Collaging and Evaluating Vernacular Sources

I’ve decided to take on a completely different topic for this research design project. Frustrated by my lack of ideas for this project, I began thinking of various alternative forms of therapy. After speaking with a friend of mine who is currently a telemarketer of sorts I came to the conclusion that I wanted to incorporate an alternative form of therapy into her type of work environment. She has a small work area where she sits for eight hours. She stares at a computer screen and she calls people all day long (people, might I add, that don’t want to be called). Her work place is both stressful and bland. I first plan to research color and its affects. I hope to gain a better understanding of color theory, or color psychology, to see how it can be implemented in the work place. My new question: How can the principles of color therapy be used in telemarketing offices to relieve the stress of its employees?

I’ve come across three sources that I’ve found to be particularly helpful in my quest for color knowledge.

The first website was suggested to me by Jason. I believe this website could be useful to anyone whose project will involved interaction with computers. The organization is the Association for Computing Machinery and its website is www.acm.org. This site is a “digital library” for those researching computing. There’s a lot that can be discovered on this site. I’ve only scratched the surface of what it offers. The information placed on this site seems legit, unlike other sites like Wikipedia (no offense to Wikipedia). I trust the information because it is given to me through the means of a legit association that seems to really want to “advance computing as a Science and a Profession.” The site covers so many different topics under the umbrella of computing. A simple keyword search results in a number of studies involving your particular search. If you can’t find something specifically related to your topic, you can probably find a study on something similar, which you may be able to use for your project.

The other two sites I came across are more specific to my particular subject. The first of the two is a site that focuses on self-help color therapy. It’s URL is www.users.totalise.co.uk/~tmd/color.htm. This site allows the user to experience the affects of color. It also describes the foundations of color therapy. Color therapy is based on the idea that our body needs color, all colors. A lack of a particular color will leave us feeling unbalanced. The site lets the user pick a particular color from a list. The user is drawn to a certain color because his/her body is in need of that color. When you click on a color the color fills the entire screen. The user is then intended to stare at the color until he/she feels satisfied. Yes, it is a bit new-agey, but studies have shown that it is affective, even if for only a few moments. I did feel more relaxed after looking at a few colors, but it could’ve just been my mind wanting this “color thing” to work. The information this site gives isn’t unique, it has been backed up by studies. It was unique in that it allows users to actually try color therapy for themselves (most sites did not). The site, however, does not cover much more than that.

The third site was created by a company called Precision Intermedia. Their URL is www.precisionmedia.com. Precision Intermedia helps companies with their marketing campaign. They offer a variety of services in web design, photography, strategic marketing. They also have a few free resources. One such resource involves color psychology and marketing. Though marketing isn’t what this project is pursuing, perhaps some of their ideas can be used for my particular research project. The site discusses the importance of color and how it affects consumers. It warns companies to be thoughtful when choosing colors in their marketing campaign because each color does conjure up particular emotions. The site gives a list of colors and then describes what people associate with each color and what emotions arise from experiencing each color. For example, the color green is the color of growth, nature, and money. It is also a very calming color. This company’s approach to color is different from what is explained on the previously mentioned website. The previously mentioned site explains that our bodies need color. This site explains the different affects color has on us.

I’m hoping to find a way to blend the principles of color therapy with that of color psychology. I’m still on the hunt for more reliable sources. I need more sources on color and I need to look into stress relief in the work place and what is currently being used; what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface.