Isabel's-Library: The impact of colours on emotions

The importance of colorimetry

Several psychological studies agree that colours can cheer up or depress people. Colours can create feelings of both joy and sadness and some of them can awaken both active and passive attitudes.

There is a range of warm colours where we find orange, red, yellow and brown. They are considered to be happy, lively and energetic colours that can stimulate your senses. On the other hand, there is a range of cool colours such as green, blue and violet that suggest calm, tranquillity and freshness.
Colorimetry is the science that studies colour and its relationship with human perception. Colour is defined as the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light. Colour is a visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum.

When talking about the origin of colorimetry we go back to Aristotle, who around the 4^th Century BC established that all colours were formed by a unique mixture of four basic colours that were in perfect harmony with the four elements that governed the planet. These were the earth colour, the water colour, the fire colour and the air colour. Furthermore, Aristotle explained that light and shadow could affect these basic colours, either darkening or lightening them, giving rise to various shades.

An article from NationalGeographic Spain points out that Isaac Newton was the first scientist who, in 1664, explained the nature of colours and their origins. Newton carried out an experiment, a refraction of light through a glass prism, and in this way, he was able to observe how light decomposed into different colours. Furthermore, he discovered that opaque objects absorbed some colours and reflected others, with those reflections reaching the eyes.

In the 15^th century, Leonardo Da Vinci defined colour as something specific to matter and proposed white as the main colour as it is a combination of every wavelength in the visible light spectrum. Following the basic scale proposed by Aristotle, he proposed yellow for the earth, green for water, and blue for air. In addition, he associated the red with fire and black with darkness.

Colour Psychology

Colour psychology studies how different colours affect human emotions and behaviour. Colorimetry has been studied from psychological and sociological points of view. German psychologist Eva Heller (2002) in her book “How colours work on feelings and reason” demonstrated that colours have particular meanings. Heller pointed out that there were connections between colours and our feelings. Colours express a language and therefore it is good to know about their meaning.

In modern life, colours are considered in product making since they influence consumer’s emotions. Companies take colorimetry into account to represent their brands and to produce products that can have greater influence on the public.

80% of the human experience is filtered through the eyes. Colours can express moods and they can reflect a person’s identity too. They also show the corporate identity of a company so that they are a very important communication tool nowadays.

Each colour can produce an emotional response that can be positive or negative. Some colours have a relaxing or stimulating effect, depending on the chromatic intensity.

On a cultural level, colours also have an important meaning. For the Chinese, the colour red is associated with prosperity. Additionally, country flags have definite colours with special meaning.

The meaning of colours

Several psychologists have analysed colours, and many agree on associating them with the following concepts.

Colour	Positive meaning	Negative aspects
Yellow	It is the colour of the sun, so it is associated with energy and optimism. It is also associated with happiness, entertainment and intellect.	Yellow colour is associated with jealously and betrayal.
Orange	It combines the sensations of red and yellow evoking happiness, creativity, success, fascination or enthusiasm. Also, self-confidence and independence.	It is also associated with the superficial, the infantile and the oppression.
Gold	Gold is a shade of the yellow colour. It is associated with luxury, money, abundance, well-being and prosperity.	It is the colour of vanity pride, arrogance, selfishness and ambition.
Red	Red is the colour of passion, joy, love, blood and fire. It is linked to force. It is the colour of kings and communism.	Because it is the colour of passion, it is also associated with hatred. It is the colour of danger.
Brown	It is the colour of cosiness, strength, warmth, security and comfort.	It is associated with feelings of loneliness, sadness, decadence, foolishness. Also, it is associated with poverty.
Purple	It combines red and blue, indicating power, luxury and nobility. It is associated with independence and creativity. It is the colour of spirituality, theology, mystery, truth and magic.	It is the colour of suppression, decadence and introversion.
Pink	It is sweet and delicate. It symbolises kindness, the positive, the sentimental. It is also associated with courtesy, good manners and innocence.	It is the colour of naivety, lack of strength, shyness and need.
Blue	It is the colour of the sky. It symbolises wisdom, calm, trust and loyalty. Some say that blue is the colour of fidelity, harmony and sympathy.	It can also be seen as cold and distant.
Green	It is associated with nature and therefore with freshness. It is the colour of growth and fertility. Green is associated with harmony and hope.	Green can be sacred, but it can also be poisonous.
Black	It is the colour of elegance, denial and power. It is said to be the favourite colour of designers and youth.	It is associated with evil, mystery, violence and death.
White	It is associated with light, good, innocence and purity. It is the colour of virtue, peace and cleanliness.	It is the colour of elitism, apathy and coldness.
Gray	Gray is associated with knowledge and intelligence. It reflects security, modesty and confidence, but it is also associated with composure and calm.	It is the colour of boredom. It can also be the colour of old-fashionedness, of uncertainty.
Silver	It is the colour of speed and dynamism. It is also associated with toughness, money, discretion, tranquillity and calm. It is associated with the moon.	It is linked to greed and avarice.

To conclude, colours are important since they produce changes in our emotions. Knowing its meaning not only enriches our knowledge, but also helps us in communication with others.

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Tuesday 2 July 2024

The impact of colours on emotions

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