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What is Color Psychology?

The color blue is suggested for high-traffic rooms or rooms


that you or other people will spend significant amounts of
time. Another cool color, blue is typically a calming and
serene color, said to decrease respiration and lower blood
pressure. The bedroom is a great place to use these colors
as they should help you relax.

The psychology of color is based on the mental and


emotional effects colors have on sighted people in all facets
of life. There are some very subjective pieces to color
psychology as well as some more accepted and proven
elements. Keep in mind, that there will also be variations in
interpretation, meaning, and perception between different Psychological Effects of Warm Colors
cultures.
Want to create an environment of stimulation or whet
Applying Color Psychology to Everday Life
peoples appetite? You might consider utilizing the colors
yellow or orange. These colors are often associated with
Did you know your surroundings may be influencing your food and can cause your tummy to growl a little. Have you
emotions and state of mind? Do you ever notice that certain ever wondered why so many restaurants use these colors?
places especially irritate you? Or that certain places are Now you know why even after people watched the movie
especially relaxing and calming? Well, theres a good SuperSize Me, they said they were hungry.
chance that the colors in those spaces are playing a part.
You do want to be careful about using bright colors like
In art therapy, color is often associated with a persons orange and especially yellow. They reflect more light and
emotions. Color may also influence a persons mental or excessively stimulate a persons eyes which can lead to
physical state. For example, studies have shown that some irritation. You also probably dont want to paint your dining
people looking at the color red resulted in an increased room or kitchen these colors if youre a calorie-counter.
heart rate, which then led to additional adrenaline being
pumped into the blood stream. You can learn more about Pyschology of Color for Marketing & Advertising
how color therapy works and how light and color might
affect us.
Marketing and advertising are well-known for utilizing color
psychology. The fact that some companies have heavily
There are also commonly noted psychological effects of invested in this type of research and many others have
color as it relates to two main categories: warm and cool. followed through in its use shows they have at enough
Warm colors such as red, yellow and orange can spark belief in the concepts of color psychology to implement
a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to them in their advertising.
hostility and anger. Cool colors such as green, blue and
purple often spark feelings of calmness as well as Color is consistently used in an attempt to make people
sadness.
hungry, associate a positive or negative tone, encourage
trust, feelings of calmness or energy, and countless other
The concepts of color psychology can also be applied in ways.
everyday life. For example, maybe youre planning on repainting your walls or redecorating a house or room with a Most marketing and advertising executives will likely agree
new color scheme. Well, you might want to consider some that there are benefits to understanding and utilizing the
of these suggestions about colors and how they might affect psychological effects of colors. Now lets take a look at
your emotions and mood:
some of the more common traits of color psychology, by
some common colors.
Psychological Effects of Cool Colors
Common Psychological Effects of Colors
Need to be creative? Want help getting those brain
synapses firing? Try utilizing the color purple. Purple utilizes The following are some common psychological effects of
both red and blue to provide a nice balance between colors in the Western Hemisphere. You can also review the
stimulation and serenity that is supposed to encourage following pages for a more comprehensive list of color
creativity. Light purple is said to result in a peaceful meanings and symbolism, including some charts weve
surrounding, thus relieving tension. These could be great created that you can download or embed on your site.
colors for a home or business office.
Are you looking for a peaceful and calming environment?
You might consider using green and/or blue. These cool
colors are typically considered restful. There is actually a bit
of scientific logic applied to this because the eye focuses
the color green directly on the retina, it is said to be less
strainful on your eye muscles.

