ColourfulLanguage

AIC CONGRESS 2013

ELEANOR MACLURE

July 2013

A gentle reminder of the connection between the words we use and the colours we see

Say WhatYou See

Introduction

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Say What You See is part of a larger investigation called Colourful Language, a visual research project that uses design methodologies to explore different aspects of the relationship between colour and language.

Introduction

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

ResearchQuestion

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Research Question

How We Talk about ColourExploring the way we use language to describe and define colours.

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Research Question

1. The Names of Colours: Analysis of the body of words used to describe colour, how they can be categorised, their origins, their meanings.

2. The Names of Colours: how do they visually relate to each other. For example how does red relate to pink, maroon or terracotta? How do these colour terms relate to each other in turn?

3. The Names of Colours: The consistency of their application, interpretation, definition and understanding. For example, the variation in how colour terms can be used to label colours and how varying colours can be identified using the same term.

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Research Question

1. The Names of Colours: Analysis of the body of words used to describe colour, how they can be categorised, their origins, their meanings.

2. The Names of Colours: how do they visually relate to each other. For example how does red relate to pink, maroon or terracotta? How do these colour terms relate to each other in turn?

3. The Names of Colours: The consistency of their application, interpretation, definition and understanding. For example, the variation in how colour terms can be used to label colours and how varying colours can be identified using the same term.

ResearchMethodology

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Research Methodology

A range of methodologies were used to address different aspects of the research question. These developed into sub-projects which were used to explore both the subject and the effectiveness of the process.

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Research Methodology

Research methods included:• Interviews• Digital image manipulation• Typologising collected material • Information graphics• Analysing existing bodies of text• Generative systems• Photography• Survey

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Research Methodology

Many colour terms developed from the world around us. The project developed as a reminder of the connection between the words we use the colours we see and the objects they come from.

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Research Methodology

Research process involved:• Development of long list• Editing process to create a shortlist• Terms not taken from commercial sources• Sourcing of objects• Photographs taken in natural daylight• Neutral background • Minimal amount of re-touching to crop images

and remove imperfections from background

Output

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Output

Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Output

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Output

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Output

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Cream

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Oatmeal

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Champagne

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Lemon

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Mustard

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Amber

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Orange

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Peach

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Salmon

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Terracotta

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Raspberry

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Fuchsia

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Plum

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Aubergine

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Lavender

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Violet

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Slate

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Turquoise

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Jade

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Aquamarine

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Avocado

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Lime

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Olive

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Chestnut

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Chocolate

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Charcoal

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Mushroom

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Oyster

Evaluation

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Evaluation

• Successful output, viewers found visually engaging• Criteria for selecting objects was not rigorous• These limitations could be addressed over a

longer timescale• Different reactions to the images• Some were more difficult to identify than others

because of viewers knowledge• Generated a greater degree of engagement

than expected

Conclusion

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Conclusion

• Can be viewed as a stand alone project or as part of wider investigation

• Aim was not to present the objects as the best example of the colour in question

• Act as a visual reminder of the relationship between the colour and colour term and between the colour term and the object

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Conclusion

Possible developments of the project include:•Gathering more objects to photograph• Testing viewers ability to identify the objects

in the images•Using the images as stimuli for a study on

colour naming using images of objects

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Conclusion

Existing real world applications:• Print sample for FE Burman printers• Show colour reproduction quality of HP Indigo printer• Sample for GF Smith paper • Show colour reproduction quality of Mohawk Everyday paper stock

Bibliography

COLOURFUL LANGUAGE AIC 2013 Say What You See

Bibliography

• A full bibliography for the project is available on my blog at: eleanormaclure.wordpress.com/bibliography

• All of the outputs produced for the project are hosted on Issuu and can be viewed online at: http://www.issuu.com/eleanorbydesign

• PDFs of the documents are also available to download from my blog at: eleanormaclure.wordpress.com/outcomes/

ColourfulLanguage

Eleanor Maclure July 2013

www.eleanormaclure.co.ukeleanormaclure.wordpress.com

issuu.com/eleanorbydesigneleanorbydesign@hotmail.com

@eleanorbydesign