Color Design in Packaging and Decoration
Color is the most important visual element in packaging. Due to the abstract and sensory nature of color, by studying color principles, the symbolic meaning of colors, and the universal laws of color psychology, and based on the expressive needs of products, brands, consumer targets, or corporate philosophies, eye-catching and unique packaging can be created, giving it good visual identification function.
The success or failure of a packaging design work largely depends on the level of color application, so it is very important to understand the knowledge related to color design.
(1) Three Elements of Color
Colors are divided into “chromatic color systems” (such as red, yellow, blue, green, etc.) and “achromatic color systems” (such as black, white, gray).
Achromatic color systems are not included in the visible light spectrum and are sometimes referred to as neutral colors. The three elements of color refer to hue, brightness, and saturation (Color Plate 47).
Chromatic color systems have all three elements, while achromatic color systems only have the brightness element, but psychologically they have complete color properties.
In addition, there is another category of metallic luster colors, whose attributes are very unstable and greatly affected by the environment. Metallic luster colors are currently widely used in packaging design.
1. Hue
It is the appearance of color, usually expressed by the name of the color, such as red, yellow, blue, green, etc., and distinctions such as vermilion, bright red, earthy red, and dark red in red.
2. Brightness
It refers to the degree of lightness and darkness of a color. In the achromatic color system, white has the highest brightness and black has the lowest; in the chromatic color system, yellow has a higher brightness, blue and purple have lower brightness, and red and green are in the middle.
3. Saturation
Also known as purity or saturation, it refers to the saturation degree of each color pigment. For example, the purity of bright red is higher than that of pink and dark red.
Red (magenta), yellow, and blue (cyan or process blue) are called the three primary colors of color materials (Color Plate 48), and the three colors add up to a muddy color.
Various colors can be mixed from the three primary colors, so color packaging printing can be completed by three printing plates (magenta, yellow, cyan) or four printing plates (magenta, yellow, cyan, black) through three-color or four-color overprinting.
(2) Color Contrast and Harmony
1. Color Contrast
It refers to a phenomenon of color difference that occurs when two or more colors are juxtaposed due to differences in properties, etc. The degree of color difference determines the strength of the contrast, so difference is the key to contrast.
2. Color Harmony
It refers to the color matching relationship in which two or more colors are combined in an orderly and harmonious manner, and can make people feel pleasant and comfortable.
If color contrast is seeking the difference between colors, then color harmony is to achieve the connection between colors.
(3) Psychological Effects of Color
1. Warm and Cool Feeling of Color
People form various conditioned reflexes from life experience, such as associating red, orange, and yellow with fire, light, and warmth; associating green and blue with cool seawater and starry sky.
Therefore, in color theory, colors such as red, orange, and yellow are called warm colors, while colors such as green and blue are called cool colors.
The use of cool and warm colors in packaging and decoration should be selected according to the characteristics of the food.
2. Light and Heavy, Soft and Hard Feeling
This psychological feeling mainly comes from the vividness and contrast of colors.
Generally, bright colors feel loose and soft (so cakes and bread often use bright colors to show softness and freshness), while dark colors with low brightness feel heavier and harder.
3. Thick and Thin Feeling
Light red, light blue, light yellow, light purple, etc. with high transparency produce a thin feeling; while dark brown, burnt sienna, olive green, etc. give people a thick and heavy feeling.
4. Taste Feeling
Color plays an important role in expressing the hygienic and fresh feeling of food. Creamy white cream and ice cream, yellow cakes, orange fresh orange juice, etc., these colors give people a fragrant and delicious taste.
While some dim and aged colors will cause a feeling of food spoilage and stench. People often like habitual colors, and sometimes have different feelings when seeing packaging with different colors, such as sweetness of red, sourness of green, bitterness of coffee color, and orange-yellow can stimulate appetite, etc.
5. Distance Feeling
Large area, high brightness, clear, warm colors and graphic colors give people a close distance feeling, with a sense of advancement and expansion; on the contrary, small area, low brightness, blurry, cool colors and background colors have a long distance feeling and a sense of contraction and retreat.
6. Luxurious and Simple Feeling
Bright and vivid colors and gold and silver colors look luxurious and splendid, and are often used for gift packaging; while deep colors look simple and elegant.
The emotional effect of color varies from person to person. Due to differences in regional traditions, cultural beliefs, etc., the symbolic meaning of the same color is also different, varying between people, between urban and rural areas, and between domestic and foreign countries.
This is an issue that designers should consider when using colors, especially paying attention to the preferences and taboos of various countries and regions regarding colors. The charm of color largely depends on the degree of grasping people’s psychology.
(4) Application of Color
1. Color Matching Methods
(1) Monochromatic Color Matching
It refers to the matching of colors with the same hue but different brightness, such as the matching of green, dark green, and light green. Its feature is: it can express harmony or monotony in different situations (Color Plate 49).
(2) Similar Color Matching
It refers to the matching of colors containing the same hue, such as the matching of orange, red, and yellow (Color Plate 56, Color Plate 57). Its features are similar to monochromatic color matching.
(3) Contrasting Color Matching
It refers to the matching of colors that do not have a common hue with that color. The contrast effect is strongest with complementary color (opposite colors on the color wheel) matching (Color Plate 11, Color Plate 25), such as the matching of red and green, orange and cyan.
The matching of a color with a contrasting color other than its complementary color is called a secondary contrasting color matching.
When designing with colors, attention should be paid to the unity of contrast and harmony, such as in Color Plate 50, orange is used as the main tone, and there is also a contrast with blue-purple.
Generally, the packaging color has a unified tone, just like music needs to have a main melody, so that the overall feeling will be strong.
2. Basic Rules of Design Color Use
Be concise and simple, less is more. The quality of color effect does not depend on the amount of colors used, but on whether the selection and combination of colors is appropriate.
Because packaging requires a certain distance of “visual impact” in display, using too many colors will cancel each other out and fail to capture the audience’s attention.
Simple and clear colors are easier to deepen impressions and memories than complex and trivial colors, especially the corporate or brand standard colors that express a certain spiritual concept of the brand or product, such as the red color of Coca-Cola packaging and the blue color of Pepsi-Cola packaging, which give people a strong and deep impression with their simple and clear colors (Color Plate 51).
3. Pay Attention to the Use of Image Colors
Color is an important factor in shaping the image of goods. Colors that reflect the intrinsic essence of goods are called image colors, which are the result of long-term sensory accumulation and have become a traditional habitual visual psychology.
When people see image colors, they will quickly associate them with the basic appearance of the goods. Therefore, food packaging often uses bright and rich colors, such as using red, yellow, green and other tones to emphasize taste and highlight the aroma, freshness, and deliciousness of food (Color Plate 50).
Blue and white are used to highlight the freezing and cleanliness of food; tonic and health products often use exciting red to express health and nutrition.
Tobacco and alcohol packaging often uses elegant and rustic tones, and rich compound colors give people a sense of delicious and mellow taste, indicating their historical brand status. These traditionally used tones generally cannot be casually violated.
4. Pay Attention to the Research of Domestic and International Trending Colors
With the development of the times, the preferences of society and individuals are changing.
In the past, colors were light and elegant with multiple layers, but now they tend to use fewer colors, and are simple and bright, pursuing the beauty of simplicity and complexity.
Different tones and color combinations are popular in different periods, and it is important to keep up with the trend.
