s C e r k
, 1 7 2 04 l , ,

225 M e a t c o n tr o o f c o o r o f 1 5 1
, l l ,

Kl v u e r, H 3 3, 1 7 1 M e dic m e , u se s o f c o o r in 1 0 1 46 l
—
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Kr a v k o v S V 35 1 60 1 66
—
.
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.
,

Kfi lp e , 1 94 in dia gn o sis, 1 62 1 63
l
in h e a in g w o u n ds , 1 65
m o d e rn a t tit u d e , 1 60 1 61 —
in t r e a t m e n t o f in san i y 1
t 66—1 67
,

L an g, M ar tin 1 8 5 , in t r e a tm e n t o f tu m o rs , 1 65
L Dr 1 46 ly
M e o T h o m as 1 17
ge ,
— —
an .
, , ,

L an gu a g e an d l
co o r, 1 3 1 5, 1 7 5 1 7 6 M e nju D r , 1 64, .

L ly K S
as h e , . .
, 33 M e n n o n it e s, 1 83
L gib ilit y 95 96 l l
M e n t a t e e p a t h a n d c o o r , 1 57- 1 58 y l
—
-
e
—
,

L igh t d lif an e 30 3 1 M e r c h an dise dis p a s, 1 2 3 1 2 5 ,

ly
L isz t, 1 7 0 u n so ld d u e t o co o r, l 50, 52, 61, 7 1
2 42 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

P o n z a , Dr .
, 1 66 R id gw a y R b t 1 95 226
, o er , ,

Po pp , H W . .
,
32 R im sk - y K k ff 1 7 1 o rsa o ,

Po pu l a t io n , u r b an an d ru r a l R o cke e f ll J h D 1 83
e r, o n .
,

tr ib u tio n , 45 R o ds an d c o n e s o f e ye , 91
J l
G
P o r te r , L . C .
,
31 R o m ain s, u e s, 34
P r id e au x, . F .
, 31 R o m an c e o f c o o r , l 1 7 3- 1 8 9
P r im y l 18 ar c o o rs,

P l d d 22 6
r o c e ss c o o rs , s t an ar s,

s c
—
P y h i t y 1 66 1 69
a r ,

P y h l gy f l 1 5 9 1 66 y l
d v ti i g 1 1 4—
s c o o o co o r, -
S a fe t , c o o r co d e fo r , 1 3 3 - 1 3 5, 2 2 3
i n a 115
er s n i
p p gin id e n ti c a ti o n c o d e fo r 2 2fi6
— —
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i f n yd ti
ac to r 1 3 5 1 36 e co ra on
-
l
S a e s r e c o r ds, 43 , 5 5 5 6, 64, 209 2 2 1
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P b li t
u i
c l 6 12a st e n co o r, , a u to m o bi l e s, 2 20 22 1
P d U iv i y 1 52 1 53 e rs t b l a n k e ts, 216
—
ur ue n , ,

P plur diffi lt t f
e, 40 cu o o c u s, ca r p e ts an d ru gs, 2 1 1 2 12
m i g i
e an n h c ly i n c ara t e r an a s s, c ir c u ars, l 1 05
ggsu f m f v l 1
e s ts 75 or o o a ,
c o tto n go o d s, 2 1 8
P yth g a 1 60 o r as, en vl e o p e s, 1 05
fu r n it u r e , 2 1 4
Q h o id a l y v lti 1 81
—
no e e s,
.

Q u ar t e r s o f e ar t h , s ym b li m o s o f, 8, 9 h o m e fu rn ish in gs, 215 216

kit c h e n ware , 2 1 8
R
l tt h d 1 0 5
e er ea s,

R a d ia t io n se n se o f hum an bod y 3 5, li l m 2 1 3
n o eu
—
, ,

1 65 i t 20 9 2 1 0
—
p a n s ,

R a dio
'

M a n u fa c t u r e s A sso c ia t io n ,
l
co o r p l astics , 2 1 9 220
st a n d a r ds, 2 2 6 re p ly car d s, 1 06
R a ff, 1 70 ro o fig n , 21 1
R e a lism in l 1 14 sh e e ts , 216
—
co o r,

