Colour me Impressed

[Patrick D'Arcy]

Patrick walked into his classroom, and for once he was by himself. Since his rat, Snoop, had injured herself, repeatedly, he had taken the hint that she was lonely and had purchased a friend for her, so the two rats were running around his apartment. A lot of people thought that it was gross that he let the rodent have full run of his place, but Snoop, and now Gem as well, were house trained and they always returned to their house when they needed a rest.

Walking across to his desk, he put his briefcase down on the top, took his box of white board markers out of the top draw and then walked over to the whiteboard. In the top left corner he used the black pen and wrote Welcome. Then, using every other coloured pen he owned, he wrote across the board Colour and Sound. He then walked back to his desk and opened the case. Out of it he pulled out the stack of papers he had for that day's lesson. He then walked to the large cupboard and wheeled the television out and moved it so that it was behind the whiteboard, ready for when he needed it. He then walked around the room and dropped a pile of papers on each desk and then walked back to his desk where he picked up a large version of each of the papers that he had put on the students' desks, and put them at the bottom of the whiteboard. He then sat down behind the desk and waited for the students to arrive.

Once the students had arrived, he took centre spot in the front of the room and smiled over his students. "Welcome to Psychology. I am your teacher, Mr D'Arcy. We are going to start the year off by studying the psychology of colour and sound." He knew that one of his students was deaf, but he had a was to work around the fact that the boy couldn't hear, as sound could also be heard through vibrations. "On your desk you will find sheets of different coloured paper as well as some advertisements. Then we're going to watch some movie clips - with the sound muted. As I hold up each of the sheets of paper, I want you to call out what that colour makes you feel, and I'd like you to write the feelings down on your sheet of that colour. And remember that this is psychology, you won't be judged on what you say, nor will it be held and used against you at a later date if you choose just to write down the emotions that the colours bring." Taking a step back he held up the papers one at a time; green, purple, yellow, grey, gold, orange, black, silver, blue, brown, red and white, quickly writing on them everything that was called out.

[Serenity Oliver]

Dressed in a stylish grey tunic dress with black ankle length leggings under it and silver kitten sandals, which had enough of a heel to give her a little extra height, and make her long legs look even longer, as she grabbed her school bag and headed out of her dorm room.

She made her way over to the academic building and then through to where the psychology class was supposed to be. She had hung around the House for a bit, hoping to walk with her brother, but he hadn't shown up soon enough so she had walked solo. Walking into the room, she cast her eyes over the room and found a seat in the centre front of the room, not in the front row, but not far enough back that she was draw too much attention to herself. She pawed through the papers on the desk before she brought her psychology folder of her bag and placed it on the side of the desk, leaving the papers uncovered.

It wasn't long before the class filled up, and she shot her brother a look, demanded to know where he had been, when he did slip in. She narrowed her eyes when he pointedly took a seat a good distance away from her, but she didn't say anything, she'd take it out with him later. She then turned her attention to Mr D'arcy as he began the lesson. She went through the papers again as he spoke and nodded her head as she took it all in, she was going to enjoy this class. She sat up as he walked to the front of the room. "Healing, knowledge, intelligence, cold, sun, justice, renewal, intuition, calm, earth, love, purity." She knew that most of her answers came from her study of candle magick, but those were the feelings that those colours brought to mind. 

[Othello Buskirk]

Othello pulled the cap down firmly on his head as he left Blue House and made his way toward the academic building and then followed the directions given by other students to his classroom. Walking into the room, he looked around and took a seat at one of the desks by the wall. He took the folder he needed out of his bag and then took the cap off and dropped it into his bag. He settled back in the seat as he waited for class to start.

When the teacher started the lesson, Leo raised his eyebrows at what they were doing. For the first time, he wondered if he had made a bad decision picking this class. He looked through the papers in front of him and picked up his pen, ready to start writing when he needed to. "Earth, royalty, flowers, rain, money, sun, death, rain, ocean, dirt, love, snow." He wrote down everything that he said on each respective sheet of paper. In some ways he could begin to understand how each colour represented a different emotion in people, as he had heard what the others got from each colour.

[Thomas Oliver]

Tommy knew that he was probably cutting it fine, and had no doubt that Reni would have already left for their psychology  class, but he was worried about Onyx as the kitten had landed oddly when he jumped, or fell, off the bed an hour earlier and was now walking funny.

Finally knowing he had no choice but to leave the kitten, and the fact that the animal wasn't bleeding or dying, he left the animal wrapped up in a blanket in the middle of the bed, exited the room and raced toward the academic building. Pushing his way past the rest of the student body, he all but fell into the classroom he was headed for. He avoided his sister's look as he slunk past and slid into a table a good distance away from her. He busied himself with getting his folder out, but he could feel her eyes on his back, knowing that he would be in trouble after class.

