Searching for the Rainbow
SEARCHING FOR THE RAINBOW
A visual interpretation of basic colour terms through the use of Google Image Search
Eleanor Maclure
Introduction
The philosopher Wittgenstein famously asked ‘How do I know that this color is red? —It would be an answer to say: I have learnt English.’ But how do we know what is red? In today’s digital age perhaps a more pertinent response would be: ‘Google it’. For many the internet has become our primary source of information, it is the foundation of our knowledge economy. Largely inclusive and participatory, as an entity it represents the culmination of everything that has been written, posted and uploaded, with each new contribution slightly altering the shape of the whole. But how does Google know what is red? Tags, Search Engine Optimisation and complex algorithms now create the precedence for the information we receive when we search for something. Search engines are able to dictate the type of information we consume, influencing our perceptions of what is important with the ranking of their search results. The use of Google image search as a tool to provide a visual interpretation of colour terms began as no more than an exercise in understanding, to enable me to progress with other research, it was a means to an end. However, repetition of the process began to reveal both the changing nature of the internet and the similarities and differences between the colours in the images retrieved by each search. Although translated through Google’s algorithms, collectively, the images represent the level of understanding of colour and colour terms by those posting them, tagging them or writing the accompanying text. The methodology for this exercise involved inputting each of the eleven basic colour terms, defined by Berlin & Kay, into Google Image Search with the addition of the word ‘colour’. This concession was an undesirable but necessary consequence of the number of high profile celebrities with colour terms in
their names, such as the rapper Chris Brown and the singer Pink. I then took (without exception) the first thirty images from the search results, as a foundation to work with and analyse using image manipulation processes. The images were indexed using Colourphon, resulting in a 9 x 9 grid of colour. They were blurred with a specific and constant amount of Gaussian blur in Photoshop and finally, also using Photoshop, the RGB values for the pixels in each image were averaged to give a solid block of colour. As a body of work this book presents a visual representation of each colour term, mediated by Google, and functions as a snapshot of colour on the Internet that due to it’s constantly shifting nature, can never be replicated exactly. It shows not only the variety of responses to the names of colours but also the level of consensus across the range of images. It allows the reader to appreciate how the colours and images transform and mutate with each of the different processes applied, as they move from defined forms, into indistinguishable shapes, to a solid, uniform block of colour. This method is but one of the many possible ways of exploring the relationship between colour and language but it one that is truly a reflection of our digital age.
