The Language of Colour provides a fresh approach to the study of colour. Moving on from the meanings of single colours, Theo van Leeuwen develops the theory that many different features shape the way we attach meaning to the colours we see in front of us, and the idea that colour schemes are more important than individual colours. Chapters include: a brief history of the meanings of colour the relationship between language and colour names within a cultural context corporate uses of colour the meaning of colour in everyday life. Spanning a range of examples from graphic design to the visual arts, this title presents a contemporary and accessible overview of the use of colour in a wide variety of situations and cultural and historical contexts. Covering both traditional and cutting-edge theory and supplemented by questions and ideas for projects at the end of every chapter, The Language of Colour is the ideal textbook for students of Multimodality and Language and Communication within Applied Linguistics, Communication Studies, Art and Design and Cultural Studies.