The Psychology Of Colors

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COLORS 85% of Human communication is visual. And what more aspect of visual communication can deliver excitement and variety than Color? The Rainbow (The Universal intro to the Visible Spectrum) Most people believe that the only colors of a rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, but a rainbow is actually made up of an entire continuum of colors – even colors the eye can’t see! A designer should not use color without a specific plan or goal. Here are some of color’s principle uses: o o o o o o o o o o

Conveying emotion and meaning Changing perception of space Changing apparent size Showing similarities and differences Parsing the visual field into chunks Linking spatially separated objects together Attracting attention Creating emphasis Smoothing to improve image quality Creating aesthetic and emotional appeal

What are some common mistakes in color usage? o o o o

Using insufficient brightness contrast. This is the biggest sin,by far. Paying attention only to aesthetics Using color for color’s sake without a specific plan or color scheme. Assigning different colors to the same type of the same color to different types o Using hue to represent a quantitative continuum o Creating large fields of saturated color o Using too many colors How does color convey meaning? OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Agency), for example, has standardized o o o o o

RED: danger ORANGE: warning YELLOW: caution BLUE: notice GREEN: safety

Moreover, the CIE even specified the parts of color space which should be used for each color signal. However, these associations of color and meaning may be culture specific and should be used with care. The association of mood or feeling with color is uniquely human. For most people, different colors represent different moods. However, common associations stemming from tradition, nature and personal experiences include: Nature Anatomy Natural Harmony Physical Effect Emotional Effect

RED

ORANGE

YELLOW

GREEN

BLUE

Fire/Bloo d Base of Spine Warmth

Sun/Day

Stars

Genitals

Stomach

Earth Trees Throat

Homey

Brightnes s

Stimulati ng

Revitalizing

Revitalizi ng (peach)

Stimulation

Mental Effect

Stimulatio n

Spiritual Associatio n

Blood of Jesus

Endurance and Strength

Streets of Heaven

Natural Harmony and Other Assocaitio ns

Warmth Heat Urgency Appetite Passion Masculini ty Aggressio n War Love

Homey Autumn Abundance Appetite Communicati on Ambition Generosity Receptivity

Brightnes s Cowardic e Harvest Gold Intelligen ce Youth

PURPLE

BLACK

WHITE

Water

Clouds

Moon/Night

Air/Snow

Brain

Crown

Disease

Natural

Solid

Meditativ e

Wealth & Status

Restful

Restfu l (lt blue) Restfu l

Base of Spine Compose d Sedate

Fasting, faith, patience, trust

Sin, Darkness

Purity

Meditativ e Wealth Royalty Sophistication Intelligen ce Religious Femininit y Lust Penitence Fantasy

Wealth & Status Sophisticat ed Death Rebellion Strength Sinister Evil

Compose d Purity Cleanline ss Lightness Emptines s

Revitalizi ng (Emerald) Growth in our relationsh ip with Jesus Natural Health Environment Money Vegetatio n Fertility Life Hope

INDIGO

Restful Peace of the Holy Spirit Solid Truth Dignit y Power Coolness Pristin e Melan -choly Heaviness Doubt

Super Sensitiv e Visionar y Aestheti c Abstract Inspired Telephat ic Creative