About Colour Psychology.
Colour
is made up of three components: hue (colour pigmentation), chroma (colour
saturation), and value (lightness or darkness degree)[i].
This psychological concept (colour psychology) originated when Carl Jung[ii] discovered individuals’ emotions and judgements can be affected by
psychological and physiological reactions to different colours[iii].
Research has shown that green, blue
and purple (cool colours) stimulate a variety of feelings, for example,
tranquillity, growth, and a sense of luxury. Green provokes a sense of growth,
achievement, envy, optimism, harmony, and renewal, whilst also linking to
health and relaxation. Blue stimulates serenity, tranquillity, trustworthiness,
and dependability, although it can also stimulate negative emotions such as
being inconsiderate. Moreover, purple links to luxury, having a lot of money,
being creative, and religious beliefs, and darker shades of purple create a
sense of intrigue and elegance. On the other hand, red, orange, and yellow
(warm colours) can increase levels of energy, which could also lead to a
subsequent increase of anxiety. Red can initiate feelings of energy, passion,
intimacy, and urgency, while also representing exciting times, rage, and
intensity. Orange is known as the most stimulating colour which links to
eagerness, warmth, and liveliness, whilst yellow represents feelings of joy, hopefulness,
creativity, optimism, and mental activity stimulation. Pink is often associated
with tenderness, femininity, adolescence, and purity, although hotter shades
can be linked to authority, confidence, and excitement. Furthermore, black,
white, and brown (neutral colours) can also be linked to a range of feelings.
Power, death and mystery tend to be linked to black, whilst innocence, mental
activity, and neutrality are associated with white, and brown is the “colour of
‘nature’” and reliability[iv].
Although these associations could give
the impression that colour psychology follows set rules, certain colours can
mean very different things to individuals based on personal experiences and
cultural differences.
A study by
Kaya and Epps (2004)[v] asked college students to associate colours with different emotions. Results
found that for the principal hues 79.6% of colour-emotion association were
positive. In particular they found that overall, the colour blue received a
large amount of positive emotional responses with participants associating the
colour blue with the sky, peaceful, and happiness. They also highlighted the
fact that different colours can have different meaning in different
countries/cultures. In Western cultures the colour red can be seen negatively
as being associated with errors in school homework, red traffic lights meaning
to stop, or with danger, but it can also be seen positively linking to love and
passion[vi].
[i]Thompson, E., Palacios, A., & Varela, F. J. (1992). On the ways to color. Behavioral
and Brain Sciences, 15(1), 56–74.
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x00067583
[ii]Cianci, Lisa. “Colour Psychology and Physiology.” Pressbooks, February 23,
2023.
https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/colourtheory1/chapter/colour-psychology-physiology/#:~:text=He%20is%20quoted%20as%20saying,with%20all%20of%20Freud's%20theories.
[iii]Sybaris. “Psychology of Color: How Color Impacts Feelings About Art.” Sybaris
Collection, October 31, 2022.
https://www.sybariscollection.com/psychology-color-color-impacts-feelings-art/.
[iv]Sybaris. “Psychology of Color: How Color Impacts Feelings About Art.” Sybaris
Collection, October 31, 2022. https://www.sybariscollection.com/psychology-color-color-impacts-feelings-art/.
[v]Kaya, N., & Epps, H. H. (2004). Relationship between color and emotion: A
study of college students. College Student Journal, 38(3), 396.
http://irtel.uni-mannheim.de/lehre/expra/artikel/Kaya_Epps_2004b.pdf
[vi]Aslam, M. M. (2006). Are you selling the right colour? A cross‐cultural
review of colour as a marketing cue. Journal of Marketing Communications,
12(1), 15–30.