Channels, Fall 2017

Page 8 Conley • Color Theory in Technical Communication positive and strong in one country could be viewed as weak and negative in another. Despite the potential risks, color can enlarge a technical communicator’s toolset and open up new ideas for designing information. Technical communicators just need to be aware and informed of how color can affect information and users. Today, there are many resources, print and online, that technical communicators can use to reference for their work. Use the Universalist and Relativist Stances Once technical communicators are comfortable, aware, and informed of how to use color, they can apply the universalist and relativist stances of color theory. Despite their differences, both viewpoints offer beneficial insight and tips for how to efficiently use colors in the workplace. The universalist stance allows technical communicators to employ colors that are generally well-received around the world or in certain regions and to carefully apply certain colors that are universally not viewed as positive, such as the color black. While the universalist stance provides a broad framework to assess color, the relativist stance demands that technical communicators dig deeper. They should examine how selected colors are perceived within a specific culture or region and how those colors will be received in different contexts. Cultural and linguistic factors can determine how countries view colors differently from others. If an American technical communicator decided to use various shades of yellow, purple, and green in a product aimed towards a global audience, it would be wise to double check the colors’ connotative meanings in different cultures. Americans often associate yellow with sunshine and cheerfulness, purple with royalty and high quality, and red with strength and activeness. However, in other countries, yellow is linked with envy, purple to anger, and red with jealousy (Hupka et al. 1997). The technical communicator needs to be aware of the potential cultural differences in the colors’ meanings and check to make sure the colors will not offend or send the wrong messages to the directed audiences. Apply Color Intentionally Besides using color to send subtle emotional messages to users, technical communicators can utilize color theory to organize information within a text. However, they must make careful and deliberate choices when adding color to their work. Throwing color on random areas of information can confuse users and hinder the document more than it helps. Additionally, users can discern when an information designer has misused color, which could potentially lead them to view the designer’s work as inefficient, shoddy, unhelpful, and of low quality. Such reactions would not be what the information designer had desired and anticipated. Color can help organize blocks of information within a text. By contrasting a text’s color with its background, color can allow users to better read and distinguish the words in print and digital formats. Additionally, color can highlight certain words, making them pop from