We live in a Technicolor world. Colors and their shades have distinct effects and meanings in our daily lives. From the moment we open our eyes in the morning to the time we close them to sleep at night, we're constantly bombarded with colors by our surroundings whether in the house, office, school, or the outside environment. We're confronted daily with choices of outfit colors to wear and sometimes an array of colors for clothes or items to buy. Our appetites are often stimulated by the colors of the food on the table, in the markets, or on TV commercials. Undoubtedly, color affects us both physiologically and psychologically in our daily lives.
How much do you know about colors?
Here is a quick run down on the basics of the color palette.
Colors that cannot be created by combining other colors are primary colors: red, blue and yellow. Combining equal amounts of primary colors can create the secondary colors: green, orange and purple. Adding white or black to primary and secondary colors can create darker and lighter hues. An equal combination of a primary color and its closest secondary color can create tertiary colors: blue-green, blue-purple, and yellow-green.
Colors convey different meanings in different cultures. For example, the color yellow means joy and happiness in the West but sacred and imperial in the East.
In the western culture, sending a red rose to someone has a different meaning than sending a yellow or white rose. A red rose stands for love, respect and courage. A yellow rose stands for joy and inspiration. A white rose stands for humility, innocence and purity as well as secrecy and silence.
Here is a quick run down on the meanings for each color in western culture.
Red - passion and desire
Orange - excitement and stimulation
Yellow - creativity, imagination, and inspiration
Green - nature and harmony
Blue - intuition and peace
Brown – stability and security
Purple – royalty, wisdom, and mystery
Black - power and formality
White - virtue and purity
Research has shown that warm colors (yellow, orange and red) increase your temperature, making you feel warm. Yellow increases energy flow and inspires creativity, orange inspires excitement and enthusiasm and red stimulates adrenaline rush. The cooler colors (blue, green and purple) have a calming effect as they tend to slow your heartbeat and relax your muscles, making you feel cool. Blue helps to induce peace and tranquility, green is refreshing and encourages emotional growth, and purple brings healing and balance to the mind.
What colors mean in fashion?
Colors take on a different set of meanings when it comes to fashion. What we choose to wear reflects our personalities as much as the style of our clothing.
Red - a fighter, tough and unstoppable. A single red accessory like a red tie is very effective.
Orange - energy, passion, and happiness. Wearing orange says you're warm and cheerful. Orange and peach are popular colors for weddings.
Yellow - optimism, energy and creativity. Wearing yellow says you're positive and full of potential.
Green - money and success. Wearing green says you're ambitious and ready to succeed.
Blue - hard work and loyalty, making it a good color to wear for job interviews.
Brown - trustworthiness and stability. Wearing brown says you're reliable and realistic.
Purple - nobility, wisdom, and wealth. Wearing purple gives you an aura of class, respect, and individuality.
Black - power, elegance, and authority. Wearing black says you're worldly and authoritative.
White - cleanliness, innocence, and purity. A white gown on a bride symbolizes innocence and purity. White smocks on doctors, nurses and scientists symbolize sterility.
What are the psychological effects of colors?
Red - increases blood pressure and stimulates the adrenal glands. Red gives you vitality and ambition and on the negative side, anger.
Orange - stimulates sexual organs, digestion and strengthens the immune system. Orange has a positive effect on emotions and works as an antidepressant.
Yellow - stimulates the brain and activates the lymph system. Yellow is associated with intellectual thinking: understanding, memory, decision-making and good judgment. On the negative side, a dull yellow can be associated with the feelings of fear.
Green - brings physical equilibrium and relaxation. Green reminds us of nature, creating feelings of comfort, relaxation, and peace. On the negative side, olive green color symbolizes decay and death.
Blue - lowers blood pressure and links to the throat and thyroid gland. Blue has a calming effect, making us feel relaxed and serene. On the negative side, dark blue can be depressing.
Brown - brings feelings of stability and security. On the negative side, brown can also be associated with holding back emotions and withdrawn from the world.
Purple - suppresses hunger and balances the body's metabolism. Purple has been proven to balance the mind and transform obsessions and fears. This color is also associated with psychic power and spirituality.
Black - brings feelings of comfort and protection. On the negative side, black is associated with mystery, silence and death.
White - brings feelings of comfort, freedom and uncluttered openness. On the negative side, white can be associated with feelings of separation, coldness and isolation.
Knowing which color gives you the effects you want can make you more confident and positive in life. Try to surround yourself with colors that make you what you want to be by choosing the right color clothes, accessories, home decoration, office interior, etc. Colors are inspirational! Living in Technicolor is NEVER boring!
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