Color Theory in The Book Thief

Death sees colors, before he sees people… …therefore, you need to know what the colors mean!

Why does the color matter? Research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.

Couple more examples…

Some other facts about color… Color Increases Memory Color Engages and Increases participation Ads in color are read up to 42% more often than the same ads in black and white. Color Attracts Attention Tests indicate that a black and white image may sustain interest for less than two-thirds a second, whereas a colored image may hold the attention for two seconds or more. People cannot process every object within view at one time. Therefore, color can be used as a tool to emphasize or de-emphasize areas. A Midwestern insurance company used color to highlight key information on their invoices. As a result, they began receiving customer payments an average of 14 days earlier.

Color and Brand Identity Color increases brand recognition by up to 80% Heinz Heinz EZ Squirt Blastin' Green ketchup: >10 million bottles were sold in its 1st 7months following Heinz factories working 24 /7 to keep up with demand. $23 million in sales attributable to Heinz green ketchup [the highest sales increase in the brand's history]. All because of a simple color change.

Apple Computer First to market computers with color (iMacs). first to say, "It doesn't have to be beige". Reinvigorated: suffered $1.8 billion of losses in 2 years.

Details on the main colors…

RED we pay the most attention to. warmest and most energetic color in the spectrum. associate it with love, danger, desire, speed, strength, violence, anger, emergency, blood, etc. can evoke a fight/flight, raise blood pressure, make the heart beat faster. RED

Green most often cited favorite colors. represents nature, environment, health, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, fertility, jealousy, envy and misfortune. often worn in operating rooms by surgeons.

White Black when all colors come together—balance. represents purity, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, innocence, youth, birth, winter, good, marriage. “A white lie” The absence of light, and therefore, of color. represents power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, sadness, anger, mourning and death. “Black Market” “Black Friday”

Blue Purple considered safest global color. a business color because it reflects reliability. represents peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, cold, technology, and depression. can slow the pulse rate, lower body temperature, reduce appetite. represents royalty, spirituality, nobility, ceremony, mystery, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, and mourning. considered an exotic color. trendy color; targets creative types.

Yellow Orange joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, philosophy, dishonesty, betrayal, deceit, illness, hazard, spirituality, and inspiration. A yellow rose: a symbol of friendship, less passionate/threatening than red combination of red and yellow expresses energy, has attention- getting purposes. balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrancy, flamboyancy

Turquoise/Teal Pink essentially a light red usually associated with love and romance. thought to have a calming effect. sometimes used in prisons to calm inmates. Sports teams sometimes paint the opposing teams locker room pink to keep the players passive and less energetic. calming effect only occurs during the initial exposure to the color. When used in prisons, inmates often become even more agitated once they become accustomed to the color. A blend of blue and green same calming effects of those colors. Represents: love, healing, generosity, emotion, feeling, the unconscious , intuition, individual responsibility, creativity , communication, water, independence. closely associated with the Middle East & American Southwest.  feeling, creative expression than with rational thought.   In-between  green and  blue relate to transformation,  evolution, change, sharing, waves, metamorphosis,  inner teacher

So….what does that mean in The Book Thief?

Your final project for The Book Thief You will choose a quote from The Book Thief that interests you. Quotes are limited to those that include figurative language Next, choose 1 or 2 colors that represent the emotions of that quote. You may use other colors (for contrast, emphasis, etc), but these 1-2 colors of choice must be OBVIOUSLY the focal point. On a HALF sheet of poster board (or that size) you will create a collage of that event. It can be 2D or 3D. You can include symbols that represent the quote, photos, etc. You must incorporate the quote in some way. You MUST be creative. Neatness and quality will count. DUE Tuesday, Sept. 11th. NO late posters accepted.