He sat up as the teacher began the class and he quickly shuffled through the papers on his desk as the man spoke about them and nodded his head. "Mother Earth, power, memory, gray, masculinity, success, shapeshifting, dreams, wisdom, friendship, fire, peace" He wrote down a lot more than he called out. Like his sister, what he had said had come from studying candle correspondences, but he was sure that that information wouldn't be held against him.

[Deleted]

Luka speed walked to the class, Bruno jogging faithfully at his heels. He was probably cutting it fine, but Luka had been busy down at the barn, spending some time fussing over Aleena. The mare had settled in really well over the past few days, and Luka was having way too much to disappear into the academic building. He had psychology though, and he couldn't afford to skip the class. He was also settling into the college, and he was slightly homesick.

Slipping into the class, he gave the teacher an apologetic smile, and sat down in the front of the class, giving a quiet order to Bruno to lay down. He 'listened' in his own way, and being unable to hear what the other students responded to the question, he was slightly apprehensive in calling out his answers, but he did as the colours flashed. Peace, frustration, brightness, unlovable, royalty, passion, hatred, darkness, wealth, melancholy, earth, love, death.

Only once he had said the answers did he write them down, elaborating slightly on the why he had chosen those specific words to the colour. He was uncertain, hoping that his answers weren't incorrect.

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy checked Wolf's vest for the third time before she left the bathroom where she had barricaded herself between classes. The school had been just as loud and busy during passing period as her old school, so she had decided to wait for most of the students to find their classes before she went back to find Psychology. As the din from outside seemed to quiet slightly, she looked at the shepherd and shrugged, "Onward?" As Wolf wagged his tail, probably just at the sound of her voice, Amy put on her backpack and ventured outside, staying towards the wall as she made her way towards the elective wing.

It didn't take too long to find the psychology class, and she entered, wanting to melt into the ground as she saw that she was by far not the only student. Trying to be invisible, she glanced around before spotting Serenity and going to sit beside her friend. As she signalled Wolf into a down, she bent to grab her own folder, and saw a mass of fur diagonally in front of her. Glancing at Wolf, who had either not noticed the other dog or was ignoring him, she decided to worry about it after class, and picked up her notebook, laying it on her desk.

As Mr. D'Arcy started the lesson, she listened, interested, although she froze as she heard that they were to call out what they thought of the colours. As the teacher held up each colour, she chose just to write the emotions down, petrified of speaking up. Her cramped, but legible writing soon graced the corner of each colour's paper, Forest, mystery, sunlight, Wolf, riches, halloween, night, moon, water, earth, blood, hospital. As she wrote, she listened to what the others were saying, nodding as she picked out a response or two out of every colour's response.

[Becca Walsh]

Becca sorted through her empty notebooks and folders, picking out the materials she would need for her first psychology class of the year. The class last year had been small, and she was expecting that this year it would be the same. She'd liked the class though, so she'd stuck with it because it was nice having an academic class to look forward to. Once having gathered her supplies, she walked briskly to her class, knowing that she wouldn't be among the first students to arrive, but she wouldn't be late.

Once she arrived, Becca found a seat at an empty desk and placed her supplies on it, straightening them neatly in the corner. Removing a pen from her pencil case and taking out her notebook, she opened to a blank page and waited for the class to begin, observing her surroundings after titling the paper Color and Sound. There were a lot more students in it this year, which was interesting, but even more interesting was the fact that there were two dogs in the class, which was an interesting change from the normal. 

The class began before she could put too much thought into it, and she followed along, jotting down notes silently until it came time to call out the feelings she associated with the colors. "Safety, power, joy, confusion, prestige, strength, sadness, security, knowledge, responsibility, anger, and innocence." She struggled to keep up with writing down her notes with the colors and calling out at the same time, but managed all the same.

[Patrick D'Arcy]

Patrick was very impressed with what the students called out, the ones who did anyway, and quickly wrote down as much as he could so that the students could copy down the ideas of others if they wanted to.

He turned back to face the class. "Amongst the paper on your tables you will also find a selection of other papers; a number of advertisements that have used certain colours for the advertising - with these I want you to work out what the people are aiming for. You will also find a colour emotion guide and a colour of psychology sheet, both of these will help you with the advertisements. There is also a collection of colour tabs, for black, white, red, blue, green, yellow and purple."

He fell silent as he let the students flip through the paper on their tables before he started talking again. "Colours affect our moods. Depending on where in the world we live, we bring with us perceptions of colour based on our culture. Even within a single country alone, the "meaning" of colours have changed over time. Today, though, psychiatrists are able to pinpoint a few universal truths about colour and its effect on our "psyche" (conventional psychology completely dismisses the idea that colour can affect our moods).

