Research on Emerald and Green

For this brief I was given the pantone colour 'Emerald' as a starting point for my project. I may take this colour as the focus of my project or it may only be a part of my project as it's only a starting point and something that we can work with in order to start my design process.

From the research that I did I've found that:

• Emerald is hues are generally composed of yellow-green or blue green.
• Only gems that are medium to dark in tone are considered emeralds
• It is a birthstone of the month May as well as for the astronomical sign Cancer.
• It was the pantone colour of the year 2013

Connotations and Meanings

The colour emerald has different kinds of meaning e.g. in cultures and religions:

• Gem stones are often the sign of prophecy and hope to people
• Ancient Egyptians believed that emerald stand for fertility and rebirth, meanwhile in China it was though that wearing green would bring you good luck especially if worn on Thursday's.
• It was also thought to bring intelligence and eloquences on a person from different periods in the past e.g. in the Middle Ages, Ancient Romans in the 2nd century BC
• It can also be seen as a sign of abundance, social class and royalty as it is often worn by royalties around the world such as Queen Elizabeth II, Ptolemy King of Egypt and Alexander the Great.
• It's also thought that emerald (stones) contain mystical powers -> It has connotations to the Greek goddess Venus
• It's also a symbol for unity in Islam and seen as the most natural in Christianity.

As the colour Emerald comes under the greenhouse I thought it was also applicable for me to research about the colour green and its meanings and connotations.

• green in  secondary colour and is between blue and yellow.
• Western culture associates the colour mostly with health, youth, nature, life, boring, hope and envy,  also more negatively with poor health and toxicity whilst in the East its viewed more positively with fertility and happiness. Its also used as a colour for safety (Green Cross, First Aid) and permission (green on traffic lights as an indication to go or green light indicating something is turned on).
• It can be associated with love and sexuality - in  different cultures green have been used to identify certain groups of people e.g. prostitues in Ancient Chine who wear green headscarves, and Persian and Sudanese poetry describing dark-skinned women as "green' women to depict them as erotic. 
• Green is also a sign for calmness and tolerance, it's also passive and neutral (e.g. the 'neutral' state on the pH scale).
• It also has connotations with sickness and poor health - its often associated with poison in the west  as in the 19th century paints and pigments where very toxic as they are arsenic.
• Green can also be associated with prosperity or having lots of money - the colour was often worn by bankers and merchants in 19th century in the United Kingdom.