Color Meaning & Psychology

Colors express feelings, seasons, and accentuate ceremonies. The reason is because color meaning has significance in every culture. Some civilizations have used colored paints for war, death, seasonal harvests, or to signify particular ceremonies. Color meanings do not exist only in the past and the psychology of colors has been carried into the present.

Importance of Colors

Colors can affect how we feel on a subconscious level. This means that colors can affect an individual without being noticed. Have you walked into a room and and felt something immediately, but couldn’t put your finger on it? Color is almost certainly an influencing factor in that feeling. Colors are commonly separated into warm and cool colors. Interestingly, the colors in each group often share some similarities in meaning.

Color Meaning & Psychology

Let’s get started and take a dive into color meanings and the psychology of color. We’ll look at 10 different colors to understand the meaning of each and its usage, the emotions the color evokes, and the industries in which the color tends to be most prevalent.

Black Color Meaning

Black is the absence of color and creates an air of mystery. It’s a color that establishes barriers and covers or hides. Black is a strong color that exudes exclusivity and sophistication. Black is sexy, but also evil and often black expresses a lack of hope. Black, when with other colors creates contrast and helps other colors stand out and appear brighter.

Blue Color Meaning

Blue is the color of trust and that’s why it’s very popular with brands. The color blue is the color of the sea and sky. It’s a color that induces calm. It represents serenity and peace. Blue instills confidence and inspires loyalty. Blue is cool and conservative. Interestingly, blue is a color that often serves as an appetite suppressant.

Brown Color Meaning

Brown is the color of the earth. Since the color is associated with the soil that sustains our lives, it serves as color of foundation and stability. Brown is natural and simple. Frugal, unsophisticated, wholesome, reliable, safe, and confident can describe brown. The color brown alone can seem dull, but when accompanying other colors it can become a color of elegance.

Gray Color Meaning

Gray is a color that is neutral, detached, and not for the attention seeking. It’s a conservative color and instills feelings of gloom and depression. Gray is a color of maturity. Although it’s not generally a color of glamour, it’s a color that sometimes conveys elegance.

Green Color Meaning

Green is the main color of growth and health. This is because of the color’s close association with nature. Green means renewal and life throughout the globe. Refreshing and peaceful, the color evokes the feelings of abundance and restful security. Beware though, green can also be used in connection with possessiveness and materialism.

Orange Color Meaning

Orange is an exciting and encouraging color. The color orange is the combination of yellow and red, which makes it a color of warmth that’s both energetic and enthusiastic. The color exudes happiness, joy, and the release of inhibitions. Orange appeals to the young and is a color of motivation. When using orange, also consider that it can be used for negative connotations such as exhibitionism, insincerity, and self-indulgence.

Pink Color Meaning

The color of sensitivity, pink is the combination of the passion of red and the purity of white. Pink is associated with love, tranquility, and femininity. People connect pink to feelings of tenderness, nurturing, safety, and vulnerability. “Seeing the world through rose colored glasses,” is a common phrase and connects pink with being unrealistically optimistic.

Red Color Meaning

Passion and drama. Red demands to be noticed and is associated with the strongest of emotions; love and anger. Red is universally understood to signify danger, courage, power, and strength. Red is vibrant and exciting. It stimulates and inspires desire with its strong link to sexuality. In Chinese cultural context, red is the color of good fortune and prosperity. Use red when you want to inspire action or get pulses racing. However, be mindful that red can also signify aggression and can cause visual strain. It’s said that lovers of red are passionate and lovers of life.

Violet Color Meaning

The energy of red mixed with the calm of blue creates violet; a color of spirituality that inspires reflection and self-awareness. Violet is the color of the sensitive and compassionate. Violet has long been a color associated with royalty, quality, and luxury. On the negative side, overuse of violet can convey feelings of infallibility and arrogance.

Yellow Color Meaning

Yellow is a compelling and optimistic color that conveys youthful and fresh energy. The color of sunshine is yellow, which is uplifting and illuminating. Yellow is associated with success and confidence. Yellow grabs attention, but is also used as a color in reference to cowardice.

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