Communicating
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HERALDRY

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	Program Helpsheets
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Notice how similar the colours appear when converted to shades of grey. This is how our eyes would see them in fading light. Our eyes need a lot of light to see colour properly. This is still relevant today if any coloured logo designs were to be photocopied or sent by fax. It is also the reason why certain combinations of colour like red with green just clash and 'offend' our eyes and why care needs to be taken when selecting text and background colours for displays on paper or screen.

Try looking up an unlit road as it is getting dark and you will notice how everything blends in to similar shades of grey, looks very flat and therefore difficult to judge distances. Why might this cause a problem when driving?

Five "COLOURS" are in general use:

RED ("gules")

BLUE ("azure")

BLACK ("sable")

GREEN ("vert")

PURPLE ("purpure")

and two "METALS":

GOLD / YELLOW ("or")

SILVER / WHITE ("argent")

The names for the colours given in brackets are Norman English.

RULE: a COLOUR is placed on top of a METAL, or a METAL on top of a COLOUR. This makes the design more distinct at a distance, or in fading light when colours begin to turn to shades of grey.

RED CROSS ON GREEN WRONG

RED CROSS ON PURPLE WRONG

RED CROSS ON YELLOW CORRECT

WHITE CROSS ON RED CORRECT

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