In Living Color

People say, and I firmly believe, that color affects your mood. Since I pretty much live in black and grey – literally, it dominates both my wardrobe and my apartment – anyone who knows me might find this hard to believe. But humor me for a minute.

Most people would look at my palette of choice and think dismal, dispirited and down in the dumps. Rightfully so: in our culture, black is the spokesperson for evil and death just as grey is for boredom and old age. But when I dress in the morning, I don’t throw on my favorite black sweater because I’ve succumbed to the all-night cram session.

To me, black and grey are elegant, polished and sophisticated. They give me a quiet confidence that makes me feel dynamic and assertive. Plus, they’re extremely practical; they’re neutral, so they go with everything, and they’re classic, so they never go out of style (and lets face it, the slimming factor doesn’t hurt either). These shades of grey are my power suit.

Now for those of you who haven’t taken the time to neurotically psychoanalyze your power colors like I have, check out COLOURlovers. A self-proclaimed “visual inspiration site,” COLOURlovers allows users to upload images and extract the exact color palettes from them. Just throw in anything that moves you, whether classical art or bumper sticker, and the site tools will break it down into a palette that will power (or empower) you.

I personally recommend using the COPASO tool. 

I used it on my site banner, 

this painting by Edgar Degas, 

and this album cover for The Hush Sound. 

So color your world: repaint your bedroom, buy a new shirt, paint your nails. Or just take ten minutes and do something cool. Either way, you can't lose.

Until next time.