The Story of Colour: An Exploration of the Hidden Messages of the Spectrum

by Gavin Evans

Why is green the colour of envy? Why is black 'evil'? Why is white pure? Why do we 'feel blue' or 'see red'? Why do colours have different meanings for different cultures? When we look at or talk about a colour in a particular setting, we are as likely to see its cultural or symbolic meaning as the shade itself. Why?

Sometimes our grasp of a colour relates to the random way we define it. Light blue is called 'blue' but, over the last century or two, light red has become pink, whereas in Russia light blue and dark blue are separate colours. Does language play a part in our perception of colours?

In most cases, the origins of why we view a colour in a certain way goes back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Blue was not always a boy's colour; pink was not always a girl's. Indeed, less than one hundred years ago, in the West, it was the other way round.

This book offers a lively, anecdotal treatment of the cultural mysteries of colour, and focuses on the way we respond to colours, the significance we give them - and how these things change over time and from place to place. It tells the story of how we have come to view the world through lenses passed down to us by art, science, politics, fashion, sport and, not least, prejudice.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2017

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for something more academic and less anecdotal. (To be fair I picked this up at the library by chance, rather than carefully choosing it.) The author may have done some research but actual references were rare so it's unlikely you can verify anything if you were inclined. Additionally I learned little that I didn't already know which is always disappointing in a book. I know it's quite a broad topic however. The worst crime was the prose wasn't even enjoyable to read. It felt rushed as if the author tried to cram as many bits of info in jumping from one idea to the next without really time to explore how or why that could be interesting. Lastly, but not entirely unrelated, there wasn't a flow or narrative to the book overall. While organized by colour and subheadings, these could each be read independently - perhaps ideal for a coffee table book - but not my perferred style of reading. Neither the introduction nor the afterword added anything, reminding me of a school child forced to include a bland intro and conclusion paragraph to his/her essay.

You may however enjoy this if you're looking for some random facts and anecdotes about colour and know little about it already. Can be read easily and quickly, and randomly.

[Sougeitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

簡明易懂的入門級小書，基本可以說是其他大部頭作品的簡略版。

[Eddie Jardine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis: This is a colour by colour topic scrapbook more than anything else. Small stories about the historical and society meanings that certain colours have
What was good about it:
I enjoyed the light and breezy way the topics jumped around, coffee table book style. Great pictures and some inspiration for further study.
What didn’t I enjoy about it:
My criticism about this book is it doesn’t really do what it says. It's not in depth at all and all the of examples are anecdotal rather than having any real scientific evidence against them. There isn’t really a thread of a story at all. It’s just a collection of facts and there isn’t much of a conclusion about the role of colour in our perceptions of the world. It felt like the author was rushing through the book and filling up pages like he had set a template in an iPhoto book and needed to fill it up with whatever facts he could find, many of these bordering on mundane.

[Helen McKell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable, but the author acknowledges that he did a lot of internet research and the book has this feel. A light touch and lots of trivia, but not as detailed a read as I was expecting.