The Olympics start today and this was the google doodle on the homepage. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to change it.
I wondered what it would look like in RGB+CMY colors so I changed the red to magenta, the orange to tomato red, and the yellow to a lemon yellow. I kept the green the same. I switched the original blue to more of a cyan and left the purple alone since it is close to the violet blue of the RGB system.
I didn’t have time to switch all the shading colors in each block but here’s the quick revised version.
I was so obsessed with expanding the traditional rainbow that it didn’t occur to me that Google was protesting the Russian anti-gay laws. (How could I have missed that?) A good friend pointed it out to me. Head slap! Google rocks!
After doing a little research, I decided I still like my new version. The original gay pride flag had 8 colors, including a hot pink (magenta) and a turquoise (cyan) along with the usual 6 colors. According to Wikipedia, the design of the flag was soon modified due to unavailability of hot pink flag fabric.
The original 8 colors stood for:
Isn’t it fascinating that the colors added to the traditional rainbow represented sexuality and magic/art? Its too bad they were buried again in the name of easier manufacturing.
When I’m teaching, I like to expand the traditional three primary concept of Red, Yellow, Blue to include six colors – the Red Green Blue of the additive (light) system and the Cyan Magenta Yellow of the subtractive (colorant) system. RGB+CMY = Full Circle. I believe its a more integrated and inclusive way to think about color. Not an either/or but a both/and system.
Since over 30 years have gone by, I wonder if magenta and cyan flag fabrics are easier to get. I would so love to see the flag in RGB+CMY colors.
February 9, 2014 at 3:31 am
Thanks Moyra – I’m glad you like it. I had to laugh at myself. I was so focused on shifting things from RYB to CMY that I missed the big picture!
February 8, 2014 at 10:54 pm
Love this Maggie! I much prefer the original design of the pride flag and much prefer your version of the google doodle. They should hire you!