Keep in mind that certain shades or tones may result in very


different meanings. Also, the context around the color, and
even surrounding colors, can have an effect. Think of this as
more of a beginning guide to color psychology.
Color Psychology: The Color White

purity

life

innocence

blood

cleanliness

sense of space

happy

neutrality

energetic

mourning (in some cultures/societies)

excitement

enthusiasm

Color Psychology: The Color Black

Color Psychology: The Color Orange

authority

warmth

power

wealth prosperity

strength

sophistication

evil

change

intelligence

stimulation

thinning / slimming

death or mourning

Color Psychology: The Color Gray

Color Psychology: The Color Yellow

happiness

laughter

neutral

cheery

timeless

warmth

practical

optimism

hunger

Color Psychology: The Color Red

love

intensity

romance

frustration

gentle

anger

warmth

attention-getting

comfort

energy

natural

excitement

cool

intensity

growth

Color Psychology: The Color Green

money

health

reliability

envy

stability

tranquility

friendship

harmony

sadness

calmness

warmth

fertility

comfort

security

Color Psychology: The Color Blue

Color Psychology: The Color Brown

calmness

natural

serenity

organic

cold

mourning (in some cultures/societies)

uncaring

wisdom

romance

loyalty

love

truth

gentle

focused

calming

un-appetizing

agitation

Color Psychology: The Color Purple

royalty

wealth

sophistication

wisdom

exotic

spiritual

prosperity

respect

mystery

Color Psychology: The Color Pink

Understanding
the
of Colors in Color Psychology

Meaning

The meaning of colors can vary depending on culture and


circumstances.
Each color has many aspects to it but you can easily learn
the language of color by understanding a few simple
concepts which I will teach you here.

Non-verbal Communication
Color is a form of non verbal communication. It is not a
static energy and its meaning can change from one day to
the next with any individual - it all depends on what energy
they are expressing at that point in time.

For example, a person may choose to wear red on a


particular day and this may indicate that this is their favorite
(personality) color, orthey are ready to take action, or they
may be passionate about what they are going to be doing
that day, or again it may mean that they are feeling angry
that day, on either a conscious or subconscious level. All
are traits of the color red.
Psychological Properties Of Colours
There are four psychological primary colours - red,
blue, yellow and green. They relate respectively to the
body, the mind, the emotions and the essential
balance between these three. The psychological
properties of the eleven basic colours are as follows
(Learn how you can harness the positive effects of the
colours, by joining us on one of our courses):
RED. Physical
Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy,
basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity,
excitement.
Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.
Being the longest wavelength, red is a powerful colour.
Although not technically the most visible, it has the
property of appearing to be nearer than it is and therefore
it grabs our attention first. Hence its effectiveness in traffic
lights the world over. Its effect is physical; it stimulates us
and raises the pulse rate, giving the impression that time
is passing faster than it is. It relates to the masculine
principle and can activate the "fight or flight" instinct. Red
is strong, and very basic. Pure red is the simplest colour,
with no subtlety. It is stimulating and lively, very friendly. At
the same time, it can be perceived as demanding and
aggressive.
BLUE. Intellectual.
Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency,
serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.
Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion,
unfriendliness.
Blue is the colour of the mind and is essentially soothing;
it affects us mentally, rather than the physical reaction we
have to red. Strong blues will stimulate clear thought and
lighter, soft blues will calm the mind and aid
concentration. Consequently it is serene and mentally
calming. It is the colour of clear communication. Blue
objects do not appear to be as close to us as red ones.
Time and again in research, blue is the world's favourite
colour. However, it can be perceived as cold, unemotional
and unfriendly.

YELLOW. Emotional
Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion,
emotional
strength,
friendliness,
creativity.
Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression,
anxiety, suicide.
The yellow wavelength is relatively long and essentially
stimulating. In this case the stimulus is emotional,
therefore yellow is the strongest colour, psychologically.
The right yellow will lift our spirits and our self-esteem; it
is the colour of confidence and optimism. Too much of it,
or the wrong tone in relation to the other tones in a colour
scheme, can cause self-esteem to plummet, giving rise to
fear and anxiety. Our "yellow streak" can surface.
GREEN. Balance
Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love,
rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness,
equilibrium,
peace.
Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation.
Green strikes the eye in such a way as to require no
adjustment whatever and is, therefore, restful. Being in
the centre of the spectrum, it is the colour of balance - a
more important concept than many people realise. When
the world about us contains plenty of green, this indicates
the presence of water, and little danger of famine, so we
are reassured by green, on a primitive level. Negatively, it
can indicate stagnation and, incorrectly used, will be
perceived as being too bland.
VIOLET. Spiritual
Positive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury,
authenticity,
truth,
quality.
Negative:
Introversion,
decadence,
suppression,
inferiority.
The shortest wavelength is violet, often described as
purple. It takes awareness to a higher level of thought,
even into the realms of spiritual values. It is highly
introvertive and encourages deep contemplation, or
meditation. It has associations with royalty and usually
communicates the finest possible quality. Being the last
visible wavelength before the ultra-violet ray, it has
associations with time and space and the cosmos.
Excessive use of purple can bring about too much
introspection and the wrong tone of it communicates
something cheap and nasty, faster than any other colour.
ORANGE.
Positive: Physical comfort,
sensuality,
passion,

