A Space to Share + Heal + Encourage Via Color
You had a bad day. You decided that you need to vent — not in words, but with colors. Chro·mat·ic is an app that provides such an outlet. Create and share your palettes, mediate in mood space, or play in candyland. You can also begin with a blank canvas and paint to your heart’s content. Feeling unsure? Explore your state of mind via a series of prompts. Color comforts and helps express our inner selves, and chro·mat·ic provides a way to get there.
Chro·mat·ic is the result of a class assignment during Yachun's study at Cornish College of the Arts in 2016.
The Challenge
How may we use color as a medium and create a space to share our passions and memories, communicate our vulnerabilities and challenges?
Seeing red. Feeling blue. Green with envy. We turn to color for comfort, or as a mean of personal expression. We use color to communicate solidarity as well as opposition. We make purchase decisions based on product colors, and even perceive people differently according to their taste in color. Color choices are personal and eloquent.
Persona 01: the intuitive enthusiast
They love color. For them, color is emotional and intimate, and a form of genuine self-expression. While they are aware of cultural conventions surrounding different colors, they tend to value individual experiences and allow personal reflections to shape their perceptions. They dislike non-color such as beige and ecru, or pastels – they think these colors lack definition and represent weaknesses and uncertainties. Color can be a source of comfort or affirmation when they are feeling down; likewise, their mood can be affected by color in the environment easily. Eclectic fashion style that reflects their colorful personality, they enjoy breaking the rules of color theory whenever the mood strikes.
Age: 30+ | Occupation: Art Therapist + Artist Technical ability: Smart Phone or Tablet
{ why they will likely engage }
Color is important to them personally and professionally. They care deeply about others’ emotional connections to color as it could be a useful tool in communicating difficulties experienced in life that otherwise can not be verbalized. They are interested in sharing personal stories and experiences related to color and being an artist.
“It’s always within context; if there’s a color speaking to you right now, let’s talk about why. I don’t interpret things after the fact.”
— Rachel, art therapist
Persona 02: the analytical sensualist
For them, color is part of an aesthetic experience. They believe that color has characters, sensations, and functions. They are rational observers, yet they enjoy experimenting with color based on different contexts. They are in tune with individual emotional responses toward color as well as the cultural and universal meanings. Their personal taste in color can vary widely depends on circumstances and contexts. They may form perceptions towards others based on individual’s taste in color, fashion or otherwise; but ultimately actions speak louder than appearance. Style conscious and can be meticulous with fashion choices, color tends to be part of the form that follows function - but the personal muse is also an important component.
Age: 20 + | Occupation: Design Student + Designer Technical ability: Smart Phone or Tablet
{ why they will likely engage }
Color is important to them as a visual language. They care about the cause and effect of others’ connections to color in different contexts: emotional, cultural, or universal, as color perceptions are often learned through contacts with different media. They are interested in sharing their memories and journeys in discovering art and design.
X-factor
Because women have two X chromosomes, women can receive one chromosome with the typical configuration of the red vision gene while the other chromosome receives a slight variation. It is the combination of a normal and variant gene, which occurs in about 40 percent of women, that may provide a broader spectrum of color vision in the red-orange range.
SOURCE: Brian Verrelli and Sarah Tishkoff, University of Maryland. American Journal of Human Genetics