It's Not Easy Wearing Green
April 28, 2008

First there was the green wedding gown in Van Eyck's painting of “Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride” from the Renaissance. She’s not pregnant; she's slouching in imitation of her willingness to bear children - and she’s wearing green as a symbol of her fertility.

These strong associations still exist in Europe today. By the time of King Henry VIII, in England, green also symbolized unfaithfulness. This related to the grass stains on a 'virgin's' clothing. (Coincidentally, in China, a green hat symbolizes that a man’s wife is cheating on him.)

In 2008 we have the infamous green gown worn by Keira Knightly in Atonement. Some say she looks like a preying mantis or an advertisement for St.Patrick’s day. Others say that this 1920s socialite dress is one of the best film costumes of all times. We can only pause to ask if this green gown would have the same impact if “Ugly Betty” wore it.

The context is everything - the historical and cultural context and who wears it.

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Who owns green apples?
April 21, 2008

The City of New York - which has been known as “The Big Apple” since the 1920s - is running a campaign called "GreeNYC to encourage New Yorkers to take steps to reduce greenhouse gases. City officials hired the New York design firm Turf to designed a stylized ‘infinity apple’ design, as a symbol of New York’s campaign. (It's the green design at the left at the top of this article.)

Apple computer is complaining that the chosen image comes far too close to its own iconic apple logo. The New York logo, although it is clearly an apple with a leaf in basic shape is green and  bears little resemblance to Apple’s silver or white logo (with the signature bite mark) of the iPod, iPhone and iMac and other Macintosh devices. (Apple's logo is the design at the right at the top of this article.)

Apple Inc. clearly doesn’t see it that way. According to a complaint filed with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple states that the New York logo design will lead to “consumer confusion resulting in damage and injury” to Apple while also causing “dilution to the distinctiveness” of the Apple trademark.

Green with envy? This is the color of greed. Not only is the design radically different from the Apple logo (which originated in 1976), the apple was a symbol of NYC long before Steve Jobs was born.

Use of the logos in this article complies with fair use doctrine  under United States copyright law.

For more information, see "Who Owns Hues" at this web site.

“Green Is 'In' Color For Babies” ... “Green-collar jobs,” ... “Green Innovations from the City Council” - these are just a few of the examples of the use this buzzword for “ecologically friendly.” Some say there is evidence of eco-fatigue from the greenification of sales pitches for products. What do you think?

Others ask how green beat out blue as a symbol of our planet. Is green really the dominant color? See Trends: Green vs. Blue in the spring Color Matters newsletter.

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With the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, delicate and dramatic shades of green are everywhere. This reinforces our awareness of the environment and the latest news about "green" (ecologically beneficial) products and efforts. It almost seems that any opposition to the color green could be deemed anti-earth. Just for the fun of it, let's put this on pause and play with the unappetizing attributes of green. For example, "split pea" green can sicken the viewer. Bright green may be acceptable as Astroturf, but what about green as in "sleazy motel carpet"? Just for the record, green (with a yellowish cast) is not a good color in situations where motion sickness can occur such as the interiors of passenger trains, planes, and boats.

As for sweets, if you frost cupcakes with various colors, green will be the last one chosen, unless you have some blue ones.  Lime, mint and pistachio ice creams are inviting, but what about yellowish green?

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