The visual impact of text — whether it is carved in stone, printed on paper, displayed on screen, or comprises an ebook – can be influenced by a number of factors. Color is one of those. Sometimes, those colors are made from light, sometimes, from the craftsmanship of a painter.

Once upon a time, there was a letter at the start of the first paragraph of a text. It was bigger than the other letters, and, sometimes, it had different colors from the black of the text. It could even hide some symbol or some illustrations and was a way to introduce the reader to the text that followed. At that time, books were hidden in the darkest rooms of religious places or castles, and the only light available to help readers when the sun was down was a candle and its dancing flame.