COLOR
RESEARCH
YELLOW
Trần Bình Phương Thùy - SE190173
SCC201 - Science of Color
Lecturer: Nguyễn Quốc Khang
Index:
1. The color Yellow
2. Origin and History
3. The Meaning of Yellow
4. Yellow around us
5. Yellow in Culture
6. Yellow in Character Design
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Colorpalettes.net
The Color Yellow
Definition:
Yellow, one of the primary color, is
the color between green and
orange.
On the light
spectrum, it has
the wavelength
of 570-585nm.
Yellow is a secondary color in the
RGB color model and is one of the
process color in the CMYK color
model.
The word yellow is from the Old English geolu,
geolwe, meaning “yellow, and yellowish”, derived
from the Proto-Germanic word gelwaz “yellow”.
It has the same Indo-European base, gel-, as the
words gold and yell; gel- means both bright and
gleaming, and to cry out.
Orgin:
The English term is related to other Germanic words
for yellow, namely Scots yella, East Frisian jeel, West
Frisian giel, Dutch geel, German gelb, and Swedish
and Norwegian gul. According to the Oxford English
Dictionary, the oldest known use of this word in En-
glish is from The Epinal Glossary in 700.
Yellow is one of the oldest colors in his-
History: tory, seen in cave paintings over 17,000
years old. The yellow pigment from ochre
was readily available in prehistoric times
and one of the first pigments used in cave
art. Yellow is also a common color in
paintings from Ancient Rome and Egypt,
where it was used to depict skin color.
Painted wall in
ancient Egypt
Cave painting
Renaissance and Medieval
artists used “Indian yel-
low” — a pigment obtained
when a cow eats only mango
leaves. This color was used
to show a person as an out-
sider, especially Judas Iscari-
ot from the Bible.
Ma n y
ni n g s
Me a
e ll o w
o f Y
Sunflowers (1888)
Vincent van Gogh
The Reader
Hello Happy World - Digital Band Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Symbolic meaning:
- Joy
- Light
- Hope
- Quiet
- Serene
- Danger
- Dignity
- Confidence
- Light - hearted
Yellow around us
Nature: Everyday:
Yellow in In different culture,
the color yellow have
different meanings.
cluture Flags:
In Viet Nam: According to a poem
Tiến wrote, the red background
came to represent the blood of
the people, whilst the yellow fore-
ground came to represent “the co-
lour of our people’s skin” which was
written during times of oppression
from Japanese rule. The five points
of the star represents intellectuals,
Country:
peasants, workers, traders and sol-
diers.
In Egypt and much of
Latin America, the color
is linked to death and
mourning.
Yellow is a bright, cheery Golden yellow hues are
color associated with associated with money,
happiness, optimism, status, and material suc-
and warmth in the U.S. cess in many countries.
Religions:
In Hinduism, the divinity
Krishna is commonly portrayed
dressed in yellow. Yellow and
saffron are also the colors worn
by sadhu, or wandering holy
men in India.
In Wicca, yellow represents intellect,
inspiration, imagination, a nd knowl-
edge. It is used for communication,
confidence, divination, and study.
In the Roman Catholic Church, yellow
symbolizes gold, and in Christian my-
thology the golden key to the Kingdom
of Heaven, which divine Christ gave to
Saint Peter. White and yellow together
can also symbolize Easter, rebirth and
Resurrection. Yellow also has a negative
meaning, symbolizing betrayal.
Yellow in Art:
In painting:
In Giotto’s Kiss of Judas
Yellow marks the traitor
Vincent van Gogh
Quinces lemons pears and grapes
Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”
Vincent van Gogh
The Yellow House
Auguste Renoir
Still Life With Bouquet
Character Design:
Yellow represents deceit, hope, and happiness. Character with the
yellow scheme as their main color are often strong, energetic, silly
or sometimes resemble hope in the story.
Logo Design:
v
Yellow represents: Happiness,
Warmth, Innovation and Caution.
Yellow is a warm color that invokes
the feeling of happiness, warmth and
relaxation.
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow
https://www.smashingmagazine.
com/2010/01/color-theory-for-designers-
part-1-the-meaning-of-color/
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-col-
or-psychology-of-yellow-2795823
https://www.hunterlab.com/blog/the-col-
or-yellow/
https://blog.artweb.com/art-and-culture/
the-color-yellow-in-art/
