Color plays a crucial role in our daily lives, often impacting us on both a psychological and physiological level. It influences our emotions, perceptions, and even our behaviors. For example, certain colors can make us feel hungry, calm, or energetic. It is also used to convey messages and information, as we can see with the use of red to signify "stop". Colors affect the way brands communicate, and the decisions people make on a daily basis when choosing products or styles. Because light and dark are the basis of color, our environments depend on color to create certain effects.

How does color affect our daily lives?

The color wheel is comprised of twelve segments, including primary, secondary, and tertiary hues. The three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) form an equilateral triangle. The secondary hues (orange, green, and violet) are created by combining two primary colors, and are placed between them on the wheel. Tertiary colors are created by combining a primary with a neighboring secondary color. In addition, you have tints and shades, which are the incremental addition of white and black to hues, respectively, creating lighter and darker versions of those hues.

What are the basic components of the color wheel and how do they relate?

Effective use of color in design involves understanding the impact of hues, tones, and combinations. First, it is necessary to define the specific goals you want to achieve with color. Then select a main color that reflects the needs of the project. Next, choose a color scheme based on the central hue. Finally, refine the color choices in terms of the specific application and the target audience. Utilizing various color schemes, such as complementary, analogous, or monochromatic, can lead to a design that is both visually appealing and emotionally resonant.

How can color be used effectively in design?

Different color families evoke distinct psychological and physiological responses. Hot colors, like red, orange, and yellow, are stimulating and can increase blood pressure and make people feel more energetic. Cool colors, such as blue, green, and violet, have a calming effect, can lower the metabolism, and may be used to create a sense of peace. Each color within these families has its own specific associations and effects. For example, red symbolizes power, yellow denotes optimism, blue signifies peace, and green represents growth.

What are the psychological and physiological effects of different color families?

Achromatic colors like white, black, and gray, along with earth tones like brown, play significant roles in design. White signifies purity, and when combined with other hues can take on a new feel. Black is the most authoritative and can be used to create drama, and give the appearance of weight and depth. Gray represents neutrality and can be combined with other colors to create formal, dignified effects, or used in a way that exudes maturity. Brown is a grounding color which is also associated with nature.

How do colors like white, black, gray, and brown impact design?

Color in business and marketing is used to attract attention and communicate a brand’s values and identity. Brands may choose specific hues to elicit particular feelings or associations with their products. For example, red is often used in marketing to promote excitement and impulse purchases, while blue may be chosen to evoke trust and reliability. Moreover, color is also utilized to set a product apart from the competition. The strategic use of color in packaging, advertisements, and product design can subconsciously influence consumer behavior and drive sales.

How does the use of color in business and marketing impact consumers?

Color schemes are intentional groupings of colors that work together harmoniously to create specific visual and emotional effects. There are ten basic color schemes: achromatic (using only black, white and gray), analogous (using three consecutive colors on the color wheel), clash (combining a color with a hue to the left or right of it’s complement), complementary (using colors opposite each other on the color wheel), monochromatic (using one hue in combination with its tints and shades), neutral (using a hue diminished with the addition of its complement or black)

What are color schemes and how can they be used to create desired effects?

Understanding color psychology benefits individuals in various settings by enabling them to make more informed and strategic choices about color use. It can enhance artistic creations, make brands more appealing to target markets, or affect productivity in the workplace, and can even impact our personal environments. The understanding of color can be a tool for better self expression and creating a more fulfilling and intentional life. For example, choosing colors that promote calm in a home office or energizing colors in a gym can directly impact one’s well-being and efficiency.

How does understanding color psychology benefit individuals in various settings?

Takeaways about colour theory- from multiple sources

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

creativity

Creativity

product

Product & Design

Colour Theory

"Norman doors" are doors that are poorly designed and confusing to use. Often these doors have handles that suggest the opposite action that is required to open them (e.g. a push bar that appears to be a pull handle). These doors are an example of when design fails to align with the user's expectations of a product's affordances, leading to frustration and confusion. The term is a reference to the author, Donald Norman.

