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 an

artist, a user and manipulator of color, you need to be aware of some of these
effects. This article on color psychology and physiology is a combination of
personal observation and the ideas and observations of two major authors and
their books on the subject: The Power of Color by Dr. Morton Walker and
Color Psychology and Color Therapy by Faber Birren. These two authors,
and the experts they cite, delve much more finely and deeply into this vast
area of color theory than there is room for here. I have taken the highlights, as
it were, from these sources just to give you an idea of what it is you are
dealing with when considering color.

From this research, it seems that the jury is still out on the definitive
psychological 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 different
colored lights has curative qualities for their various ailments. This is not a
new age idea. On page 32 in his book The Power of Color, Dr. Morton
Walker states that

“...The ancient Egyptians, for example, built temples for the sick that were
bedecked with color and light. They set aside special colored rooms as
sanctuaries where the sick could be bathed in lights of deep blue, violet, and
pink. Native American Indians also used color for healing ... to fight chronic
illness and to heal injuries sustained during buffalo hunts and intertribal
warfare.”

According to William G. Cooper, president of the Cooper Foundation, (a

nonprofit educational organization offering natural methods of healing to the
public), 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 to
stimulate our endocrine systems properly.”

I give you these two examples to show you that the use of color is not
reserved simply for pretty picture making. It is a subject taken quite seriously
by professionals other than artists. By looking into the psychology of color
more deeply, you can better influence and illustrate the message, mood, and
flavor of your projects.

So, how do we feel about one color over another? We all have personal color
likes and dislikes based on our own lives and experiences. Whether you love
red 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
Red is the most arrogant, attention-grabbing, and energetic color of the
spectrum. In terms of temperature, it is the warmest color. Emotionally, we
relate 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 is
the color that excites us most and makes us take notice--the color of stop
signs, 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 our
attention with it. Sale items in stores display red tags. Fast sports cars, and
now, 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’s
considered a happy and lively color. It represents Halloween and
Thanksgiving and is the color of autumnal landscapes and fire’s flame
(Figure 2). Not as energetic as red, it is known to “...stimulate creativity and
ambition along with energetic activity” (The Power of Color, p.15). It has a
luminous, glowing quality that captures our attention. Orange is the color
used for construction signs on roads and highways. It is a popular color in
sports as seen on many jerseys (oftentimes coupled with blue, its
complementary color). It is not considered an elegant color.
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 is
the color of the sun, gold, spirituality, and inspiration. On one hand, we relate
yellow 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 color
chosen for yield signs and warning labels (Figure 3). The color of graphic
lightning 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 (Figure
4). Its cool quality soothes, calms, and has great healing powers. Surgeons
dress in green, “complementing” red blood. Green represents life, hope, and
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 face
it 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 all
colors (Figure 5). Blue can “…slow the pulse rate, lower body temperature,
and reduce appetite” (The Power of Color, p.52). Designers use blue to
describe ice and minty freshness. It symbolizes the heavens and divinity. It is
a 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 blue
can 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 truly
refreshingly cool the blue water is.

Violet/Purple
Violet, the most exotic color, has long represented royalty. Back in the
middle ages, because of how it was acquired and made, the color crimson was
made from the mucous glands of snails. It took a thousand snails to yield 1
gram of crimson; making it was very expensive, and only royalty could afford
it. Therefore, subliminally it can represent wealth, both monetarily and
spiritually (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
religious Lent and Advent colorings. It is a deep, mysterious hue. It is
mystical and meditative.

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

White
When all colors are present in perfect balance, we see white. White in all its
perfection is known to symbolize purity, truth, and goodness (Figure 7).
“Pure as the driven snow” or “a white lie” are a couple of the many
statements to describe this quality of white. In old western films, the good
guys 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 the
absence of all colors. Black can represent the antithesis of white and is known
to 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
examples of the negative representation this color has on us. However, it is
better 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? Knowing
how colors affect you emotionally and what you link symbolically to colors
will 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 will
probably want to stay away from less energetic colors, such as blues and
greens, and go straight for the more energetic reds and yellows for most of
your palette. Conversely, if you are texturing a hospital for the criminally
insane, you will probably want to steer clear of bright yellows and reds and
head straight for the calmer, cooler colors and even muted values of these.