Colour theory

During the last session of Design Principles we had to group up with other peers in order to choose two colours for four different book genres that we had to pick from a list. The chosen genres were: Historical Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction and Fairy Tale.

We not only had to pick the ones we estimated the most appropiated and interesting colours for the genres, but also the less obvious and conformist. The colours on the left are the general ones, while the ones on the right are alternatives.

- Historical Fiction

      

These two dull colours were the ones we decided were able to represent the genre printed on uncoated paper, as they have an old look which could represent historical alternative stories. Books like The fort, Heir to a Prophecy or Fall of Giants influenced our decision and they seemed to us that shared similar colour palletes.

- Romance

          

We thought the most obvious colour for a romance book would be red, so we tried to stay away from it but without becoming confusing. Many romance books had blue on them, but we were not quite convinced by that idea. We also agreed that this genre is mostly followed by women, so books like The Captive or Now or never. It would be printed on coated paper to help to convey the passion and sophistication.

- Science Fiction

         

For this particular genre we wanted to use neon-pastel colours following old colour palettes used in comics, magazines and other kind of publications betwenn the 50's and the 70's but keeping it contemporary printed in a coated paper. An example of it can be The Sundered Worlds or The Cosmic Computer.

- Fairy tale

         

This time we decided to mix uncoated for the crimson and a coated for the golden one, as an addition of a magical component to something trivial but adorable at the same time. Some publications have followed this pattern, like The Usborne Fairy Tale treasury or The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales.

The group task allowed me to experience how we all share a common understanding of colours but we also can give new meanings to it. It is also a challenge to find new colours to represent something really obvious like romance, for instance, which normally is represented with red and glossy colours.