R l
e d, co o r th e r ap y o f, 1 61 1 62 t o w e s, l 21 7
g l ifi
or ca tio n o f, 82 tro u b e wit h , l 51
m e a n in g in c h a r a c t e r an a ly i
s s, 1 85 S am l L
u e s, o u is, 1 55
in sa fe t yp r a c ti c e , 1 34 S a n ita r yw ar e , c o o r stan l d a r d s, 2 2 6
su gge sts fo r m o fs q u ar e , 1 74 S c h an z, F 31
R ee v e s, C o ra, 33 l
S c h o o B u s C h ro m e , stan dar d fo r , 22 6
R e gi o n a l l co or p r e fe r e n c e s, —
3 7 3 9, 60 S ch oo lf u rn it u r e , st an da r d l
c o o rs fo r ,
fo r h a r d -su r fa c e fl oo r co v e r in gs, 60 227
R e ligi o n an d c o o r,l 10 S c h u b e r t , 1 70
R e se a r c h , 48 , 63 65 — Sch u l Dr N vill 1 30
—
er, . e e,

ad v e r tisin g, 1 04 1 1 4 S c h w ar tz , M h 36
fi f 70—
uc

bene 71
ts o S e ars, R o e b u c k an d Co 1 09
i l 1 0 4—
, .
,

dir e c t -m 1 08 S e a so n s, l
c o o rs o f, 1 81
k gi g 1 1 7—
a

—
,

p ac a 118 n S e c tio n a l l co o r p r e fe r e n ce s 3 7 3 9, 60
—
, ,

sp ac e a d v e rti sin g , 1 0 8 1 1 5 fo r h ar d -s u r fa c e flo o r co v e rin gs, 60

S tar c h r e p o r ts , 1 08 , 1 0 9 S e dim e n ta r y r o c k s, co o r l st a n dar ds ,
R e sta u r an ts , c o o r sc h e m e l fo r , 1 25 2 27
R l
e ta i sal e s , t o ta lU S ditu r e fo r , S e n se s, h u m an , fe c t
ef o f co o r l
—
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46 3 5 3 6, 1 74
 I N DE X 243

S e tt l e, C a p tain , 1 40
S e xu a l yl c fe c t o f c o o r o n ,
c e s, e f l 1 64
S h a r iff, 1 49
S h ip ly A
e ,
. E .
,
1 49 T a ve s, E rn e st , 1 57
S ign a l gl a sse s, c o o r sta n l dar ds fo r 22 7 , T a yl o r, H e le n D .
,
37, 7 1
S il v er fo x , c o n tr o l o fco l or in , 1 54 T em p e r a tu r e , c o n tr o l of t h r o u gh
ll
S m a p o x, e ffe c t o f igh t l on , 1 61 l
c o o r , 1 4 1 1 43 —
l
S o c ia sign i ca n c e o f c o fi l o r, 4, 5 9, 61 in r a di a t o rs, 1 42
So i l l
c o o rs, stan dar ds fo r id e n tific a in st o r a ge ta n k s , 1 41
T em p e of l Ne b u ch a d n e z za r , 9
S o ilax, 1 45 T e xt i e C o l l or C ar d As so c ia t io n , 7 2 ,
S o u th co o r l pr e fe r e n c e s ,
60 1 95, 2 2 7
S o u th a ll J a m e s, 1 02 T im e e s ti m a t io n un d e r in fl u e n ce o f
—
,

S o u th w e s t p r e fe r e n c e s, 60
co o r l l
c o o r, 1 65 1 66
S p ace v
a d e rtisin g , 1 08 1 1 5
— T it c h e n e r , 1 94
case hist o r ie s , 1 1 1 1 1 4 — T o m a t o e s, u se o f co o r l in gr a di n g ,
co o r l te c h n i q ue,
—
1 14 1 15 1 52 —1 53
re v enue fo r co o r l in m a gazin e s, 1 09 T one, m o s t n e u tr a l o f co l or fo rm s , 8 5
S tar c h r e p o r t s, 1 08, 1 0 9 T o n us of hu m an bod y , a ffe c t e d by
S p e n ce r , D A . .
,
2 5, 1 69 l
co o r, 3 5 , 1 63
S pe n c e r, D E 7 9, 82 T raffic v
d e ic e s, st a n da r ds fo r , 2 2 7
—
. .
,

S po e h r, Dr H A 1 53 T re n ds , l
co o r, 1 2, 57 5 9
—
. .
,
.

S ta p l e s, R .
,
21 ca u se s o f, 46 4 7
S tar c h , D a n ie l , 1 08 T u m o rs , e ffe c t o f c o o r o n l gr o w t h o f,

S t ar c h r e p o rt s, 1 0 8- 1 1 0 1 65
S t e in , 1 63 l
T w i igh t w sro n , 91
St yli g ,
3
n 5 ,
1 1 1 3 ,
4— —
9
v
—
an d a d e r tisin g , di ffe r e n t ap

p r o a c h e s qi re u re d fo r , 42 43 ,
—
88 8 9 l v l t ligh t 1 43—1 47
U t r a io
f 61 —
e ,

e c o n o m i cs o 62 , f l
u se o t v m co o r o o erco e ef
fe c ts o f,
fo r h igh -fas hio n m a r k e ts, 3 4 72 1 44
—
,

fo r m ass m a r k e ts, 4 5, 1 1 - 1 3 U v
n i e r sitie s an d co ll e g e s, l
co o r sym

m e th o ds u se d by m an u fa c t u r e rs b o lism ofm a or j fa c u li t e s, 1 80
an d st o r e s, 50 54 — U ni v e rsit y o l
f C a ifo rn ia , 1 54
Sun g l asse s, 93 U p an ish a d s, Hi n du , 9
l
S u n igh t , e ffe c t on l
co o r p r e fe r e n ce , U S Agr ic u lt u ra lM a r k e t in g S e r ic e ,v
—
. .

