HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED ART THAT AFFECTED YOU EMOTIONALLY? Did the piece seem to be alive in its ability to alter your state of mind? This living characteristic of art is called mood. Mood is a state of mind or a feeling. Artists use a variety of methods to create mood in their works, including subject matter, scenery and composition. This article focuses on how color can be used to set the mood.

Art is a form of expression. Often times this expression contains an important message for the viewer. Mood can enhance this message, especially through color. Thus, artists must be fully aware of the moods created and messages conveyed though the colors used in their pieces.

This is significantly true of art used for educational purposes. Melissa Kurek, an instructional graphic artist for 10 years, states, "By using the right color or combination of colors, you can create an atmosphere or mood in which a student is more likely to respond."

Ms. Kurek currently works for The Advanced Development Group (ADG).

The association of mood or feeling with color is uniquely human. For most people, different colors represent different moods. However, common associations stemming from tradition, nature and personal experiences include:

For more about the psychology of color, see Wade Rollins' EET article.

Artists also combine colors to create different moods. For example, the colors yellow, orange and red combine to create a 'warm' mood. Green, dark blue and violet combine to create a 'cool' mood. With paint, 'neutral' colors are created by mixing two complementary colors in unequal parts with white. This creates colors like olive green, kakis and dark browns.

For more about the complimentary colors, see Beverly Vader's EET article.

Using software like Photoshop, a wide range of colors can be accessed in the custom color palette (Pantones), or mixed manually using color percentages (CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black).

The same image and text styles can be used with different colors to create a completely different mood...


Example 1: Use of cool colors, like blues and greens, implies that this "World" is a peaceful place.

Example 2: Use of warm colors, like reds and yellows, implies that this "World" is a passionate, and exciting place. 

Example 1: The combination of neutral colors, like olive greens and kakis, can be used to create a neutral mood. This can be useful for appealing to a wide range of people.

Example 2: Grays and black can create a powerful and mysterious mood. Notice the use of red; contrary to Example 1, red here is associated with danger or anger because its contrast with the other colors.


For more about contrasting colors, see Hope Campbell's EET article.

Notice in Seurat's painting how his combination of soft cool and warm colors, like light purple, lime green and beige, contribute to the serenity and quietness of the piece. Then, notice how van Gogh's use of dark blue emphasizes the yellow stars and moon to create an active and intense night sky. Van Gogh frequently contrasted complementary colors to achieve this effect.

These paintings are currently displayed at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

There are many cases where your own interpretations and preferences will determine which colors you use to create a mood. The eye of the beholder is significant: Blue can represent depression to one person and peaceful serenity to another.

The important thing is to be aware of your own ideas of color and mood and how they relate to the general public. Also, be aware of the mood you're in at the time that you're making design decisions. This could be more of an influence than you realize.

Sean Glithero
Graduate student
SDSU Educational Technology