Why is this so vitally important? Simple - if you're creating something that should bring ideas of nature, and all things natural you're going to stay away from purple. Because purple appears so little in the natural world, it is often seen as "artificial". However, if your site is about furnishings and opulent decoration, purple accents would be perfect - imparting ideas of royalty, luxury, wealth, and sophistication.

"In advertising; Red stimulates us into action, represents aggressiveness, excitement, and paired up with grey, it represents impulsiveness. Blue represents sensitivity in feeling, and loyalty. In an online business, shades of red, blue, and brown have been found to be the "safest". While white is always seen as "professional" when viewed on a business site, it is colour that makes the first impression.

"Johann Wolfgang Goethe was one of the first people to connect colour and psychology, with his book Theory of Colours. In 1947, Max Luscher took Goethe's theories one step further and actually created a colour test for the use of psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, and others involved with the "conscious and unconscious characteristics and motivations of others". Despite the ease with which Luscher's test can be administered, it is a very "deep" psychological test that can reveal a multitude of things about one's personality."

He looked up at the clock and arched his eyebrows when he saw the time. "Now, your homework. I would like each of you to create a collage; which reflects either your current mood, or to advertise an imaginary product." Five minutes later, the bell sounded. "I will see you all next time."

[Serenity Oliver]

Reni smiled as Amy sat down at the desk next to hers, she had seen the other girl enter the room, but hadn't waved out to her in fear of embarrassing the other girl, so she didn't know whether Amy had seen her or not.

She looked through the papers as Mr D'Arcy spoke about them, pulling out the advertisement ones and looking through each of them as the man spoke. The first one was for an insurance company; the background was light blue, almost grey, and the writing was white outlined in yellow. The next one was for pet food; much brighter than the first with a background of bold red, green and blue and large black lettering. The third was for a healthy food recipe book, the background a pastel green, the writing was black, with purple and yellow lines behind the text. The last one was for children's toys; the entire page was brightly coloured with a blue background and a rainbow behind the lettering, which was in a large, but friendly white font.

Opening her folder she headed the page with the day's date, and how she was feeling. She then began to write down about how each of the advertisements made her feel:

1. Insurance: The advertisement gives off the feeling of calm and security, that they are indeed a company that can be trusted (I have my doubts though, it is an insurance company after all).

2. Pet Food: The page makes me feel excited, even though I don't own a dog, it gives the idea that I should go and buy some just in case I might need it. There is also a feeling of reassurance in the colours that this would be a dog food that would be healthy.

3. Cook Book: This page is too OTT (over the top). It is so healthy and calm that it reminds me of a used car salesman.

4. Toys: Like the dog food, this page is bursting with excitement, it makes we want to go visit a toy shop just to look at toys - the kid in a candy shop feeling.

Placing the pen down on her desk, she read through what she had written and then shuffled through the papers that the teacher had given them and pulled out the colour emotion guide and read through it, seeing if there was anything she could add to what she had already written, but didn't see any thing that she didn't already have.

She pulled out her homework journal when Mr D'Arcy spoke about homework and flipping to that day's date, she wrote down what he was saying, arching and eyebrow at the assignment. It seemed like something she would have done in junior-high, but she wasn't going to say anything as it seemed easy enough.

When the bell sounded, she placed everything into her bag, tucking the extra pages into the notebook, and hefted the bag onto her shoulder as she stood up. "At least that's over." She said to Amy.

[Othello Buskirk]

Leo looked through the papers, sorting out what the teacher was talking about and then turned his attention to four advertisements he had to work with. The boy frowned as he looked at the pages, one for fast food, another for self-help books, computer gaming and then the last was for a real estate company. He pulled out the colour emotion chart as well, hoping that it would help him define what the pages were trying to tell him.

Fast food: Red and orange colouring to stand out and make people feel excited and confident with what they are getting.

Books: Purple, grey and blue, to give a feeling of calm and thought.

Gaming: Red orange and black; same as fast food, make people feel excited

Real Estate: Grey, green and blue; colours to make people feel confident in what they are getting.

He put his pen down and shrugged his shoulders. He guessed that if his answers were wrong, then he'd just have to tweak them a little later. On the next page in his folder he scribbled down that night's homework, hoping that he had enough things in his room to be able to put together a collage. He had already decided that he would create a product as his emotions weren't something he liked to think about in depth, as he could be a touch bi-polar at times and his emotions were known for swinging high and low when he was by himself.

[Thomas Oliver]

Tommy muttered to himself under his breath as he flipped through the papers in his desk, taking out the four pages of advertisements, and putting the colour charts to the top of the desk. He did enough colour work with during the lessons that him and Serenity took with their parents, and he couldn't believe that it was the first thing they were doing in psychology... He wondered what the teacher would think if he knew where the twins answers of what emotions the colours brought out in them really came from. He chuckled quietly as he thought about it, but knew that it would be a stupid thing to do, especially with this teacher.

