The Psychology of Colour & Meaning

BLUE

Blue is usually associated with knowledge and serenity. Coolness, ethereality, the infinite, significance, repose, formality. It is associated with the sky, the ocean and ice. It has always been the symbol of truth and purity. Loyalty, compassion, connotes serenity.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolise piety and sincerity.

USE IN DESIGN & ADVERTISING

You can use blue to promote products and services related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water). As opposed to emotionally warm colours like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Use blue to suggest precision when promoting high-tech products. Blue is a masculine colour; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred colour for corporate America and by survey is the “favourite” colour.

Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because blue suppresses appetite. When used together with warm colours like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example, blue-yellow-red is a perfect colour scheme for a superhero.

ASSOCIATED MEANINGS

• General Appearance: Transparent, wet
• Mental Associations: Cold, sky, water, ice
• Direction Associations: Service, flag
• Objective Impressions: Subduing, melancholy, contemplative, sober
• Subjective Impressions: Gloom, fearfulness, secrecy
• Signifies: tranquility, understanding, patience, health, truth, devotion, sincerity, honour, loyalty, peace, wisdom, protection during sleep, astral projection

BLACK 

Death, gloom, sorry, hidden action, evil, mourning, disorientation through absence of light. Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious colour (black tie, black Mercedes).

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humour, ‘black death’). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.

USE IN DESIGN & ADVERTISING

Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black background diminishes readability. A black suit or dress can make you look thinner. When designing for a gallery of art or photography, you can use a black or grey background to make the other colours stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colours. Combined with red or orange—other very powerful colours—black gives a very aggressive colour scheme. Black also communicates elegance and prestige and thus is commonly used in high-end products, such as smartphones, limousines, formal suits and Jack Daniel packaging.

ASSOCIATED MEANINGS

• General Appearance: Spatial—darkness
• Mental Associations: Neutral, night, emptiness
• Direction Associations: Mourning
• Objective Impressions: Funeral, ominous, deadly, depressing
• Subjective Impressions: Negation of spirit, death
• Signifies: Negation without reflecting, unlocking when stuck, banishing evil or negativity

WHITE

Snow, delicacy, purity, cold, peace, cleanliness, elegance, frailty, mourning, enlightenment, faith, glory, salvation. Orientation through light. In war, white means surrender.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

White is associated with goodness, innocence and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection. White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.

USE IN DESIGN & ADVERTISING

In advertising, white is associated with coolness and cleanliness because it’s the colour of snow. You can use white to suggest simplicity in high-tech products. White is an appropriate colour for charitable organisations; angels are usually imagined wearing white clothes. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility, so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical products. White is often associated with low weight, low-fat food, and dairy products.

ASSOCIATED MEANINGS

• General Appearance: Spatial—light
• Mental Associations: Cool, snow
• Direction Associations: Cleanliness, Mother’s Day, flag
• Objective Impressions: Pure, clean, frank, youthful
• Subjective Impressions: Brightness of Spirit, normality
• Signifies: purity, consecration, meditation, divination, exorcism, the full moon, healing, peace, spiritual strength, may be substituted for any other colour

YELLOW

Value, sunlight, the Orient, treachery, brilliance, joy. Being nearest to sunlight, it is connected with cheer and springtime. Yellow claims attention first and fastest and sits alongside red as the most obvious and vibrant colour.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this colour. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colours when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning. In heraldry, yellow indicates honour and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected with cowardice.

USE IN DESIGN & ADVERTISING

Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose yellow to promote children’s products and items related to leisure. Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to highlight the most important elements of your design. Men usually perceive yellow as a very lighthearted, ‘childish’ colour, so it is not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products to men—nobody will buy a yellow business suit or a yellow Mercedes. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous colour, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Light yellow tends to disappear into white, so it usually needs a dark colour to highlight it. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.

ASSOCIATED MEANINGS

• General Appearance: Sunny, incandescent, radiant
• Mental Associations: Sunlight
• Direction Associations: Caution
• Objective Impressions: Cheerful, inspiring, vital, celestial
• Subjective Impressions: High spirit, health

GREEN

Spring, the macabre, freshness, mystery, envy, hope, eternal life. Being composed of yellow and blue, green presents the feeling of light and coolness, cheer and restraint. It is the colour of nature as usually seen. Green alleviates tension and implies restfulness.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

Green supposedly has healing power. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example, a ‘greenhorn’ is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the colour of free passage in road traffic.

USE IN DESIGN & ADVERTISING

Green is used to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical products. Green is directly related to nature, so is used to promote ‘green’ or natural products. Dull, darker green is associated with money, the financial world, banking, Wall Street.

ASSOCIATED MEANINGS

• General Appearance: Clear, moist
• Mental Associations: Cool, nature, water
• Direction Associations: Clear, Saint Patrick’s Day
• Objective Impressions: Quieting, refreshing, peaceful, growing
• Subjective Impressions: Repulsiveness, disease, terror, guilt
• Signifies: finances, fertility, luck, success, charity, growth, rejuvenation, ambition, greed and jealousy, plant kingdom, herbal healing

(Reference: https://zevendesign.com/color-association)