food, warmth,
abundance,

security,
fun.

Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity.


Since it is a combination of red and yellow, orange is
stimulating and reaction to it is a combination of the
physical and the emotional. It focuses our minds on
issues of physical comfort - food, warmth, shelter etc. and sensuality. It is a 'fun' colour. Negatively, it might
focus on the exact opposite - deprivation. This is
particularly likely when warm orange is used with black.
Equally, too much orange suggests frivolity and a lack of
serious intellectual values.
PINK.
Positive: Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth, femininity,
love,
sexuality,
survival
of
the
species.
Negative:
Inhibition,
emotional
claustrophobia,
emasculation, physical weakness.
Being a tint of red, pink also affects us physically, but it
soothes, rather than stimulates. (Interestingly, red is the
only colour that has an entirely separate name for its tints.
Tints of blue, green, yellow, etc. are simply called light
blue, light greenetc.) Pink is a powerful colour,
psychologically. It represents the feminine principle, and
survival of the species; it is nurturing and physically
soothing. Too much pink is physically draining and can be
somewhat emasculating.
GREY.
Positive:
Psychological
neutrality.
Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression,
hibernation, lack of energy.
Pure grey is the only colour that has no direct
psychological properties. It is, however, quite
suppressive. A virtual absence of colour is depressing and
when the world turns grey we are instinctively conditioned
to draw in and prepare for hibernation. Unless the precise
tone is right, grey has a dampening effect on other
colours used with it. Heavy use of grey usually indicates a
lack of confidence and fear of exposure.
BLACK.
Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional
safety,
efficiency,
substance.
Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness.
Black is all colours, totally absorbed. The psychological
implications of that are considerable. It creates protective
barriers, as it absorbs all the energy coming towards you,

and it enshrouds the personality. Black is essentially an


absence of light, since no wavelengths are reflected and it
can, therefore be menacing; many people are afraid of
the dark. Positively, it communicates absolute clarity, with
no fine nuances. It communicates sophistication and
uncompromising excellence and it works particularly well
with white. Black creates a perception of weight and
seriousness.
It is a myth that black clothes are slimming:
Which of these boxes do you think is bigger/heavier?
The truth behind the myth is that black is the most
recessive colour a matter of not drawing attention to
yourself, rather than actually making you look slimmer.
WHITE.
Positive: Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness,
simplicity,
sophistication,
efficiency.
Negative: Sterility, coldness, barriers, unfriendliness,
elitism.
Just as black is total absorption, so white is total
reflection. In effect, it reflects the full force of the spectrum
into our eyes. Thus it also creates barriers, but differently
from black, and it is often a strain to look at. It
communicates, "Touch me not!" White is purity and, like
black, uncompromising; it is clean, hygienic, and sterile.
The concept of sterility can also be negative. Visually,
white gives a heightened perception of space. The
negative effect of white on warm colours is to make them
look and feel garish.
BROWN.
Positive: Seriousness, warmth, Nature, earthiness,
reliability,
support.
Negative: Lack of humour, heaviness, lack of
sophistication.
Brown usually consists of red and yellow, with a large
percentage of black. Consequently, it has much of the
same seriousness as black, but is warmer and softer. It
has elements of the red and yellow properties. Brown has
associations with the earth and the natural world. It is a
solid, reliable colour and most people find it quietly
supportive - more positively than the ever-popular black,
which is suppressive, rather than supportive.

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