Have you ever wondered why red is usually associated with danger, passion, and anger, why the color blue is linked with calmness, or why purple consistently symbolizes royalty and wealth?
Whether these associations stem from scientific data or social constructs, the point remains that color choices have meanings and serve as a crucial communication tool for the human brain.
The color of a product or food, for example, will undoubtedly influence how we perceive its flavor and quality, which is why most fast-food restaurants often use red and yellow colors as it tends to create a sense of excitement.
On the other hand, you can’t spot a doctor or nurse wearing a red or yellow scrub. Instead, they dress in blue because it inspires calmness, confidence, serenity, healing, and relief.
You see, the human senses guide its perceptions, actions, and even feelings. This means that the way we feel, act, or react is usually due to various sensory triggers whether it’s a smell, taste, sound, a feel on the skin, or a particular sight.
The eyes, being a vital sensory organ, play a crucial role in this discourse. Humans react to what they see and make many decisions depending on what they perceive from these visual impressions.
In other words, our perception and emotion can be significantly influenced by how colors, patterns, and structures appear to us. This is the simple science that explains color psychology.
Simply put, colors can be a powerful communication element that transmits essential messages to the human brain. They are emotional content that influences human reaction, perception, and feeling.
Overall, colors are all around us, and whether we realize it or not, the sight and choice of colors have varying effects on individuals. They reflect a thought or conclusion and may affect our behavior, thinking, and feelings. The interesting thing is, the process is so automatic that we are often not aware of the impact and influence.
Color Theory
Color theory is the science that describes how we use colors. It covers how colors are perceived, their visual impact, the messages they convey, and their uses.
Color theory can help you make better color choices. It is especially beneficial to artists because it helps them understand and interpret color relationships and combinations. This can help them develop their own color styles, structured color schemes, and their own unique color blends.
The idea is that selecting colors that go well together is a bit of a science that demands a certain level of expertise. The fundamentals of color theory describe how to use the colour wheel, which classifies and combines primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.
Overall, color is a nonverbal communication tool that can subconsciously influence people. Although color effects and meaning are subjective, understanding the color theory can assist in making informed color choices.
Color Psychology
Color psychology is the science of studying colors in connection to their influence and effects on human perception, feeling, and behavior. Color psychology simply defines the meaning of colors and their psychological impacts on humans.
As previously stated, colors are an effective visual cue that draws human attention. However, there may be minor disparities in how we perceive or respond to colors, owing to environmental and cultural differences. Moreover, there appear to be universal, cross-cultural similarities in the way color is believed to influence people or what each color represents.
Warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow for instance, usually depict intense emotions like love, passion, happiness, and anger. While cold colors such as blue, green, and purple are typically associated with tranquillity, sadness, and indifference.
Certain scientific facts and data have explained these broad generalizations regarding colors. Many cultural and social theories have also been put out to explain it.
Moreover, regardless of whether the origin of these ideas or beliefs about colors is purely social or stems from scientific research, the fact remains that colors can impact our feelings, perceptions, and behavior in many ways.
Color and Emotion
Colors are emotional content and can therefore evoke different emotional responses in people. These emotional associations and responses usually vary with culture, background, personal experiences, and gender.
For example, people associate purple with royalty and riches in many Western countries. However, in Thailand and Brazil, it is thought to represent mourning. Also, while blackness is traditionally attributed to riches and prosperity in some Asian cultures, it is commonly associated with grief and death in the West and most parts of the world.
However, different colors might also have diverse connotations or meanings within a culture, depending on the situation. For example, if you see the color red at a flower store, it suggests love and romance, yet when you see red during a football game, it signifies violent behavior and unfairness.
The point is that various colors can evoke different thoughts or emotional content. Depending on biological programming, cultural imprinting, environment and context, they can express feelings of happiness, grief, hunger, excitement, relaxation, or any other psychological condition.
Therefore, one significant factor to consider in color choices is the culture and environment of use. Let us consider some colors and how they are commonly associated with emotions.
Cool Colors
Colors such as blue and green appear cool, as they are typically less vivid and intense. They usually signify tranquility and suggest a relaxed and calming effect. This is why they are often referred to as calming colors.
A neutral color like white or grey can also convey the same message. Colors such as black and brown can also represent sadness.
Warm colors
Colors like red and yellow are considered warm because they are usually attention-grabbing. That is, since they appear bright, you can notice them easily. They are commonly used to represent enthusiasm, great energy, intensity, danger, and optimism, which is why they are known as joyful colors.
Red, especially, is typically linked to the most intense feelings and moods, while royal blue and turquoise are said to convey a feeling of refreshment and invigoration.
Also, bright colors such as neon green, bright yellow, and bright red usually communicate a sense of alertness.
How Color Shapes Our Daily Lives?
Beyond our emotions, colors can also influence and impact our taste, perception of temperature, performance, decisions, etc. Here are some other examples of how colors can influence us.
Perception of Temperature
You can also use color to signify the intensity of temperature. Warm colors like red or yellow usually represent a hot substance, which is why they are usually the perfect color choices to represent things such as the sun and fire.
Likewise, cool colors like blue are frequently employed to depict cooler temperatures. It is hardly strange that pictures of chilly substances such as ice, water, and rain are depicted in blue.
How Colors Shape Our Taste Preferences?
The color of a food can also influence preference or desire for the food. Colors that are not commonly linked with food, such as black or light blues, will normally trigger disgust and loss of appetite.
Warm colors, on the other hand, are typically connected with food and, as a result, will most likely boost appetite. This is why such colors are mostly used in fast-food restaurants.
How Color Affects Our Judgments and Decisions?
The human brain typically relies heavily on emotions to make decisions. As a result, because colors elicit emotional responses in people, they can influence judgments.
For example, the color of your product may persuade a customer to purchase it. Research has shown that warm colors on a brand or specific product elicit trust and a pleasant attitude, which might lead to purchasing intentions. This is why color is usually an important element in branding and marketing.
Colors are used by businesses and brands to associate with specific concepts and ideas, to convey specific values or messages, and to create the appropriate emotional content that elicits a specific emotional response in their customers.
A good knowledge of how colors work can therefore be of significant help to you. It will help to know which emotions your target audience associates with what color. As a result, you will be able to trigger the appropriate feelings.
Colors in Traffic
The different colors used in traffic signs are neither arbitrary nor random. They are chosen carefully to communicate the traffic signals they represent. The effects of color on emotions and behavior apply to the color choices.
For example, red is usually used for stop signs, because red generally denotes and commands immediate reaction.
Choosing Colors
The idea behind color perception and influence are that color is not only associated with what we see. It goes as far as representing tastes, scents, sounds, and ideas in our minds and thus influences our perceptions, actions, and feelings.
Therefore, when it comes to color choices, it’s important to consider how those colors will impact emotions and perceptions.
For example, it would be wise to use cool colors like green or blue for bedroom paint, because they are likely to create an atmosphere that suggests calmness and relaxation.
On the other hand, bright and bold colors like orange or yellow would be the ideal color choices for a workout space, as they create a sense of energy and excitement.
Conclusion
Owing to different socio-cultural factors, there can be minor variations in how we perceive or respond to colors. However, there appear to be universal, cross-cultural similarities in the way color is believed to influence people or what each color represents.
Nevertheless, regardless of how color is perceived or understood, the truth remains that colors are all around us and have a significant impact on our perceptions and emotions. As a result, an excellent understanding of color and its influence or impact will guide our color choices.