37 39 1 99
y
S m b o ism l , 1 77 1 82 — U S . . M
y C o o r C a r d , 227 l
F r e e m as o n r y 1 79 U S Ar m g e n e r a p a inyt l sp e c ifica
—
, . .

h e r aldr y 1 7 9 1 80
, tio n s, 2 28
Ho p i 9 , U S . . Ar m y N vy
- a Air c ra ft S ta n d ar d s,
I n dian s Am e rican , 8 9 22 8
—
-
,

Na v a h o s, 8 9 U S Bu r e a u
. . o f lVIin e s , 1 41
q u ar t e rs o f e a r t h , 8, 9 U S . . D e p art m e n t of Agr ic u lt u re , 1 44
R o m an C a th o l ic C h u rc h , 1 7 7- 1 7 8 U S . . F la g ,
l
c o o r sta n d ar d s, 224
l
—
sto c k sh o ws , 1 80 U S N a t io n a B u r e au of S tan da r ds ,
—
. .

S yn est h esia , 1 70 1 7 1 1 42 , 1 99, 2 0 2 , 2 0 4, 222 22 6

2 44 SE L L ING WI T H CO L O R

U S P h arm a c o p o e ia , 2 02
. .

U S P u b ic l H lh ea t v
S e r ic e , 1 2 9
Wa gn e r 1 70
. .

U S r ib b o n s fo r se r vi ce m l
e d a s, c o o r l ,

W a llis W Alle n 97
. .

d ar ds , 228
G
.
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st an
W a lls L ,3 3 8 9 97 1 00 . .
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Wa lt o n William E 25 , .
,

Wa r u se o f c o lo r in 1 48 1 49
, ,
-

V a n d e r p la n k , 1 64
W a r d r o b e a v e r a ge n u m b e r o f c o l o r s
,

Vic t o r ia n st yl e, 1 83
in , 49

Vi l o et ligh t , t o d e t e c t m e r c u r yv ap o r ,
W a rm t h an d c o o ln e ss in l
co o r, 1 69
1 70
1 54
Wa ve le n gt h s m e asu r e m e n t o f 1 92
Vi ib ilit y f l
s o c o o rs , 93 , 95 , ,

— We d g wo o d J o sia h 1 8 2
Vi i 9 1 1 0 2 , ,

W illia m s b u r g 1 8 3
s on
—
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c o o r,l 1 92 1 94
Wit h r o w D r R B 3 2
,

—
.

f b ir ds , 3 3
.
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.

o
Wo e n s fas o n s 7 1 7 3
m hi
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o f fish , 3 3 ,

W o o d so n T T 1 54
30—
. .
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f in se c t s, 31
W o u n ds h e a lin g a c c e le r a te d t h r o u gh
o

of o l we r o r ga n ism s , 30
l
,

1 65
ofm on ke y
s, 33
Wr e n n
co o r,

P a pe r C o m p a n y 96
in t w i igh t , 92l ,

v o f e r t e b r a t e a n im a l s, 30 X
f v l 91
o ea ,

l X -
ra y s, se n sit i vit y o f in se ct s t o , 30
p e r ip h e r a , 91
r an
ge o f se n sit i it v yt b o r
i
gh t n e ss, 92
t r ain in g n e c e ssa r y 1 02
,
Ye ll w, l
c o o r th e r ap y o f, 1 62
l
t wi igh t , 91
ef
o

fe c t o n th e in sa n e , 1 67
Vi l ity 92 95—
g l ifi
su a acu ,
c a tio n o f, 8 2
Vi l ill i — or
su a u s o n s, 98 99
m e a n in g in c h ar a c t e r an a ly is s, 1 87
aft e r im a ge , 98
in sa fe t yp r a c t ic e , 1 34
gl
disk , 90 , 91
’
Be n h a m s
fo r m o f tr ia n 1 74
s
u g ge s t s e,
b r igh t n e ss co n t r a st , 99
Ye ll o w in g o f h u m an e
yewit h a ge , 40
l
c o o r c o n t r a st , 99 Yo go , D r 1 64
Ki
.
,

Von r e s, 1 94
V o n R ie s, 1 62
V osb u r g, Fre d e r ick G .
,
31 $ o dia c , 9