The Complete Guide to Colour Psychology

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY ASSOCIATIONS OF COLOUR Happiness Lust Love Negativity Sophistication Jea Anug Kund THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY RED BLUE PHYSICAL Red has the longest wavelength INTELLECTUAL of all colours and is therefore considered to be the most powerful colour. Often cited as a 'physical' colour Blue is considered to be the colour of the mind. It is thought to stimulate mental activity, making it the ideal choice for painting the office YELLOW GREEN EMOTIONAL Yellow has a relatively long wavelength and is essentially a stimulating colour. However, it stimulates emotions, rather than thought or action BALANÇE Green is the colour most easily interpreted by the human eye. It is therefore restful. It's also in the middle of the colour spectrum, making it a symbol of balance PURPLE ORANGE SPIRITUALISM Purple and violet have the shortest wavelength. It's said to be transcendental and an aid for high intellectual thought COMFORT Orange takes some of the qualities of yellow and some of red. It is considered a sensual colour and is associated with physical comfort BLACK PINK SERIQUSNESS Black has no wavelength and is in effect the absence of light. Psychologically, it creates a protective barrier and denotes seriousness SOOTHING Pink contains red, which affects the observer physically. As it's just a hint however, it has a soothing effect rather than being stimulating EXAMPLES OF COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY Wearing red appears to have a positive imact on sports performance. Much anecdotal evidence exists to support this. For example, since 1945, football teams that wear red have been more likely to win in league games than teams that wear any other colour. Four of Europe's most successful clubs wear red: MUFC AFC FCBM LFC Man United Ajax Bayern Munich Liverpool Research by Kathy Lamancusa found that blue was the favourite colour of most Americans. This was followed (in order) by green, purple and red. It is thought that the preference for blue and green is evolutionary and is related to the type of environment favoured by our ancestors: - 35% of Americans say blue is their favourite colour, making it the most popular choice among US citizens Other (30%) - 9% of Americans say red is their favourite 10% of Americans say - 16% of Americans say purple is their favourite green is their favourite Research completed in 1996 by Craen, Roos, De Vries and Kleijnen demonstrated that the colour of medication given to patients has a placebo effect: - Hot coloured pills were shown to be more effective as stimulants - Cold coloured pills were shown to be more effective as relaxants CULTURE AND COLOUR A 2010 study indicated that there were significant cultural differences when it came to colour preferences and meanings, with the British and the Chinese differing the most. Cultural Meanings of Red: Beauty Danger RUSSIA UK Patriotism Soldiery USA INDIA CHINA Mourning Good luck S. AFRICA Cultural Meanings of Blue: Loyalty Calming RUSSIA Patriotism UK Mourning IRAN USA ITALY CHINA Religion Healing Cultural Meanings of Green: Eco UK Inexperience Islam USA GREECE INDIA JAPAN Victory Life Death S. AMERICA FAMOUS COLOUR USE Used in labs, hospitals and for precision engineering, white rooms stimulate a higher awareness of contaminațion Researchers in the USA have recommended prison cells are painted pink as it has such a calming effect GREEN Green is known to be WHITE PINK calming, so despite the fact it's less pure and sterile than white, it is often used in hospitals HM PRISON In 2000, blue lighting was used as an anti-crime measure in Glasgow. The city council changed street lighting in certain areas to blue. Anecdotal evidence indicated that this reduced crime and antisocial behaviour BLUE RED London buses were painted red in to make them more visible, both for pedestrians and commuters In 2010. Philips trialled a blue-tinted light in Surrey classrooms designed to wake children up and become more alert. The same system was used previously in Hamburg, where it reduced hyperactivity by 77% and errors fell by 45% in a three year trial. BLUE SOURCES Infographic brought to you by: http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/ http://www.infoplease.com/ http://www.factmonster.com/ http://www.news.com.au/ http://wordnet.princeton.edu/ http://answers.yahoo.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org A MARA LIFE · STYLE· LIVING Visit us at w ww.amara.com POSITIVE CONNOTATIONS Competence Sincerity Nature Grief Ssnojear Expensivenes NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS