I don't understand how accurate representation of color becomes a concern in the areas graphic design. Sure, black is almost never a good choice when practicing any sort of representational art. Mixing it with other pigment in a effort to darken it saps any nuance or sensitivity that may have been present in your colors, and will almost never be true to the colors you are actually observing.
I don't however, understand how any of this is relevant and applicable to most design. Offhandedly disregarding all use of black is quite silly, and shows a lack of appreciation of the interplay of colors. Designers aren't artists. Designers very often make no attempt to represent any real thing. So why should physical phenomena enter the equation?
It is also incredibly important for designers to be sensitive of color, and to be aware of how they interact and play with one another. All of that is a given.
Human beings are accustomed to looking a physical phenomena. Designs that deviate from those rules are experienced as artificial, strange or uncomfortable. But you're right that you can't say never use black. It would be more correct to say never use black unless your goal is to make the viewer feel uncomfortable.
Please show me some research, or even anecdotal evidence supporting the claim that black makes people uncomfortable.
Furthermore, the idea that designs which deviate from physical counterparts, are "strange" or "uncomfortable" is completely unsupported by vast amounts of highly popular and effective designs. Indeed it is often the goal of many designers to deviate from and simplify any physical artifact it may reference.
I haven't seen any claim substantiated by evidence of any sort. All claims appear to supported by the concerns of representational artists, this blog post, and some huge assumptions made about the human mind.
Graphic design is too complex, sophisticated to be subjected to these maxims you and others seem eager to impose.
It will come as a shock for you to learn that high modernist design aesthetic you are celebrating was subjected to some withering critiques. It was considered cold, austere, artificial, too abstract, uncomfortable and hostile to humanity -- all of the things I just said. When applied to urban planning, it was associated with bureaucracy, elitism and authoritarianism.
Given your limited knowledge of the history of design, I suggest being a little more cautious about accusing others of lacking sophistication.
I never suggested that the work of Ruder, Brockmann, or Rand was the highest echelon reachable by a designer. I never meant to suggest that theirs is the only aesthetic worth emulating or admiring. They are merely prominent examples of design that takes no queues from physical phenomena.
If the existence of a physical referent was as important as you claim, then I suppose the use of white (#000), red ( #f00), and countless other colors that aren't found in the physical world should be similarly avoided.
I never suggested that you were unsophisticated. I am merely stating that design is something far to sophisticated to apply broad dogmatic generalizations to. The suggestion that the usage of black is to be universally avoided flys in the face of the very history you seem to be concerned with.
I am still interested to see some research suggesting the the very usage of black leads to "strange" design. I see it used daily across many different contexts, for vastly different audiences. Has there been some trend away from black that major organizations such as the AIGA[1], TDC[2], and leaders of field such as Bruce Mau[3], Jennifer Morla[4], and Michael Beirut[5] have all been unaware of?
I'd appreciate you refraining from the condescension. I am very aware of the critiques that have been made of their work. I haven't seen it related to urban planning however, and would be very interested in reading about it further.
First, most of the design work you are referring to comes from the print world, which has some differences from designing for a screen. Second, part of the reason that modernist styles were critically acclaimed is because they managed to pull off something very difficult. They violated conventions and still managed to create successful designs. This doesn't really change the fact that not using black and sticking with a more natural style is good general advice, just like the techniques of professional race car drivers don't really apply to the average driver.
Naturalism is a more forgiving guideline for people without a strong design background - it will help them produce better design work, partly because they have a baseline of comparison in their everyday environment.
I don't however, understand how any of this is relevant and applicable to most design. Offhandedly disregarding all use of black is quite silly, and shows a lack of appreciation of the interplay of colors. Designers aren't artists. Designers very often make no attempt to represent any real thing. So why should physical phenomena enter the equation?
It is also incredibly important for designers to be sensitive of color, and to be aware of how they interact and play with one another. All of that is a given.