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The Psychology of Colors

By Owen Demers, author of Digital Texturing & Painting. 

Colors can have a psychological and physiological effect on all of us. As anartist, a user and manipulator of color, you need to be aware of some of theseeffects. This article on color psychology and physiology is a combination of personal observation and the ideas and observations of two major authors andtheir books on the subject: The Power of Color by Dr. Morton Walker andColor Psychology and Color Therapy by Faber Birren. These two authors,and the experts they cite, delve much more finely and deeply into this vastarea of color theory than there is room for here. I have taken the highlights, asit were, from these sources just to give you an idea of what it is you aredealing with when considering color.

From this research, it seems that the jury is still out on the definitivepsychological effects of color on living things. Yet, certain professionals,such as chromotherapists (therapists who use color for medical purposes),believe color affects us so powerfully that subjecting patients to differentcolored lights has curative qualities for their various ailments. This is not anew age idea. On page 32 in his book The Power of Color, Dr. MortonWalker states that

“...The ancient Egyptians, for example, built temples for the sick that werebedecked with color and light. They set aside special colored rooms assanctuaries where the sick could be bathed in lights of deep blue, violet, and

pink. Native American Indians also used color for healing ... to fight chronicillness and to heal injuries sustained during buffalo hunts and intertribalwarfare.”

According to William G. Cooper, president of the Cooper Foundation, (anonprofit educational organization offering natural methods of healing to thepublic), in The Power of Color (p.xiii),

“...Light is a nutrient and, like food, is necessary for optimum health.Research demonstrates that the full spectrum of daylight is needed tostimulate our endocrine systems properly.”

I give you these two examples to show you that the use of color is notreserved simply for pretty picture making. It is a subject taken quite seriouslyby professionals other than artists. By looking into the psychology of colormore deeply, you can better influence and illustrate the message, mood, andflavor of your projects.

So, how do we feel about one color over another? We all have personal colorlikes and dislikes based on our own lives and experiences. Whether you lovered and hate orange based on some wonderful or tragic event in your life,there seems to be underlying similarities with color and living things, not

only humans. In this light, take a look at the colors of the spectrum.

Red

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Red is the most arrogant, attention-grabbing, and energetic color of thespectrum. In terms of temperature, it is the warmest color. Emotionally, werelate red to love and passion. Red is the color associated with our hearts:roses are red, and so are boxes filled with chocolates on Valentine’s Day. It isthe color that excites us most and makes us take notice--the color of stopsigns, fire engines, and alarms. Red is an in-your-face color that demands

your attention, not a color that sits idly by waiting for you to take notice.Because red excites us, it is not the choice of color in psychiatric wards,prisons, or hospitals. Excessive subjection to red can lead to agitation, anger,and even violence.

Advertisers and designers who understand this can easily manipulate ourattention with it. Sale items in stores display red tags. Fast sports cars, andnow, even not-so-fast cars are often painted red (Figure 1).

Not exactly sport cars, but red seems to be the color of choice in Budapest,Hungary in 1989.

Orange

Orange is a warm color because it is the marriage of red and yellow, and it’sconsidered a happy and lively color. It represents Halloween andThanksgiving and is the color of autumnal landscapes and fire’s flame(Figure 2). Not as energetic as red, it is known to “...stimulate creativity andambition along with energetic activity” (The Power of Color, p.15). It has aluminous, glowing quality that captures our attention. Orange is the colorused for construction signs on roads and highways. It is a popular color insports as seen on many jerseys (oftentimes coupled with blue, itscomplementary color). It is not considered an elegant color.

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The color of autumn, orange, is clearly apparent in this photo from the city of,

what was once called, West Berlin.

Yellow

A warm, bright, and vibrant color that represents many things to us, yellow isthe color of the sun, gold, spirituality, and inspiration. On one hand, we relateyellow to goodness and joy, on the other, cowardice and caution. Would the“happy face” be so happy if it were red instead of yellow? Yellow is the colorchosen for yield signs and warning labels (Figure 3). The color of graphiclightning bolts, it suggests energy and electricity. Used in interior design, it

brightens up the room that is otherwise dull. Yellow roses are a symbol of friendship, less passionate or threatening than red ones.

This no-parking sticker hopes to get your attention. Does it?

Green

The color of the vegetal world, green represents freshness and nature (Figure4). Its cool quality soothes, calms, and has great healing powers. Surgeonsdress in green, “complementing” red blood. Green represents life, hope, and

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growth. We can be green with envy, green at our job, or have a green thumb.Where it doesn’t belong, green has negative connotations. On a person’s faceit suggests sickness, and on non-green food is the color of decay.

The freshness of these avocados is heightened by their vivid green coloring.

Blue

A cool color and the hue of the daytime sky, blue is the most sedate of allcolors (Figure 5). Blue can “…slow the pulse rate, lower body temperature,and reduce appetite” (The Power of Color, p.52). Designers use blue todescribe ice and minty freshness. It symbolizes the heavens and divinity. It isa fairly serious color depending on its variations. Blue is the color of choice

in the business world when it comes to logos and suits. Overexposure to bluecan create depression, as in, “I’m feeling blue” or “I’ve got the blues.”

This picture, taken in Arizona, can only begin to tell the story of how trulyrefreshingly cool the blue water is.

Violet/Purple

Violet, the most exotic color, has long represented royalty. Back in themiddle ages, because of how it was acquired and made, the color crimson wasmade from the mucous glands of snails. It took a thousand snails to yield 1gram of crimson; making it was very expensive, and only royalty could afford

it. Therefore, subliminally it can represent wealth, both monetarily andspiritually (Figure 6). It is the color of the twilight sky, exotic bird plumage,and butterflies. In spiritual terms, it represents transition, as evidenced by the

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religious Lent and Advent colorings. It is a deep, mysterious hue. It ismystical and meditative.

The purple flowers help to calm the sunny courtyard of this hospital whereVan Gogh once stayed.

White

When all colors are present in perfect balance, we see white. White in all itsperfection is known to symbolize purity, truth, and goodness (Figure 7).“Pure as the driven snow” or “a white lie” are a couple of the manystatements to describe this quality of white. In old western films, the goodguys always wore white. White suggests antiseptic cleanliness. In religious

paintings, white is the color reserved for the presence of the Holy Spirit,God’s robe, and glowing angels.

Pure? As the driven snow.

Black

In light terminology, black is the absence of white light, and therefore theabsence of all colors. Black can represent the antithesis of white and is knownto symbolize white’s opposites: the “bad guys” and deceit. It is the color of funerals, death, and mourning. The “Black Market” and “Black Monday” are

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examples of the negative representation this color has on us. However, it isbetter to be “in the black” than “in the red.”

Black can bring us feelings of despair and loneliness. It is also mysterious,the color of night, and the place and habitat of shadowed detail (Figure 8).

The mysterious beauty of black.

The Practical Side

So what does all this color psychology have to do with you and me? Knowinghow colors affect you emotionally and what you link symbolically to colorswill allow you to better place colors to get desired effects in your work. For

instance, if you have to texture a circus and capture all its energy, you willprobably want to stay away from less energetic colors, such as blues andgreens, and go straight for the more energetic reds and yellows for most of your palette. Conversely, if you are texturing a hospital for the criminallyinsane, you will probably want to steer clear of bright yellows and reds andhead straight for the calmer, cooler colors and even muted values of these.