Sound and colour.
From the manual Goed voor Druk, Vossen Misjel, Co-author, Teacher Arteveldeschool (Gent) – training communication management and graphic techniques. President Beroepsvereniging Grafische Vormgevers (b.G.V.) (2)
Like there exists a relation between colours and forms some start experimentally from the point that there exists a relation between sounds and colours. The genetic semantics (teaching of meaning that originates in the coding transmitted by the genes or inherited) lays i.e. a relation between the order of vowels in the name of an enterprise and colours to apply or intuitively applied colours.
In publications about genetic semantics there always appear 8 x 8 tables to classify colours, sounds, forms etc. The represented table classifies vowel combinations and compares them (horizontal / vertical) with colours. We learn from this that ‘green above white’ corresponds with the vowel combination EIA as in Kredimat. The reason why organisations and products often use determined colours is the same as why they have chosen determined sound forms. This colours and sounds have following the genetic semantics the same codic meaning.
In Synesthetisch Experiment, applications of genetic semantics on graphical and musical forms, Ferre Alpaerts represents this table:
BL | BK | GR | PR | OR | RD | WT | YL | |
BL | aaa | aae | aea | aee | eaa | eae | eea | eee |
BK | aao | aai | aeo | aei | eao | eai | eeo | eei |
GR | aoa | aoe | aia | aie | eoa | eoe | eia | eie |
PR | aoo | aoi | aio | aii | eoo | eoi | eio | eii |
OR | oaa | oae | oea | oee | iaa | iae | iea | iee |
RD | oao | oai | oeo | oei | iao | iai | ieo | iei |
WT | ooa | ooe | oia | oie | ioa | ioe | iia | iie |
YL | ooo | ooi | oio | oii | ioo | ioi | iio | iii |
Bibliographic note:
(1) Goed voor druk, grafische communicatie en grafische technieken, een praktische gids, (graphic communication and graphic technics, a practical guide), Marc Mombaerts / Misjel Vossen, Academia Press Gent 1999 – p’s 232, 233. Note on English translation.
(2) Beroepsvereniging Grafische Vormgevers. Literally: association of professional designers.