Searching for the Rainbow
Pink
PINK
SEARCH RESULTS
PINK
SEARCH RESULTS
PINK
SEARCH RESULTS
PINK
SEARCH RESULTS
PINK
PIXELATED
PINK
PIXELATED
PINK
PIXELATED
PINK
PIXELATED
PINK
BLURRED
PINK
BLURRED
PINK
BLURRED
PINK
BLURRED
PINK
COLOUR AVERAGED
PINK
COLOUR AVERAGED
PINK
COLOUR AVERAGED
PINK
COLOUR AVERAGED
Red
RED
SEARCH RESULTS
RED
SEARCH RESULTS
RED
SEARCH RESULTS
RED
SEARCH RESULTS
RED
PIXELATED
RED
PIXELATED
RED
PIXELATED
RED
PIXELATED
RED
BLURRED
RED
BLURRED
RED
BLURRED
RED
BLURRED
RED
COLOUR AVERAGED
RED
COLOUR AVERAGED
RED
COLOUR AVERAGED
RED
COLOUR AVERAGED
Orange
ORANGE
SEARCH RESULTS
ORANGE
SEARCH RESULTS
ORANGE
SEARCH RESULTS
ORANGE
SEARCH RESULTS
ORANGE
PIXELATED
ORANGE
PIXELATED
ORANGE
PIXELATED
ORANGE
PIXELATED
ORANGE
BLURRED
ORANGE
BLURRED
ORANGE
BLURRED
ORANGE
BLURRED
ORANGE
COLOUR AVERAGED
ORANGE
COLOUR AVERAGED
ORANGE
COLOUR AVERAGED
ORANGE
COLOUR AVERAGED
Yellow
YELLOW
SEARCH RESULTS
YELLOW
SEARCH RESULTS
YELLOW
SEARCH RESULTS
YELLOW
SEARCH RESULTS
YELLOW
PIXELATED
YELLOW
PIXELATED
YELLOW
PIXELATED
YELLOW
PIXELATED
YELLOW
BLURRED
YELLOW
BLURRED
YELLOW
BLURRED
YELLOW
BLURRED
YELLOW
COLOUR AVERAGED
YELLOW
COLOUR AVERAGED
YELLOW
COLOUR AVERAGED
YELLOW
COLOUR AVERAGED
Green
GREEN
SEARCH RESULTS
GREEN
SEARCH RESULTS
GREEN
SEARCH RESULTS
GREEN
SEARCH RESULTS
GREEN
PIXELATED
GREEN
PIXELATED
GREEN
PIXELATED
GREEN
PIXELATED
GREEN
BLURRED
GREEN
BLURRED
GREEN
BLURRED
GREEN
BLURRED
GREEN
COLOUR AVERAGED
GREEN
COLOUR AVERAGED
GREEN
COLOUR AVERAGED
GREEN
COLOUR AVERAGED
Blue
BLUE
SEARCH RESULTS
BLUE
SEARCH RESULTS
BLUE
SEARCH RESULTS
BLUE
SEARCH RESULTS
BLUE
PIXELATED
BLUE
PIXELATED
BLUE
PIXELATED
BLUE
PIXELATED
BLUE
BLURRED
BLUE
BLURRED
BLUE
BLURRED
BLUE
BLURRED
BLUE
COLOUR AVERAGED
BLUE
COLOUR AVERAGED
BLUE
COLOUR AVERAGED
BLUE
COLOUR AVERAGED
Purple
PURPLE
SEARCH RESULTS
PURPLE
SEARCH RESULTS
PURPLE
SEARCH RESULTS
PURPLE
SEARCH RESULTS
PURPLE
PIXELATED
PURPLE
PIXELATED
PURPLE
PIXELATED
PURPLE
PIXELATED
PURPLE
BLURRED
PURPLE
BLURRED
PURPLE
BLURRED
PURPLE
BLURRED
PURPLE
COLOUR AVERAGED
PURPLE
COLOUR AVERAGED
PURPLE
COLOUR AVERAGED
PURPLE
COLOUR AVERAGED
Brown
BROWN
SEARCH RESULTS
BROWN
SEARCH RESULTS
BROWN
SEARCH RESULTS
BROWN
SEARCH RESULTS
BROWN
PIXELATED
BROWN
PIXELATED
BROWN
PIXELATED
BROWN
PIXELATED
BROWN
BLURRED
BROWN
BLURRED
BROWN
BLURRED
BROWN
BLURRED
BROWN
COLOUR AVERAGED
BROWN
COLOUR AVERAGED
BROWN
COLOUR AVERAGED
BROWN
COLOUR AVERAGED
Black
BLACK
SEARCH RESULTS
BLACK
SEARCH RESULTS
BLACK
SEARCH RESULTS
BLACK
SEARCH RESULTS
BLACK
PIXELATED
BLACK
PIXELATED
BLACK
PIXELATED
BLACK
PIXELATED
BLACK
BLURRED
BLACK
BLURRED
BLACK
BLURRED
BLACK
BLURRED
BLACK
COLOUR AVERAGED
BLACK
COLOUR AVERAGED
BLACK
COLOUR AVERAGED
BLACK
COLOUR AVERAGED
Grey
GREY
SEARCH RESULTS
GREY
SEARCH RESULTS
GREY
SEARCH RESULTS
GREY
SEARCH RESULTS
GREY
PIXELATED
GREY
PIXELATED
GREY
PIXELATED
GREY
PIXELATED
GREY
BLURRED
GREY
BLURRED
GREY
BLURRED
GREY
BLURRED
GREY
COLOUR AVERAGED
GREY
COLOUR AVERAGED
GREY
COLOUR AVERAGED
GREY
COLOUR AVERAGED
White
WHITE
SEARCH RESULTS
WHITE
SEARCH RESULTS
WHITE
SEARCH RESULTS
WHITE
SEARCH RESULTS
WHITE
PIXELATED
WHITE
PIXELATED
WHITE
PIXELATED
WHITE
PIXELATED
WHITE
BLURRED
WHITE
BLURRED
WHITE
BLURRED
WHITE
BLURRED
WHITE
COLOUR AVERAGED
WHITE
COLOUR AVERAGED
WHITE
COLOUR AVERAGED
WHITE
COLOUR AVERAGED