Psychology of Color: How Hue Affects you
Ever wonder why certain colors make you happy or stressed? There’s a lot more to color than just its appearance. Colors can actually affect your mood and emotions— this is related to the study of color psychology.
All color is comprised directly of three primary colors; red, blue, and yellow. Mixing these initial colors creates the remaining colors of the rainbow. Some colors are grouped by temperature— warm and cool colors. For example, shades of red, orange, and yellow fall under the warm category. On the contrary, the shades of blue, green, and purple are cool tones.
Not only do colors get associated with temperature, but they are also associated with emotions. Color subconsciously affects us and our attitudes. While not every color has a universal meaning, they generally share similar qualities. Here are some examples:
Red: importance, passion, aggression, danger
Orange: optimism, motivation, playful, enthusiasm
Yellow: happiness, warmth, attention, frustration
Green: nature, peace, success, growth
Blue: calmness, sadness, comfort, productivity
Purple: wisdom, soothing, creativity, royalty
Black: professionalism, sophistication, power, neutrality
White: innocence, cleanliness, emptiness, freshness
Color plays a major role in our daily lives. Especially when it comes to logos, accessories, signage, and clothing. The colors we surround ourselves with affect our emotions and productivity. Interacting with colors associated with success and creativity will help encourage that behavior. Easy ways of incorporating these colors into our daily lives are through our home decor and clothing. Dressing in blue holds different energy than wearing red. The same thing goes with decor. Walls painted in darker hues may cause anxiety and stress, while light colors (like shades of white) are less claustrophobic.
Living life full of color is living life to the fullest. For more exploration on the psychology behind color and color theory check out the links below!
Be well, Auburn.
Sources:
https://xd.adobe.com/ideas/process/ui-design/what-is-color-theory/
https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824
Born in Connecticut, raised in Marietta, Georgia, Erika is a senior studying graphic design. Once stepping foot on campus, she immediately knew Auburn was her home. She has goals to pursue branding, advertising, and package design.
Outside of school, she loves driving around singing music over her radio, lounging around the house with her roommates, or spending time with her friends playing pick-up games. Erika loves to create and share her passion for art with others, even selling her artwork on Redbubble. And when she isn’t sketching, she is most likely getting in a workout between classes. Her love of sports and fitness has been unwavering ever since she was a kid. Playing three varsity-level sports in high school, including volleyball, lacrosse, and swimming, she has always been on the move. There is almost no sport she hasn’t tried yet!