He turned his attention to the advertisements: Ice cream, paint, real estate and computers. He tapped his pen against his lips as he looked at the papers, the ice cream one making him suddenly want ice cream, and then he put pen to paper:

Ice Cream: This advertisement probably didn't need a background colour as the large bowl of ice cream with a spoon being lifted from it would be enough to sell itself, but with the addition of the light blue, almost sky-like background gives the feeling of a calm summer afternoon, making the thought of having a sweet, cool, treat all the more appealing.

Paint: This is good. Plain white background with the purple paint being "poured" onto the page and the falling liquid forming a shape of the Eiffel Tower, as the paint is called Parisian Purple. And then the paint colour in the same colour font and down the bottom right corner of the page a paint tin with paint swatches fanned out from the side of the tin.

Real Estate: Even though this picture is of a neighbourhood, the main focus of the picture is the blue sky, and writing is on a light blue as well do denote a sense of calm and trust to the potential buyer.

Computers: This page does nothing for me. There is a computer, the brand name and a plain white background. I find it rather boring and I'm not al all interesting in going out and buying this brand of computer.

He had no idea how much or how little he was supposed to write about each thing, but he honestly didn't care either - to a point - and be was happy with what he had written - and surprisingly, still keen for some ice cream.

He pulled his homework journal out of his bag as soon as Mr D'Arcy mentioned the word, and using the marker in the book managed to get to the page he needed instantly. He jotted down the assigned work under Psychology, already trying to work out what he was going to do his collage on.

He stuffed his books and pens into his bag as the bell sounded and was on his feet quickly. He looked around the room for his sister, but seeing that she was waiting with someone else, he just left the room, heading to his next class.

[Deleted]

Luka pulled out his own advertisements when they were told, looking over them silently. Before he started writing down his feelings towards each one, he placed the colour emotion guide and the colour of psychology sheet in reaching distance. He looked through the first advertisement, and bit his lip as he thought before he started writing.

Child Food: The child in the picture seems very happy to be eating his food. There is a variety of bright colours being used, as well as a lot of light blue, creating the sense of happiness and calm. Although it does not make me want to go out and buy this, it does give me the impression that this is a healthy option for children.

Dog Food: The dog in the picture is obviously an older dog, indicated by the greying around the muzzle, and the advert referring to the dog as senior. This gives the impression that this is the best type of food for older dogs, as the dog is running after a ball, and doesn't seem to have joint problems. Coupled with the nature scene, it is an incentive for someone to buy it as it promotes calm and reassurance.

SMEG Fridges: The background to this advert is a dark purple, giving the viewer the sense that these fridges are high class and worth buying. There is minimal wording, which draws the attention to the fridges. The slogan is "Technology with style", which solidifies the idea that whoever buys this brand of fridge has style and class.

Interior Design: In this picture, one can see the ideal family. A husband and his wife and their two children. They are in a kitchen, where a lot of white is being used, and one can see that they are happy. White gives the sense of cleanliness and purity, and that by decorating your kitchen or house in this way, your family will suddenly become perfect.

Luka put down his pen when he was finished, staring at the final advert. He didn't have that, a mother or a father. He wished he did, but he didn't. Silently he put the papers away, filing them and then looked up when Bruno pawed at his leg. He jotted down their homework and then packed away as the bell rang, picking up Bruno's leash, and leaving the classroom.

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy picked out a few of the advertisements from the pile in front of her as Mr. D'Arcy mentioned them, listening as the teacher gave them their instructions, then set to work on her own sheaf of papers, writing down what she thought about each on a new piece of paper in her notebook.

Paint - This ad uses a trisected red, yellow, and white base, on each of which a rose of the same colour has been placed. Under each rose is the colour's 'meaning', love, friendship, and peace. In the bottom of the corner, it reads 'because colours speak', which is the purpose of this unit.

MP3 - This ad is black with green being the prevailing colour. The advertiser seems to be trying to create a picture of peace and new 'growth' with their newest product.

Car - This ad doesn't have a prevailing colour as much as a scene. It is a care in sharp focus with a blurred background of trees, obviously representing smooth speed. The car in the ad is blue, probably trying to create some trust in the new model.

Coke - This mostly black and white ad shows a bottle of coke with a number of guns sprouting out of it. The only colour in the ad is the flowers coming out of each gun's barrel, probably representing that Coke brings you peace and colour in your life.

She was about to put away her pencil, thinking that the class was over, when she heard Mr. D'Arcy starting to talk about their assignment. She jotted down the ideas of the work, then put away her notebook and pencil. As she bent to pick up her backpack, she also retrieved Wolf's lead, then nodded at Serenity, "One down, a few more to go."