Discussion and Overview:
Advance organizers are a visual way of preparing design students for new knowledge and concepts. Much like a road map, the student can be grounded in the big picture, in this case, core design principles and where color and color associations fit into the overall scheme of things.
I prepared two advanced organizers (see below). One shows the very big picture on basic design principles. We follow this organizer to where the color associations area is, and then, switch to a detailed advance organizer specifically focusing on color psychology and emotional associations.
The purpose of these advance organizers is to stimulate higher-order thinking on color for beginning design students. The advance organizers and the supporting web pages with descriptive information on each color and its associations fill in the cognitive boxes. Students are then challenged to find real world examples (pictures, graphics) of the three emotional attributes of each color, and then, advancing into more abstract thinking, they are then asked to come up with two new emotional attributes associated with each color with supporting graphics or pictures to demonstrate this.
Annotated References:
Landa, R. (2006). The fundamentals of graphic design.
In Graphic design solutions (pp. 46-65). Clifton Park, New York. Thomson Delmar Learning.
This textbook is one of the most highly acclaimed design texts in the world. The author provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to graphic design and advertising design, with step-by-step visual solutions that readers can apply with confidence to their own design and advertising projects. A highly illustrative, straightforward assessment of developing winning graphic design solutions for a variety of media-including print, web, television, and unconventional formats-helps designers think critically and creatively about their work while understanding the demands of the graphic design profession in today's world. Specifically in Chapter 3, Fundamentals of Graphic Design, she provides an overview of the formal elements of design and the principles of design.
Beaird, J. (2007). The psychology of color.
In The principles of beautiful web design (pp. 38-43). Collingwood, Australia. SitePoint Pty. Ltd.
The author gives a detailed, informative explanation of key design concepts as they are related to web design. In chapter 2, on color, he explains color associations of western culture and these concepts apply to all design, whether web or print. The fundamentals of color psychology are outlined in a succinct, understandable way.
Color meaning (2008). Retrieved March 15, 2009, In Color Wheel Pro: See Color Theory in Action.
Web site: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
This website offers a software product used by designers to create harmonious color schemes for web and print. In addition, they provide a valuable resource on the basics of color theory, with detailed explanations and glossaries.
Color symbolism and psychology. (2009, March 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:35, March 15, 2009
Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Color_symbolism_and_psychology&oldid=277345061
This reference is for background purposes only.
Most educators and professionals do not consider it appropriate to use tertiary sources such as encyclopedias as a sole source for any information. Wikipedia articles should be used for background information, as a reference for correct terminology and search terms, and as a starting point for further research.
Lesson Plan:
This lesson is web-based and the instructions can be found here.
Advanced Organizers:
Review the first of the two Advance Organizers on color associations and where they fit in the overall scheme of design fundamentals.
Follow the red arrows on this image map to see how color, and specifically, emotional color associations, relate to other concepts we have been learning.
Next, review the second Advance Organizer that details certain key words, meanings, and associations to moods and emotions for each color.
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