Isolation and loneliness in color

An analysis of the use of colors in visual communication

This article examines the use of colors in visual communication, such as in illustration, film and book covers, that represent the mental state of loneliness and isolation. Applying the Semantic Color Space as an analytical tool, some distinct color combinations and specific hues emerge that represent different aspects of seclusion and loneliness.

Networks in this article are derived from the Design Semantics Knowledge Graph.

PRIMARY COLORS

The colors blue, green and black are the most commonly used in visual communication depicting isolation and loneliness. In the Semantic Color Space, these three primary colors are all located at the back. In the depth dimension, this suggests a meaning with a strong focus on the inner world of thought.

Semantic Color Space, meaning in the depth dimension: back and front.

These three primaries, in the context of isolation and loneliness, might express the following notions:

BLUE

Primary blue with keyword isolation as center point.

GREEN

Primary green with keyword lonely as center point.

BLACK

Primary black with keyword detach as center point.

COLOR COMBINATIONS AND SPECIFIC HUES

In the context of being alone in a closed space, the blue-on-green color combination and the semantically associated hue turquoise blue (blue-2) express a compelled isolation. In the case of Covid-19 for example, that would be a disciplinary measure imposed on citizens by the government, or self-imposed for fear of contamination. This situation for civilians could metaphorically be described as civilians chained to their homes.

The blue-on-green color combination with keyword escape as center point, and its relation to the color blue-2 (turquoise blue).

Schematic view of the orientation of the keywords in the Semantic Color Space.

Some examples

_{Use of blue-on-green in combination with blue-2 in the Illustration by MARTIN TOGNOLA for an article in the Wall Street Journal "What Covid-19 Taught Us About the High Cost of Isolation" (April 10, 2021)}

_{Blue-2 as a background color. House locked in chain and padlock. Source: https://stock.adobe.com/images/house-locked-in-chain-and-padlock/71846796}

When the emphasis of isolation is placed on the feeling of utter abandonment as a mode of a depressed mental state, the color combination black-on-blue and the semantically associated hue dark gray (black-1) are frequently used in visual communication.

The black-on-blue color combination with keywords depressed and borderline as center points, and its relation to the color black-1 (dark gray).

Schematic view of the orientation of the keywords in the Semantic Color Space.

Some examples

Black-on-blue for the book cover "A Biography of Loneliness: The History of an Emotion" by Fay Bound Alberti, Oxford University Press.

_{Black-1 for illustrating "The physical symptoms of loneliness" article October 26, 2020, by Abacare Source: https://abacare.org.uk/2020/10/26/the-physical-symptoms-of-loneliness/}

In case the isolation is characterized as a capturing or imprisonment, the color combination black-on-green and the semantically associated hue olive drab (black-3) are best suited.

The black-on-green color combination with keyword captured as center point, and its relation to the color black-3 (olive drab).

Schematic view of the orientation of the keywords in the Semantic Color Space.

Some examples

Trapped, a drama by director Richard Fleischer from the late 40s, rediscovered and promoted in the color combination black-on-green.

Black-3 used as a background for film poster K-11. The black shadow of the bars on top.

The Semantic Color Space reveals the close metonymical relationship of concepts found in the colors of visual communication, expressing loneliness and isolation.

Aspects of isolation and loneliness in the Semantic Color Space.

When combined …

The poster for the film Caged combines different aspects of the idea of loneliness and isolation. The use of turquoise in the background conjures up the notions of chains and forced isolation. This ambiguous hue can be seen as blue-green as well as green-blue. With black in the foreground, we can evoke the feeling of being captured (black-on-green), and the presence of an ensuing depressed mental state (black-on-blue).

Film poster for Caged (2021). Black-on-turquoise.