This course covers what we see, and how we interpret what we
see. Visual Thinking for Design really
has us looking at how our eyes and brain work. I even got to use a brain
graphic for my visual resume. Over the last few weeks it has been clear that we
do not all agree on colors or pictures that we saw. Some of the color
schemes/pictures I really liked, others did not…and vice versa. Some of us
liked the brighter colors in logos, others of us liked more muted tones.
Each of us has different likes in pictures and colors. I’m
sure each of us has different likes in pets, too. I have a dog, cat, parakeets,
fish, and a mouse. Cats are my favorite! Mentioning this due to one of the
links I am attaching below. I’m sure each of us has different favorite foods,
too. I could eat Mexican food at least once every week.
Each of these likes/dislikes comes from our brains. What
makes us different is our brains. But what makes our brains different? Is it
hereditary? Is it experience? Is it our education? It is our memories? I think
it has to be a combination of these, and other, things. “Beyond its large size
we still lack an account of what makes a human brain different. However,
advances in comparative neuroanatomy, developmental biology, and genetics have
radically changed our understanding of brain development” http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.337.
A friend recently sent me this article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/02/04/memory-revisions-accuracy/5192089/.
Not only is it short and interesting, I see how it can be applied to this
class and what we are learning: How we view things can come from our memories.
For instance, I really like regular black crickets, but I
hate cave crickets (in case you don’t know what they are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhaphidophoridae).
But why? First of all, I think they look more like spiders, which I also hate,
than crickets. And I just learned from the Wikipedia page that they are also
referred to as “cricket spiders.” Second, it has to be because the very first
apartment I lived in was infested with cave crickets. I was able to help the
owner of the apartment find the source and the exterminator got rid of them,
but I still lived with them for about a month. The owner had warned me about
them when I moved in, but since I had no experience with them, I had no idea
that they could literally jump 5 feet almost straight up, that they would cling
to ceilings, and that I would find them on my bed. Obviously, whenever I see
one these days (always outside, thankfully), I am reminded of the days I lived
with them and kill them, if possible.
That short story brings me to my point: Could our
preferences for colors, pictures, design, and layout come from our past
experiences? My high school colors were blue and gold. I still like those
colors together! But I had a rather positive high school experience. If I had
not, would I dislike those colors together?
What are your thoughts?
___________
And just for fun, a lady’s cat went missing, but when she
asked for help from a designer to create a poster, this is what happened: http://www.tickld.com/x/this-ladys-cat-went-missing-but-when-she-asked-for-helpthis-happened. Enjoy!
First, your story about the crickets made me laugh out loud (sorry). But as one who has had a pet spider I can relate and I no longer have a huge fear of spiders.
ReplyDeleteI think our preferences for color (and other things) has both genetic and socio-cultural factors. My high school colors were also blue/gold and I still think those are great colors together. Is it that they really work together or I just saw them every day for 6 years (jr. and high school together)? When I first got to JMU, I thought ughhh at the colors, but they have grown on me. So past experience and exposure have played a role for me.
I think genetics also plays a role, which is why in nature colors tend to mean the same thing. Animals know red is danger and to stay away and we humans (animals) have that same understanding. Black widows (sider theme) have a red marking to let others in the animal kingdom know they are dangerous. There are patterns that exist that tell us if things are safe or not (snakes, lizards). Visually, it is so fascinating as to why certain colors, forms, shapes bring about the emotions/perceptions they do and so universally.
I think that our color preferences may very well come from our own experiences. For example, I went to JMU, and constantly find myself migrating towards purple and variations of that color because it is my favorite color, and I always think of the good experiences I had at the university. to me, purple is a familiar and happy color. The same goes for the color blue. Being married to a police officer, "the thin blue line" constantly sticks out to me in terms of how the color triggers my thoughts. The color brings about a sense of pride to me, and a feeling of protection. Furthermore, my grandmother's favorite color was yellow, and every time I see a yellow sunflower, she comes to mind. Therefore, yellow is another color that makes me happy. I don't personally experience negative feelings as a result of colors, simply because a lot of bad things are all different colors (such as spiders, snakes, and blood). It is a really interesting topic to think about!
ReplyDeleteAndee -funny that you weren't initially drawn to JMU's colors. My high school colors were purple and gold, so I thought, "Yes! I already have clothes that match for school spirit!" Oh freshman year... :o)
ReplyDeleteI do think that people have an emotional relationship with color. When my husband and I were beginning to decorate our home / putting items on our registry, we had serious conversations about how certain colors brought up certain memories and feelings. It turns out that he finds warm colors (reds, oranges, and some yellows) visually overwhelming and not peaceful... Perhaps his color feelings go back to Andee's mention of red as danger :o)