Colour as a semiotic mode: notes for a grammar of colour
Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen


Hamish and Vanessa Dows are chiropodists. They remove warts, veruccas, corns and calluses for a living; these people are odd.No wonder they’ve decorated their home a myriad of colours; they’ve done so in order to escape from their hellish work lives. Perhaps I’ve been unkind, but seriously, feet creep me out. Are our homes and the way we decorate them an apt representation of our personalities? Is a house number plate with feet on it an expression of personality? If so, I think Hamish and Vanessa Dows are morons.
I found Kress and Van Leeuwen’s article troublesome. I fully understood the concepts discussed and, while I found their definitions a little tedious, I found the examples used to support the “grammar of colour” theory wholly unsuitable. Throughout the article, Kress and Van Leeuwen allude to “section 5,” wherein they will discuss “home decoration: colour, character and fashion.” Section 5 left me feeling uninspired. Is the way two wacky chiropodists choose to decorate their home an effective illustration of “colour semiosis”? (p. 359) Kress and Van Leeuwen ask whether colour is a mode of communication in its own right (p. 345), and while I agree, the way in which Kress and Van Leeuwen attempt to illustrate how colour can be recognised as a mode communication is unsuitable.

While I covet nice things and wonder whether one day I will be capable of keep a refrigerator well stocked (like those on MTV’s Cribs) I am simply void of imagination when it comes to decoration and colour schemes. Last year whilst I was living in a student house with several friends, the landlord said I could paint the garish red bedroom if I wanted to ; I hastily accepted. It felt like sleeping within a nose bleed if only for a few nights, though it could have been worse my friend’s bedroom was lime green and lilac (surely an illustration of “differentiation,” whereas my red bedroom was perhaps an example of “purity” p. 356-7.) Nevertheless when the landlord offered to buy us paint, I chose an off-white colour. Reaction to the brash red that covered every inch of the four-walls? Perhaps. The painting of the room took place one Saturday afternoon as we drank beer and listened to the radio, each cleansing brush stroke bringing about more happiness. I would sooner exist in a “timid” home, as Hamish Dows puts it, and create my own colour from my experiences. The blue of my friends’ eyes, the whites of their teeth, the green dress, the red wine…

I don’t dispute that colour is a fun expression of personality however, I do object to the assumption that those who shy away from differentiation, and avoid using a wide spectrum of colours, are void of “adventure.” (House Beautiful, September 1998:21 - p. 359) Similarly, when visiting websites I am often deterred by excessive use of colour, as I feel it looks juvenile and disorganized. I much prefer simplicity and consistency. For example, clothing websites often use light coloured backgrounds and allow the clothes to become the colour. While I am under no illusions that colour usage plays a significant role on the internet, the way in which Kress and Van Leeuwen chose to illustrate the “grammar of colour” theory is unhelpful.