Color- What Does it all Mean?

So. Our third module is the study of color, and the affect it has on our own personal lives, as well as that of societies. For example why is purple so often seen in religious atmospheres as the color of royalty? Why not blue? Why do we have white dresses for weddings? I was actually told that a few centuries ago, wedding dresses used to be black because it was a 'funeral' for the parents of the bride in giving up their 'virgin' child. Loss of virginity provoked the blackness, which is kinda cool, and creepy, all at the same time.

For this particular blog I was told to answer a few questions concerning this module that I need to start working on. First, I will do a light overview, then get right to it. Here goes nothing. :)

We had to take a few online tests here are the websites in case anyone wants to take them : http://www.testcafe.com/color, http://www.saunalahti.fi./jawap/colour/colortest.html, http://www.lifecolorsonline.com/lifecolorslite.html, and http://www.webtickle.com/search/?query=color&sel=0

Some of the websites are slightly faulty. I took the first and third tests. Here were my results: my aura is magenta and my life colors are fire-earth related or basically I am seen as red. These results shocked me because my favorite color in the world is blue, so I thought I would have more calming colors define me, but this is apparently not the case. I am more of a firecracker than I imagined. I guess those that know me well can judge that for themselves.

Now, here are the questions to be answered.My group and I compared our color results.

1. Are they appropriate? Realistic? Completely off base? -

Honestly, I think some of the questions have nothing to do with color whatsoever. It felt like I was taking a myspace quiz asking me what alcoholic drink I am, or something along those lines. It just didn't feel realistic and I expected more of the questions to relate to color. As in red-passion, anger, blue-calming, flow that kind of thing. It was just a mumble jumble of questions here and there. I don't think my results were off base, just shocking is all.

2. Do you colors complement on another? Or at odds with one another?

My group and I compared the colors. My aura was magenta, Heidi's is purple, and Ross's is yellow. (hopefully I got the right). For the third test with life colors: I was fire earth, Heidi was sky fire, and Ross was green. So, although our colors seem to clash, I think there are similarities throughout. It seems that Heidi and I complement each other more than Ross and I do. She is in the purple realm, whereas I exist within the magenta realm. Two colors that have some shade of purple involved. She and I both had fire, whereas Ross had more calming colors.

3. Do you think this will affect your work together?

No. I don't rely on aura tests to determine my ability to get along with someone, or their ability to get along with me. I think we will be fine. We met at the beginning of the class and sit next to one another, and compromise well. I am not worried with the color test results.

4. Do you think these tests are an appropriate way to analyze color?

I already answered this earlier, and said no.

5. Do you think it properly analyzes color associations? Mood? Color psychology?

I do not think so. The questions were based off of situations and how I might react to them, that is not necessarily mood, but more character related. I think the questions should have asked how would I feel if.... this situation happened. Then, the test results would feel like they make more sense.

6. Do the tests reflect cultural associations with specific colors?

I think these tests certainly tried to, but need gradual improvements before this question gets a yes. The questions didn't really have much depth to them, I would think that colors associated with cultures would need alot of depth in order to compare and contrast.

My group decided to do the color red. We are going to research the significance of red, and why it is so important in certain collegiate realms. I guess the results will speak for themselves in due time.

Signing off for now.
Me. :)

Typography

In class last week we discussed the significance of typography. I enjoyed it so much that I even blogged about it in my myspace account and some of my friends commented on it as well. Typography has always fascinated me because I consider myself to be a visual learner. I enjoy seeing and then doing, not the other way around. I love how many different fonts there are to choose from, I just find it fascinating that depending on mood, what message one tries to convey, or just for the hell of it, one can switch things up a bit and change their font. I think school atmospheres certainly restrict this sort of activity because they want to keep assignments and the like uniform... which in my opinion is booring. Also, some fonts might be harder to read than others, and if it is say a final essay for a class, and your grade depends on it, I guess I'll stick with Times New Roman, to ensure a passing grade, as opposed to failing it due to creative rebellion. Our next module is due this Wednesday actually, it is essentially about the visible rhetoric of typography, obviously. We get to choose a poem or a song and then play with it in terms of font. I chose I Carry Your Heart With Me, by e.e. cummings, because that is one of my favorite poems. I can't wait to funk it up and see what I can do with this project. So far, so good.. .I'm still getting accustomed to the Mac computers that we use in our visible rhet class, I am more familiar with the old fashion PC. But hey, if technical writing is the field that I will go into after college, I have a sneaky suspicion, that the Mac will be my new best friend, or worst enemy.... depending on many factors at once.
Well, I can't think of much else to blog on, so I will get cracking on my module and other assignments as well.
Until we blog again. :)

Missin from the Powerpoint

After discussing what I forgot to add in my powerpoint cultural identity map.. I have decided to list some of the aspects here.

1. emphasis on chocolate- I don't think I mentioned how I basically cannot live without a piece of chocolate daily. It cheers me up, keeps me in a great mood, and makes all of the stress in my life melt in my mouth and disappear.

2. where I live- I completely forgot to share my geographical background. I was born and raised in the Chicago Northwest suburbs, and lived a very sheltered childhood. College was a big culture shock for me, but the best experience in my entire life. I am so glad I went away to school and decided not to stick around for a community college near home. I am desperate to travel and one day I would like to live out of state just to see what it would be like.

3. I don't think I mentioned my goals after completing my studies at ISU. I would love to find a job with Technical Writing and then write creatively on the side. One day I would like to write a book, but given my writer's block throughout most of my education here, we shall see how that goes.

4. I didn't mention the importance of my family and friends in my life, how they have shaped me into the person I am today, and I know I can turn to them with anything and they will help me out.

5. I forgot to add how much I enjoy sitting around with a group of friends and drinking wine, or how I love Irish pubs and grabbing a pint there to relax after a stressful week.

I can't help but wonder why I forgot to mention any of the above in my powerpoint slides. They are certainly important aspects of who I am as a person, but as I was creating the project, it just slipped my mind! I forgot. Very strange.

Feminism

This week in class we discussed the term 'Feminism' and all of the nasty connotations that sadly enough come with it. I used to be like that. I thought that all feminists were just angry women that hated men and were crazed with the idea of women taking over the world. Little did I realize, that I have more feminist qualities than I was willing to admit. That's right. Me. I'm a little feminist, and I have had girls tell me this before. I see it as a compliment now. I believe that men and women are equal on all grounds and should be treated as such. I do not think that women should be paid less in the office or treated as sex objects either. We are all people and should treat each other with decency. Plus, I like boys, so the whole 'man hating' ideal really doesn't work with me, or any other feminist girls that I know. In fact, most of them, like myself have a significant other, or at least someone that they are 'seeing'. So, to heck with the stereotypes on feminism. Men shouldn't be afraid of us, they should embrace us because we see them as equals too. At least, I do. And, I can only hope the rest of the feminist clan believes the same notions.