The Muller Formula (or: Predictable Color Preferences)

http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/09/02/the-muller-formula-or-predictable-color-preferences/

by pg • 19 years ago

35 16 19 years ago

colourlovers.com

kashif• 19 years ago

Very interesting.

leisuresuit• 19 years ago

are there any more of these kind of color preference examples? i think i suck at picking colors.

greendestiny2• 19 years ago

This site has a few: http://www.worqx.com/color/combinations.htm

ecuzzillo2• 19 years ago

Do you know of any quizzes that test for that kind of perception? I know I'm not colorblind, but I strongly suspect I'm lacking the color-combination-preference circuit.

mattmaroon2• 19 years ago

The science of color is actually pretty amazing. Now if only there were a mathematical explanation for Paul's love of orange. I thought I was a fan of that color until I met him.

zach• 19 years ago

I always figured it was the George Nelson influence.

bootload• 19 years ago

"... observing nature is far more interesting than just trying to think about things ..."

Interesting article and one I'll be coming back & reading. Colour is always a hard one to pick & apply. I take photos any chance I can and one of the subjects I usually shoot each morning is a mountain shot out the kitchen window.

I happened to be playing with gimp with one such image and mapped out the colours that I liked. You can see it here ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/541666109/

Then looking through flickr that particular day I found a very similiar colour combination here ~ http://flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/545089963/ Even now looking at the top palates at colourlovers you can see another similiar combo ~ http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/77121/Good_Friends

So I wonder if there is a natural colour grid of all possible colour combinations that are repeated in nature that you can capture (exploit), process and apply rules like the one described here?

nickb2• 19 years ago

Grab this: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/reference/colortheo...

You'll never get colors wrong this way.

dfranke3• 19 years ago

Looks interesting, but I don't have a Mac anymore. Do you know of anything similar for Linux?

nickb2• 19 years ago

How about a web app? :)

http://www.colorjack.com/sphere/

Enjoy!

dfranke3• 19 years ago

I like the color schemes that Muller predicts, but I don't think it's for Muller's reason. I like color schemes that have exactly one saturated color that catches the eye, like the bottom amber and the top blue in the "good" schemes. The "bad" color schemes don't have any.

kingnothing• 19 years ago

"But I also noticed that people in creative professions, such as artists or designers, often tend to like the 'ugly' combinations."

I found that interesting. From looking at the top two samples, I preferred the "ugly" colors, as a set, next to the "pretty" colors, as a set.

The Muller Formula (or: Predictable Color Preferences)

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