The Effects Of Color On Behavior
Our vibrant world is filled with colors, and they may affect you more than you realize. They can change your mood and your behavior, maybe even your diet and who you find attractive. Before you redecorate, get dressed, or serve your next meal, it might be good to keep that in mind.
Colors can serve as a powerful visual cue to guide your attention. It is no surprise that companies highlight special offers or discounts with colors. And on a website, colors can contribute to increased usability.
Our brain is wired to pay attention to objects that are of a contrasting color compared to its surroundings. It helped our ancestors to find food, or to notice potential dangers and hazards. Also, in the animal and plant kingdom, bright colors serve certain survival functions such as reproduction and protection.
*** The Power Of Color ***
Colors are unarguably a valuable marketing tool. However, the question is: are some colors better for specific purposes?
Let’s find out how you can leverage the effects of color on behavior, mood, and even marketing for a business, and more:
Colors and their emotional associations are rooted in our cultural upbringing. They vary among cultures. In English, you are green with envy, in German yellow (gelb vor Neid sein). Purple is often associated with wealth, royalty and nobility. In Thailand and Brazil, purple is the color of mourning, however.
Also, within a culture, there can be differences, depending on the situation. Red can represent romance in a flower shop (red roses) or violence and unfairness during a football match (red card).
When choosing a color for your brand, the culture and context have to be kept in mind. Especially during a cross-cultural marketing campaign. This can be challenging. The effects of color on behavior and emotions might be very different.
Cross-cultural similarities of warm and cool color association:
Some of the effects of colors appear across several cultures. Warm colors like red, yellow and orange evoke higher arousal emotions, such as love, passion, happiness, and anger. Cool colors, like blue, green and purple are linked to calmness, sadness and indifference.
Colors can trigger these arousal states and emotions. Several studies show the impact of the paint color used in offices or living rooms on the mood of people in them.
Colors, if chosen wisely, can have a significant impact. Color can affect how memorable something is, guide attention, evoke emotions, and even influence motor function and performance. Keep in mind that these effects can differ between cultures and contexts.
A little food-for-thought to end with: color is not only associated with what we see. In our mind, certain tastes, scents and sounds are represented in specific colors. The more consistent you are, the stronger the emotional and physiological effects of color on behavior.
*** What is Color Psychology? ***
In its simplest terms, color psychology has become a popular area of color theory that assigns emotional and psychological connotations between colors and emotions. Many of these meanings are universal because they have an effect on the brain but some are only cultural. When traveling, it would be wise to research the accepted and non-accepted colors for any family or cultural event you are attending abroad.
Whether you like a color frequently depends on childhood memories and your association between colors and feelings. If your mother made you wear yellow one day and your classmates made fun of you, yellow is not likely to be your favorite color as an adult.
Sometimes a hue can have many connotations for you. For example, you may choose to wear an orange blouse one day because:
It lifts your mood; You are ready to act; You are feeling creative; You want to make a statement
-- Warm colors
Red, orange and yellow are next to each other on the wheel and are all warm colors. Warm colors often evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and energy. However, yellow, red and orange can also have an attention grabbing effect and signal danger or make you take action (think stop signs, hazard warnings and barrier tape). Red can also increase a person’s appetite.
-- Cool colors
Cool colors include green, blue, and purple. Cool colors are usually calming and soothing but can also express sadness. Purple is often used to help spark creativity as it’s a mixture of blue (calm) and red (intense). If a company wants to display health, beauty or security, incorporate these colors.
-- Happy colors
Happy colors are bright, warm colors like yellow, orange, pink and red. Pastel colors like peach, light pink or lilac can also have an uplifting effect on your mood. The brighter and lighter a color, the more happy and optimistic it will make you feel. Another way colors can create happy emotions is by combining multiple primary and secondary colors together for a youthful, colorful effect.
-- Sad colors
Sad colors are colors that are dark and muted. Grey is the quintessential sad color, but dark and muted cool colors like blue, green or neutrals like brown or beige can have a similar effect on feelings and emotions depending on how they’re used. In Western cultures black is often considered the color of mourning, whereas in some East Asian countries it’s white.
-- Calming colors
Cool colors like blue and green can make you feel calm. Pastel colors and particularly cool toned pastels like baby blue, lilac and mint have a calming and relaxing effect. Neutrals like white, beige and grey can also make you feel calm. The fewer colors you combine and the more simple and pared back a design is, the more calming it will feel.
-- Energizing colors
Strong, bright colors and neon colors can have a powerful effect on emotions. Colors like bright red, bright yellow and neon green can feel energizing and make you feel more alert, but can also be irritating on the eyes. These colors will grab your attention and stand out from their surroundings. Highly pigmented, strong colors like royal blue, turquoise, magenta and emerald green can also have a stimulating effect and make you feel refreshed and energized.
*** Use Color In Your Artwork ***
Art is such personal thing to the artist who creates it. From the style they're painting in, to the colors they choose to express themselves, it's such a powerful way to use something so simple!
Join us for a class in the studio (*or paint from home!) and make some art that speaks to you! What are you trying to say?
Think about the space you'll want to display your artwork in...
A calming space like the bedroom or bathroom? A lively open spot like the kitchen or living room?
The colors that you add to your artwork (which then is added to your home's decor), can so easily change the way a living space feels, so choose wisely! :)
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