Can color affect our mood?
Color can be a non-verbal communication method that informs people’s emotions and actions. Color can affect a person’s mood and physiological responses.
What is color psychology?
Color psychology is the study of how colors change people’s moods and behaviors. They study how color affects human emotions. They also study how different backgrounds alter color responses. People have long been concerned about the effect of color on people (Cherry, 2020).
The change in psychology according to color
Red-based colors such as red, orange, and yellow give a warm feeling. The color red makes people feel various emotions such as warmth, comfort, anger, and hostility. Blue colors such as blue, purple, and green give a cold feeling. Blue can evoke emotions such as calmness, sadness, and indifference. The following are the symbolic meanings of colors (Cherry, 2020).
- Red
passion, excitement, love, and warning
- Purple
mystery, nobility, glamor
- Blue
hope, calmness, peace
- Green
nature, freshness, growth
- Yellow
hope, joy, danger
- Orange
kindness, happiness, warmth
- White
truth, indifference, innocence
The psychology of colors in business
Companies can use color to make customers recognize their brand more strongly and attract customers better. Companies use color psychology in marketing to build brands. Using the right color for the company as marketing can visibly improve perception. Conversely, the wrong color reduces the readability of the brand logo and can damage the image (Ferreira, 2019).
- Red
Red means passion, energy, and warning. Red is a strong color, so businesses buy it for products they want to highlight and for website buttons. Coca-Cola and YouTube often use red for their brands. Coca-Cola usually uses red because of its appetizing effect. YouTube uses red to emphasize the enjoyment of watching videos (Ferreira, 2019).
- Orange
Orange means adventure, creativity, playfulness, and balance. Orange stands out as much as red, so companies use this color where they want to draw attention. Nickelodeon uses orange to highlight the playfulness and creativity that kids’ channels need (Ferreira, 2019).
- Yellow
Yellow means happiness, affirmation, and tranquility. Businesses can use bright yellow to highlight their desired phrases and designs. Ferrari and Ikea are two brands that often use yellow. This brand usually uses yellow because they want to emphasize happiness and tranquility (Ferreira, 2019).
- Green
Green is a positive color that signifies nature, growth, health, and generosity. As a natural color, green is a popular color for brands associated with health and exercise. John Deere and Roots use green to highlight nature and health to attract target customers (Ferreira, 2019).
- Blue
Blue means stability, harmony, peace, and trust. Companies can use blue to emphasize their meaning and improve their credibility. Brands like Facebook, Twitter, and Skype often use blue to make users feel comfortable and confident in their technology (Ferreira, 2019).
What is color therapy?
“Color therapy” is a combination of “color” and “therapy,” referring to the use of the energies and properties of color in psychotherapy and medicine. Many ancient cultures, including the Egyptians and Chinese, used color as a method of healing (Cherry, 2020).
- Red stimulates the body and mind and aids circulation.
- Yellow stimulates the nerves and cleanses the body.
- Orange improves lung function and boosts energy levels.
- Blue can soothe disease and cure pain.
- Indigo can soothe skin problems.
Conclusion
All things absorb the light they need and reflect the light they don’t need, giving them a unique color. The human brain receives the unique colors of objects through the optic nerve. Humans are affected by the exchange of information about color that takes place in the central nervous system. Color stimulates the human senses and can affect the mind. There are countless colors in the world, and people naturally spend their days with colors. They can express their psychological state through colors. Also, the beautiful colors of nature inspire them.
References
Cherry, K. (2020). Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel? [online] Verywell Mind. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824 [Accessed 2 December 2022].
Ferreira, N. (2019). Color psychology: How color meanings affect your brand. [online] Oberlo. Available at: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/color-psychology-color-meanings [Accessed 2 December 2022].
