Color psychology research relations and different effects of colors on emotions and behavior depending on age, gender, and culture. Color psychology is widely used in marketing and branding, as well as in medical therapy, sports, and hospital settings.

In 1810, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published “The Theory of Colors” and created his own color system. This important work on the psychological nature of color linked colors with emotions, opening the door for modern color psychology. Goethe found that his ideas were best expressed within an equilateral triangle. Goethe divided all the colors into two groups: colors that produce excitement and cheerfulness. Colors that are associated with weakness and unsettled feelings.

According to Carl Jung, who pioneered stages of color psychology in the 20th century, "colors are the mother tongue of the subconscious."

In 1916, Howard Kemp Prossor, a British art connoisseur, advanced a "color cure" for shell shock. Around the same time, architect William Ludlow began to advocate pale pastel blues and greens in hospitals for therapeutic purposes, advising that "white is negative."

In the 1940s, the work of K. Goldstein and others further researched how colors affect human physiology and actions and developed into the practices of art and color therapy.

Basic principles

Color psychology is based on the following principles: Colors, individually or in combination, carry a specific meaning. The meaning of color is based on biologically innate or learned meaning. The person perceiving color has a unique perception and automatic evaluation. The color-motivated behavior is caused by different evaluation processes. Color automatically influences certain behaviors, and understanding its meaning and effect changes according to context as well.

For example, flushed or pale skin is the synonim for excitement or sickness. Color strongly affects people’s perception of the edibility and flavor of foods and drinks. For example, in food stores, bread is normally sold in packaging decorated or tinted with golden or brown tones to promote the idea of home-baked and oven freshness. Also, if a person receives a brown drink in the USA, he might have expectations for the taste of coke, while someone from China may expect a grape-flavored drink.

Meaning of colors

The principles of color psychology are used in designing optimal work, schools, hospitals, and living spaces. Color has an effect on our emotions and behavior. Colors can stimulate, excite, depress, tranquilize, increase appetite, and create a feeling of warmth or coolness.

Certain physiological changes take place when people are exposed to certain colors. Exposure to red color results in higher blood pressure, respiration, heart rate, and eye-blink frequency, while blue color causes lower blood pressure. Red is often used in restaurant decorating schemes because it is an appetite stimulant.

Human reactions to colors are led by a combination of biological, physiological, psychological, social, and cultural factors. For example, people will gamble more and make riskier bets when seated under a red light as opposed to a blue light.

Colors often have different symbolic meanings in different cultures. For example, white is the color for weddings in western societies, while white is usually used for funerals in Chinese culture. Red is by far associated with rage in the USA but with happiness in China.

Color therapy and light

Light and the color of an object can affect how one perceives its positioning. Blue light causes people to feel relaxed, which has led countries to add blue streetlights in order to decrease crime and suicide rates.

Lighting color also has a strong effect on the perceived experience of time. For example, time seems to pass more slowly under red lights, and time seems to pass quickly under blue lights. Casinos take full advantage of this phenomenon by using color to get people to spend more time and, hence, more money in their casino. A sampling of the health characteristics claimed by color therapy is numerous. In general:

  • Warm colors produce warm, cozy, and inviting feelings. These colors are associated with excitement, happiness, and comfort. Yellow, orange, and red are associated with the heat of the sun and fire.
  • Cool colors are associated with emotions of a different range, from calm and peace to sadness, withdrawal, and repression. Blue, green, and violet colors are associated with the coolness of leaves, the sea, and the sky.
  • The red color stimulates and increases appetite. It is the most emotionally intense color. Red is perceived as a strong and active color, which may influence both the person wearing it and others perceiving it. A red color may signal health as opposed to anemic paleness or indicate anger due to flushing instead of paleness due to fear. Primate studies have found that some species evaluate rivals and possible mates depending on red-colored characteristics. Facial redness is associated with testosterone levels in humans, and male skin tends to be redder than female skin. In our daily lives, red cars are often targets for thieves. Decorators say that red furniture will attract attention. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations.
  • The cheerful sunny yellow is an attention-getter. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies are more exuberated to cry more. It can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism.
  • The color green symbolizes nature. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on television programs sit in "green rooms" to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients.
  • Blue is the color of the sky and the ocean. Blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals; it is often applied in bedrooms. It can symbolize loyalty. People are more productive in blue rooms. Weightlifters lift heavier weights in blue gyms. Blue is also one of the least appetizing. Blue food is rare in nature; when food dyed blue is served to study subjects, they lose appetite.
  • Violet is the color of royalty, and purple connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.
  • Black is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests and nuns wear black to signify submission to God. Black outfits can also be overpowering or make the wearer seem aloof or evil.
  • White color: brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorating and fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility.

Physiology of colors

The human visual system is a remarkable apparatus. It provides us with a three-dimensional perception of the world. Light is reflected from the objects around us. When the reflected light enters the eye, it is measured by the retinal cells. Information processing starts inside the eye. However, most information processing is done inside the brain.

Color is actually not an attribute that can be attached to the objects around us. It is basically a result of the processing done by the brain and the retina. The human visual system is able to determine the colors of objects, irrespective of the illuminant. This ability is called color constancy. Mechanisms for color constancy also exist in other species, ranging from goldfish to honeybees. Color is an important biological signaling mechanism. Without color constancy, objects could no longer be reliably identified by their color.

Colors and behavior pattern

Pharmacology firms very carefully pay attention to what color psychology research says about the therapeutic values of pill colors. Red pills are associated with stimulants, and blue pills are associated with relaxation. The right color choice can create a placebo effect that enhances the effectiveness of the medicine. For example, in research, changing the original color of an antiepileptic pill increased the risk of in-adherence to the medication in patients diagnosed with a seizure disorder.

People tend to like or dislike colors based on their associations of the color with other objects or situations that they have strong feelings about. For example, if someone associates the color blue with clean water, they would be more likely to favor blue. On the other hand, people's dislike of the color brown could be due to associations with feces or rotten food.

A light's warmth or coolness can be described by its color temperature. Neutral and soft white is a friendly and clean light best for kitchens and bathrooms or any kind of workspace; cool light is adequate for offices, hospitals, and other commercial uses; and warm light creates a cozy, calm, inviting atmosphere that is ideal for bedrooms, living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms, and other spaces requiring an intimate, personal mood.

Color psychology in marketing

It has been shown that color can be used to communicate a brand's personality. Everyone perceives color differently. The physiological and emotional effect of color on each person is influenced by several factors, such as past experiences, culture, religion, natural environment, gender, race, and nationality.

Customers generally make an initial judgment on a product within 90 seconds of interaction with that product, and mostly that judgment is based on color. People often see the portrayed colored logo of a brand or company as a representation of that company.

The names of the colors matter. These names are often called visual color descriptors. For example, instead of the brown color, mocca could be used in order to attract customers.

People make decisions when a favorite color is present because they consciously focus on it. This implies that products can capture someone's attention based on color before the person willingly looks at the product. Warm-colored store displays are more appropriate for spontaneous and unplanned purchases, whereas cool-colored displays and store entrances may be a better fit for purchases where a lot of planning and customer deliberation occurs.

Blue, a cool color, was rated as more favorable and produced higher purchasing intentions than orange, a warm color. However, all negative effects of orange were neutralized when the color was paired with soft lighting. This shows that store color and lighting actually interact.