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Colour Psychology > Psychological Properties
of Colours
How does colour psychology work? Colour is light, travelling to
us in waves from the sun, on the same electro-magnetic spectrum
as radio and television waves, microwaves, x-rays etc. Light is
the only part of the spectrum that we can see, which perhaps explains
why we take it less seriously than the invisible power of the other
rays. Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated that light travels in waves,
when he shone white light through a triangular prism and the different
wavelengths refracted at different angles, enabling him to see the
colours of the rainbow (the spectrum).
When light strikes any coloured object, the object will absorb
only the wavelengths that exactly match its own atomic structure
and reflect the rest - which is what we see. Turn this around and
it is easy to understand how the colour of anything is a clear indication
of its atomic structure or, in simple terms, what it is made of.
When light strikes the human eye, the wavelengths do so in different
ways, influencing our perceptions. In the retina, they are converted
into electrical impulses that pass to the hypothalamus, the part
of the brain governing our hormones and our endocrine system. Although
we are unaware of it, our eyes and our bodies are constantly adapting
to these wavelengths of light.
Colour is energy and the fact that it has a physical effect on
us has been proved time and again in experiments - most notably
when blind people were asked to identify colours with their fingertips
and were all able to do so easily.
There are only eleven basic colour words in the English language,
and yet there are literally millions of colours. Computers will
give us sixteen million and the human eye can distinguish more than
any machine. After the basic eleven, we borrow words, such as avocado
(is that the flesh, or the skin?) and grape (is that deep purple
or green?) to describe the myriad of shades, tones and tints. This
inevitably creates confusion in colour communication. People often
ask, "Do we all see colours the same?" Who knows? The
point is that in colour psychology it does not seem to matter what
we think we are looking at; the effect of colours on us is caused
by their energy entering our bodies. Colour-blind people are also
sensitive to colour psychology.
The eleven basic colours have fundamental psychological properties
that are universal, regardless of which particular shade, tone or
tint of it you are using. Each of them has potentially positive
or negative psychological effects and which of these effects is
created depends on the relationships within colour combinations.
Click here for further clarification of this
important point.
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:
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, food, warmth, security, sensuality,
passion, abundance, 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 green…etc.)
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. Positively, it communicates absolute clarity, with
no fine nuances. It works particularly well with white. It communicates
sophistication and uncompromising excellence. It creates a perception
of weight and seriousness (it is a myth that black clothes are slimming).
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.
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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