COLOR PSYCHOLOGY Applied Color! Christina Acosta!
Strong Color Associations • Red & Green: • Orange & Black: • Yellow & Black: • Red & White: • Red:
Christmas Halloween Taxi cabs and caution American Red Cross Valentine’s Day
Visible Spectrum Primaries! • Yellow! • Red! • Blue! ! Secondaries! • Orange! • Green! • Violet!
Color Meanings • Yellow: • Orange: • Red: • Purple: • Blue: • Green:
Optimism, warmth, clarity, food Friendly, cheerful, confident Excitement, bold, youthful, power Creative, imaginative, wise, royalty Trust, dependable, strength Growth, peaceful, health, nutrition
Color Meanings • Vary by tint, shade, tone, intensity • ie: Pink vs bright red; bright yellow vs mustard yellow • Warm colors advance • Cool colors recede • Holidays have color associations • Vary by culture - Weddings: U.S. = White; China = Red
Color Meanings Vary by Culture • Fact: Until Queen Victoria wore a white wedding dress in
1840, only poor women wore white dresses. • White was a public statement she brought nothing to the marriage. • Today in the U.S., white is associated with virginity • The color of wedding dresses varies by culture
Wedding Dresses in Different Cultures
Color Meanings Around the World U.S, Australia, & New Zealand: Happiness and purity • East Asia: Mourning or death •
Blue: • U.S.: Most popular corporate color, masculinity • East Asia: Cold and evil • Netherlands: Warmth • Sweden: Coldness • Iran: Death • India: Purity • Belgium: Femininity • Sweden: Masculinity
Color Meanings Around the World (Cont.) Red: • U.S.: Power, boldness, love • India: Ambition and desire • China, Korea & Japan: Love • Denmark & Argentina: Luck • Nigeria: Unlucky Yellow: • U.S.: Warmth • France: Infidelity • Russia: Jealousy • China: Pleasant, happy, and good taste • Brazil: Sorrow and despair
Purple: • Western cultures: Royalty • Eastern cultures (i.e. China & South Korea): Love
Color Spectrum
• Happy and Cheerful • Reminds us of sunshine.
• Exuberates joy, intellect, and energy.
• Food & Restaurants: Often used in restaurants • Used in food packaging •
• Caution • Yellow and black often used for warnings. •
Stoplights, caution signs
Yellow - Restaurants
Yellow – Restaurants (Cont.)
Orange
• Stimulates appetite • Stimulates enthusiasm and creativity • Extroverted and uninhibited • Radiates warmth and energy • Associated with the Fall • Encourages socialization • Promotes general wellness and emotional energy
• Packed with emotions • Hot, strong, love, passion & sexiness • Power, courage & bravery • Assertiveness and confidence • Vibrancy, excitement, enthusiasm & energy • Danger, stop & emergencies • Used in flags: associated with courage & bravery • Valentine’s Day & Christmas
Sexy
Love, Romance & Valentine’s Day
• Bravery & courage • Royalty, aristocracy & nobility • Wealth, opulence & luxury • Wisdom, spirituality & faith • Magic & mysticism • Ceremonies & rituals • Unconscious & subconscious • Passion, sensitivity • Calming & contemplative • Creativity, inspiration, imagination, awareness
Blue • Cool color – recedes • Sky and water • Professional, stable • Power to calm and soothe • Conducive to relaxation and contemplation • Common color for company logos • Strong medical association • Government
Blue - Water and Sky
Blue - Medical
• Fertility, life, calm, peaceful • Health, healing, wellbeing • Harmony, freshness, safety • Nature, growth, spring, rebirth • Renews and restores depleted energy • Recycling / The “Go Green” movement • Environmental / Conservation / Eco-friendliness • Negatives: novice, lack of experience, possessiveness
Green - Nature
Food
Green Movement / Recycling