Suppose you are in a room where everything is white, meaning the furniture, walls, ceiling, everything is white. And your friend is in a room where everything is red including the light. The temperature, atmosphere of both rooms are same.
But will both of you feel same??
Nope.
You can feel refreshed, pure or also can feel lonely.
But your friend?? He will definitely feel highly excited or aggressive or rarely can have the feeling of love.
So, that shows, color has a good amount of effect on our mind. But which color has what kind of effect??
Let’s find out.
The psychological effect of black color:
Black is the color of authority and power. That’s why in our society the judge, lawyer wear black suit where this not only means authority and power but also means intelligence and stability. But this color has other meanings too. Black represents death and mourning in many cultures. In ancient Egypt, black represented life and rebirth. Some forces wear black uniforms to make them look scary (UK Border Force). Sometimes black means dark and evil such as black magic, black market, black death etc.
In terms of marketing, black is associated with balance, calm, formality. Some world leading brands who have black in their logos are Blackberry, Apple, Puma, Nike, Adidas, Sony, CN.
And when black comes to the fashion and clothing, black is ranked as the number one favorite color for both genders combined. Due to its slimming quality, black is highly used in fashion. 40 percent of the females chose black as number one color where only 16 percent of males chose black as their number one color this shows black is more favorite to females compared to males.
The psychological effect of white color:
white represents freshness, purity, serenity. When a bride wears white dress, it conveys the bride's virginity and purity. White sometimes represents loneliness, coldness, sterility. Rooms painted completely white can seem spacious, but this also brings the feeling of emptiness. Generally, hospitals are painted white and hospital workers wear white uniforms to bring a feeling of sterility. In eastern cultures, white is related to death and sadness. It's the color which is used in funerals and other mourning rituals.
White conveys a feeling of Hygiene, purity, cleanness, simplicity, safeness. Some world leading brand who have white in their logos are KPADS, Whisper, Huggies, Pampers, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lego, Volkswagen, Ford.
In one study, white is 15th in overall favorite color. When it comes to fashion it stands in number 10th. But when it comes to dressings for living rooms, bedrooms, offices, and meeting rooms, it stands in number one position.
The psychological effect of red color:
This is the color of longest wavelength and a powerful one. In one hand, it is associated with love and comfort, on the other hand, as red is the color of blood and fire, it’s associated with war, energy, power, danger, anger. It is highly visible that’s why it is used for street signs, stop lights. In some eastern countries, the bride wears red dress which conveys the feeling of love.
In terms of marketing, red means bold, excitement, youth. Some world leading brands who have red in their logos are Canon, Kmart, Coca-Cola, Lays, KFC, Virgin, CNN.
In case of fashion, some people find red playful and enjoyable and some find this too much bold and some find too much sexy, this is generally upon own preferences.
Some quotes on red are:
"The color red makes me feel happy, and that is my favorite color. I love Xmas-time and Valentine’s Day because there is so much red involved." -Maria
"Red is passion. Red means you are alive and face life full throttle with pedal to the metal!" -Margaret
"I love red in clothes and cars. Then again I wouldn't decorate in red. Too bold for me." -Susan
The psychological effect of orange color:
how do you feel when you see orange color?? Whatever you feel, I don’t think that you ever feel anything negative. Orange is the combination of red and yellow. It is a very energetic color and that’s why many sports team use orange in their uniforms. Orange brings the feeling of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth to our mind. Some most beautiful natural things such as sunrise and sunset are also associated with orange. The slight negative use of orange color is, In the U.S., people associate orange with prison uniforms, but not in other countries.
In terms of business area, it conveys friendly, cheerful feeling and also the feeling of confidence. Some leading brands of the world who contains orange in their logos are Fanta, Payless, Crush, Gulf, Shutterfly.
In case of fashion and clothing, it is simply called a happy color. One quote is enough to describe the happiness of using orange in fashion and clothing.
"My favorite color is orange, because it invokes a feeling of warm, sunny days. It is bright and cheerful and also makes me think of love, in all its manifestations. I think of the Dali Lama, in his bright orange robes, radiating goodness and peace." - Dobidoo
The psychological effect of yellow color:
Yellow is the color of sunshine. It has a warm effect to the viewer, arises cheerfulness and stimulates the mental activities. If you are surrounded by yellow, your mind will release more serotonin which will make you feel better. This color has the ability to power up our metabolism and bring out some creative thoughts. That’s why this is the color of joy, happiness, liveliness, energy, creativity. But when it is overused this color can also make you frustrated and angry. That’s why people lose their temper and babies tend to cry when they are in a yellow room.
When it comes to the terms of marketing, this color conveys Energetic, optimistic, clear, warm feelings. Some world leading brands who contains yellow in their logos are Nikon, National Geographic Channel, IMDB, CAT, Chevrolet, Ferrari, DHL, Best Buy.
The psychological effect of green color:
Green is the color which is associated with nature. Nature is heavily decorated with green. That’s why, for most of the people, green brings the lush of green grass and forest on the mind. Green is the symbol of refreshment environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace, health, good luck, fertility. Hospitals use light green rooms which help to calm down the patients. From recent research, researchers have found that green has a great impact on reading ability. Some students have found that, if a transparent green sheet is laid over any reading sheet or book page, that increases reading efficiency and makes the reading more comfortable.
Some world leading brands who use green in their logos are Tropicana, Animal Planet, Whole Foods, bp, Starbucks Coffee, Holiday Inn, Android where this green means nature, peaceful, growth, health.
The psychological effect of Blue color:
Blue is the color most preferred by men and also preferred by many women as their favorite color(around 20%). This color is associated with Intelligence, communication, trust, duty, coolness. In our nature, the sky is blue, the oceans are blue and as they are calm, that’s why blue color conveys the feeling of calmness or serenity. Actually, when we see blue color it causes our body to produce calming chemicals. But that isn't true of all shades of blue. Some shades whose are too blue can carry an unpleasant message. Blue is also used in painting bedrooms, as blue can lower the pulse rate and body temperature, which helps in sleeping. Research has shown that people are more productive in blue rooms. That’s why blue is also used to decorate offices.
Some world leading brands who use blue in their logos are NASA, Intel, IBM, At&t, DELL, HP, Facebook, Twitter, Ford, Volkswagen, Oreo, Oral-B, Walmart, JPMorgan where this blue is associated with trust, strength, duty.
A quote on blue is
"Blue is the color of sky, ocean, sleep, and twilight. It is a color that makes me feel so good. When I see it, I almost feel like I am in heaven. For me, blue is the color of sincerity, inspiration, and spirituality. It makes me feel like I am good enough." - pradnya
This is the end of my article. All those things which I have described are basically based on my feelings and statistical results, it can match with yours or can be opposite, it's totally up to your choice, preferences, and feelings.
Thanks for reading.
References:
https://www.color-meanings.com/psychological-effects-color-interior-design/
https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/how-colours-impact-your-mood-and-feelings/276796
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131031124817.htm
Really cool article and pictures about the different colors mate.
No wonder about why my favorite one is blue!
Imagine the impact one person must feel when seeing some colors for the first time, like what happens with colorblind people using EnChroma glasses for the first time. It must be like discovering new feelings.
yep... you are right.... ☺☺
That's like rebirth for them....