What are "Norman doors" and why are they a problem?

A "mental model" is the conceptual understanding a person has of how something works. These models are based on past experiences and expectations and are key to how people interact with products and services. A designer should strive to create products that match the mental model of the intended user. When a product violates a person's mental model, it leads to confusion and usability issues.

What is a "mental model" and why is it important in design?

The "seven stages of action" represent the cycle of human action: forming a goal, creating a plan, specifying the steps needed for the plan, and performing those steps (execution); then perceiving the results, interpreting their meaning, and comparing the outcome against the original goal (evaluation). Design should consider all seven stages, making it easy for users to form goals, execute actions, and understand the results. A good design bridges the "gulfs" between execution and evaluation, ensuring the user can easily operate the product and get a clear result.

What are the "seven stages of action" and how do they relate to design?

"Goal-driven" behavior starts with a conscious intention or objective that triggers a series of actions to achieve it. In contrast, "event-driven" behavior begins with an environmental stimulus, or external event that is noticed and causes a person to act to fulfill or re-establish a goal. For example, the lack of light would be a stimulus that triggers the event-driven behavior of finding a way to get more light. Understanding these types of actions can help guide design choices.

What's the difference between "goal-driven" and "event-driven" behavior?

There are three levels of processing that shape our interactions with products and the world: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. The visceral level involves our immediate, subconscious reactions to sensory input (e.g., like/dislike). The behavioral level involves our learned, subconscious actions (e.g. skills, habits). Finally, the reflective level deals with conscious thought, deep understanding, and higher level emotions. Designers must consider all three to create products that are not only functional but also appealing and enjoyable to use.

What are the three levels of processing involved in how we experience things?

"Knowledge in the head" refers to what we actively remember - the information we carry in our minds. "Knowledge in the world" refers to information we get from the environment, such as labels, signs, and objects that guide us. Designers must consider the balance between the two. Products should not rely entirely on user memory but should also offer visual and physical cues to aid usage and prevent error.

What are the differences between "knowledge in the head" and "knowledge in the world"?

"Slips" are errors in execution, where the user intends to do one thing but accidentally does another (e.g., putting the coffee cup in the refrigerator instead of pouring the milk in the cup). "Mistakes" are errors in planning where the wrong goal or plan is selected (e.g., using the wrong rule or misdiagnosing a situation). To minimize these errors, designers must focus on clear communication, easy-to-understand interfaces, and designs that prevent accidental actions. For slips, forcing functions and constraints are useful while reducing mistakes requires clear system understanding.

What are the key differences between "slips" and "mistakes," and how can these types of errors be minimized in design?

The "double diamond" design model breaks down the design process into four phases: discover, define, develop, and deliver. The first two phases, discover and define, emphasize understanding the problem and its context, involving research and user analysis to generate a clear understanding of the problem. The second two phases, develop and deliver, emphasize generating ideas and then creating the actual product. This model encourages designers to explore multiple possibilities at each step before converging on the best solution.

How can the "double diamond" model help in the design process?

Key takeaways from the book about Design and Human-Computer Interaction

Design doesn't have to complicated, which is why this guide to human-centered design shows that usability is just as important as aesthetics.   Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door.   The fault, argues this ingenious -- even liberating -- book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization.   The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.   The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how -- and why -- some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.

career

Career

books

Books

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Don Norman is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Don Norman has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Don Norman's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Don Norman

The Design of Everyday Things

Did you know that humans have 11 million sensory receptors, out of which 10 million are visual receptors. Visuals cues in our environment are the strongest reinforcements we can stage of facilitate certain behaviours!

Visual Cues Are Strongest Behaviour Catalysts

You can very easily, design your environment for success. Rearrange your desk, add elements that enhance your mood, pay attention to all your five senses for a focused work session! By creating a great environment, it gets difficult to stay away from the desk!

Be The Architect Of Your Environment

If I were to ask you to recall exactly what was on your bedside table, or kitchen counter right now, without seeing it, would you be able to list everything? Mostly no, as we rarely CONCIOUSLY interact with our environment.

