Color Transforms

A clever use of color can help transform a design and effectively communicate the message of a designer without the use of words. An example of this would be an advertisement for “A Bird In Hand Project.” It utilizes color to express the urgency of cleaning the wildlife affected by the oil spill. The designer's color selection creates both a visual and symbolic contrast. Contrasting hues is what creates a focal point. Color dominance is found in the background image due to the bright image and presence of life. This vibrant image is of a sea turtle in its natural (clean) habitat. What helps the colorful background image show through is a frame created by what appears to be a hand that has smeared oil away. In the foreground there is an image illustrating the texture and dark, unpleasant appearance of oil. The murky appearance of the oil contrasts against the rich blue and green hues of the image of the sea turtle swimming in a clean ocean. Although the attention is on the bright image, you are reminded of the grim oil spill because the oil is not completely washed away and is blocking the viewer from seeing the beautiful image in all it’s entirety. The bright image creates an emotional response by creating hopeful reassurance that the wildlife will have a clean environment once again after people come together and help. It shows what it is and what it could be. The message that the color is helping to convey is that the vivid beauty of nature is being concealed by the dark, revolting oil. The beauty of nature will be restored after people come together to get their hands dirty and help wash away the human mistake.

A Bird In Hand Project: 

http://abirdinhandproject.com/

Image:

http://adsoftheworld.com/taxonomy/brand/a_bird_in_hand_project