Color Psychology
I feel super inspired after taking this course by Ana Marcu, so I decided to dive deeper into the subject of color psychology. Here are some ideas that I have learned so far. Happy learning!
1) Humans Are Susceptible to Colors
We humans are master of distinguishing colors, perhaps more acute than any other animals. Because we have to be so in order to secure our survival back in the days, when our archaic human ancestors were collecting fruits or spotting stream as well as lush forests in the wild. Humans are great travelers, that’s just our way of living, and we change our habitats all the time (otherwise we would all have stayed in Africa continent) That is why we have evolved to have eagle eyes and a phenomenal power to distinguish colors.
2) Colors, Light, and Emotions
The relationship between those three are intertwined. If you see bright colors, you’ll feel happy and excited. But if you see dark colors, you tend to feel more gloomy and anxious almost instantly.
This is how our brain is programmed to colors. We love brightness because it represents daylight and a sense of safety and nourishment. We crave for orange as it means vitamin C(at least in ancient time). Color is only a medium to what we desire. We want the feelings like joy or security that are associated with certain colors.
3) How Cultures Shapes Our Interpretation of Colors
- In Western Countries, Green is associated with wealth and spring.
- The use of color black and white varies in different countries. Japan, for example, has something called 白無垢(Shiromuku) which is a kind of Kimono(Japanese clothes) in pure white. 白無垢 is praised so much in Japan that the Japanese women wear it in their wedding.
- In China, on the other hand, you only see white clothes in times of funeral. And instead of white, Chinese wear vibrant red dress in the wedding.
4) King of All Colors — Red
What is the most popular colour used in designing national flags?
Surprising, statistics show that 77% of the national flags worldwide contain color red. The second most popular color on national flags is white(72%), followed by blue(53%).
Red is widely used, not only on national flags, but also in festive events like San Fermín in Spain, Christmas, or Chinese New Year.
So what’s the magic of red that draws human eyes so much? Here are some key words linked to color red.
Not long ago, I’ve read a psychological article which says “Humans has a primitive brain which only have 3 basic needs: Food, Survival, and Sex.”
Now that with that understanding, have you noticed that red is a mixed symbol of those three? Red represents energy, and it stimulates our senses, giving us a better appetite. Too many restaurant brands are using red, like Mac Donald’s, KFC, and Domino’s. What’s cooler is that even the cover page design of Michelin guide is in red. Red also means survival, it’s the color of blood and heart. And lastly, red is often linked to sex because of passion and excitement. For this similar reason, studies have shown the link between wearing a red jersey and increased sports performance.
Another worth mentioning point about red, is its cousin pink. Pink is a mixture of red and purple, and it has some surprising effect on our mood! Studies indicate that pink can effectively reduce aggression and agitation found in jail prisoners or school children. This discovery isn’t hard to understand, because pink gives us a feeling of femininity and love in today’s world. To me, pink also reminds me of motherhood and a sense of nursing.
Pink is making man weaker, even the the badass ones
Now I’m thinking about buying some hats, pants, even pen all in pink color. Maybe they’ll work wonder some day in a super stressful exam, you never know!
So that’s all about it. Colors are and will always be there so they’re really important, and I hope that you have learned something about color psychology today.
Hit the clap bottom below to show so that this kind of writing has helped you. Thanks!🧡❤️💛
