color commentary (continued)

We asked some of our favorite graphic designers to tell us about their favorite colors

Thomas Hillman Thomas Hillman Design, South Portland ME

What is your favorite color? PMS 3135. I've always thought it's a very handsome blue. Reminds me of warmer climes.

How important is choosing the right color for a project? Without question, color is a key component in a project's overall visual solution.

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color choices? No, I do not believe so.

Douglas Joseph Douglas Joseph Partners, Los Angeles CA

What is your favorite color? I'd have to go with green, specifically PMS 5787 Matte. It became my favorite after one of our client CEO's referred to it as "pond scum green." That just served to endear the color to me.

How important is choosing the right color for a project? I'd say it is critically important. Color has more to do with initial reactions and sustained emotions than the other elements we work with. Just think about what happens when you first enter a room.

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color choices? The short answer would have to be no. I can't imagine a geopolitical circumstance that would directly influence our work in color. But, wouldn't you love to see a presidential campaign in something other than red, white and blue?

Paul J. Cirigliano DM.2, Edgewater NJ

What is your favorite color? My preference is a rich palette of PMS 281, 4635 and 1525: sophisticated, while also portraying an undeniable boldness and strength.

How important is choosing the right color for a project? Extremely. All colors emit certain personalities and feelings. The planet's biggest corporate brands and consumer products use certain colors for very specific reasons, as the color often takes control to become the most powerful, recognizable feature of a brand. If a client indicates a desire for a bold and aggressive palette because the marketing demographic is 14-year old boys, I would never work in the pastel color family; choosing the appropriate color is key to the communication.

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color choices? With our particular clients, we design within overarching corporate standards that are independent of geopolitical trends. In fact, it is just the opposite; by remaining true and steadfast to the brand's standards, the end-user is allowed to feel a security in the visual familiarity of the brand's color equity.

Jeffrey L. Dever Dever Designs, Laurel MD

What is your favorite color? I really don't have a single favorite color. For me, color, like music, creates mood, tone and an emotional connection. Therefore, just as I experience a spectrum of emotions, no one color reflects a personal preference independent of a context. It's a bit like asking if I have a favorite word. I do have preferences, usually expressed in the interplay of varied color values; one such example might be PMS 5265 and 612.

How important is choosing the right color for a project? As design creatives we are communicators. More than merely ornamenting an idea conveyed in text, we are creating an environment, a context for our client's message to be heard. To that end we use a suite of tools; font selections, paper choices, even the form or structure we choose, all create a tone for the expression of ideas. In my opinion color is among our strongest tools for extra-verbal communication and expression.

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color decisions? Current events certainly do influence our clients' institutional psyches, and therefore their reaction in the marketplace. Post 9.11, all our clients were feeling patriotic and a sense of reverence, which was reflected for months in our work. Our clientele in greater metropolitan Washington DC is primarily institutional and color selection often reflects their values.

Rick Penn-Kraus Hill & Knowlton, Los Angeles CA

What is your favorite color? PMS 109. I love the warmth of the yellow-orange. It's not subtle, but it is eye catching without going lemony. Late at night, my favorite color is whichever one the client finally approves.

How important is choosing the right color for a project? It's relatively important, but not vital. There are many "right" colors for most projects, and you're lucky if the client agrees to any of them. It's more important that the colors work well with each other than it is to get any specific ones "right."

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color decisions? Only in the sense of being aware of colors relating to specific countries, and how they are used in projects that might be interpreted as slanted one way or another. Red, white and blue can bring up associations with the United States, regardless of any other points you're trying to point out, for example. On the other hand, pulling in those recognized colors can work to your advantage, as well, if those are the associations you're trying to make. Issues like these rarely come up with my clients.

Seth Tower GunnDesign, Newton MA

What is your favorite color? My father always called it "Mullarky Green" (approximately PMS 3435). It is the deep green that schooners and other working sailboats were painted when not black or white, sometimes called Copper Green or Malachite. I guess it reminds me of sailing when I was young; and what's not to like about a color called Mullarky?

How important is choosing the right color for a project? For the visual audience the right color makes it memorable, the wrong color makes it junk.

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color choices? I don't believe that color decisions are influenced by current events any more than hemlines are.

Stephanie Lewis SHUZ Magazine, Fort Worth TX

What is your favorite color? Apple Green, Pink

How important is choosing the right color for a project? Extremely. Color can add so much to an article or project. It helps illustrate feeling and mood, and certainly sets the tone for article.

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color choices? Yes, just like there have been shifts in font choices, color takes a cue from current events. In terms of fashion, and SHUZ being a fashion magazine for shoes, we are often directly influenced by runway colors and palettes. In articles that we do we will pull from clothing collections' color palettes in laying type.

Paul Killcrece New Creature, Rogers AK

What is your favorite color? Pantone 2767: a power color that is full of authority, a color with a traditional connection that carries a lot of credibility.

How important is choosing the right color for a project? Color is an absolutely vital component in conveying a message and creating the psychological response that is critical.

Do you believe current events - the economy, the war on terror, the election, etc. - influence your or your clients' color choices? I have not noticed that the shift toward patriotism has influenced my or my clients' color selections.