Importan Of Environment Design

Addictions have been proven to sporadically dissolve or ignite if there is a radical change in the environment A smoker who's quit smoking will feel the urge to do so at the spot they used to smoke at, because they have associated that space with smokingn

Spaces Have The Ability To Make Or Break Habits

productivity

Productivity

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

habits

Habits

Habit formation II

You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.

Systems >Goals

We often set out unrealistic expectations from ourselves, of things like I'll not doom scroll- but instead of taking the extreme route of going cold Turkey, we can alter the type of content we consume while doom scrolling, and later focus on reducing time on consuming unnecessary resources slowly

Fix Your Inputs, And The Outputs Will Fix Themselves

Instead of spending hours on planning, we can get up and take action to execute it! Planning doesn't ensure doing the task, actually getting up to do it does!

Process Is The Actual Progress

The goal is not to read X amount of books, it is to become a reader. Knowing why you want to develop a particular habit will make it easier to do it

Have A Strong

We are required to unlearn all our old, unconscious set patterns and habits that cause hindrances to form newer, better ones.Analyse what you do throughout the day to really know what you're spending time on. Time every activity for a day, as if you were observing a third person

Progress Requires Unlearning

You're a runner, if you have a stack of undeniable proof of going for a run on a regular basis. Similarly, becoming the version of yourself you aim to be, happens when you work on building that stack of proof to support your habit

Habits Are A Part Of Your Identity

And prove it to yourself with small wins. Don't feel like working out? Spend 30mins on a walk. But never skip it!

Decide The Kind Of Person You Want To Be

Try to harbour an environment that rewards the behaviour you wish to develop

Behaviours Following Satisfying Consequences Are Learned

Every step we take, every habit we develop, every decision has a compounded effect in the long run. For instance, without good health, you will be short on energy. Without energy, you'll feel lethargic which will intrun affect productivity. As the inevitable cycle goes on, feelings of self doubt surface.

Everything Has A Domino Effect

In reality, what we crave if not the habit itself, but the change in state which it delivers A smoker doesn't actually crave a cigarette, but the feeling of stress relief which he/she has associated with the act of smoking.

Conquer Your Cravings

Our response towards anything depends on how motivated we are- which inturn depends on how much friction is a associated with it. Our brain will always reost to the passage that requires minimum effort, hence least amount of friction

Measure The Amount Of Friction Associated With Behavio

Make it impossible to say a NO to. If you have a glass of water ready as you wake up, you're more likely to drink it in the morning. If you've kept your workspace tidy, you're more likely to follow your schedule and maximise productivity

Foster Environments To Facilitate Habits

Make it OBVIOUSMAke it ATTRACTIVE Make it EASYMake it SATISFYING

Making A Good Habit Is Easy

Make it INVISIBLE MAke it UNATTRACTIVE Make it DIFFICULT Make it UNSATISFYING

Breaking A Bad Habit Is Perhaps Easier

Until you make the unconscious, concious decision, it will direct your life and you will call it Fate

One Of My Favourite Quote By Carl Jung

A crucial step to change your behaviour is maintaining awareness of what we are actually doing. We can't eliminate bad habits we don't know about!

Become Aware

Work on how you INTEND to IMPLEMENT

Implementation Intention

When we make a specific plan for when and where we will perform a new habit we are more likely to follow through

Make Wishes Into Concrete Plan Of Action

Start by writing something like this on your desk I will do X at this particular time and location

Making It Obvious

Behaviour is a function of the person in their respective environmentPeople often choose products on the basis of where they are. We are more likey to drink water if we keep a bottle in front of us at all times. Or even place bottles at different places throughout our environment

Favourite Quotes By Kurt Lewin

We read a lot of books, but often forget what we've read. I recently picked up Atomic Habits by James Clear to re-read it after almost a year, and it blew my mind how much difference it has made in my daily routine!

Colour Theory

The Design of Everyday Things

Habit formation II

Paraphrasing my key takeaways from Atomic Habits

Samriddhi Agarwal