There are four psychological primary colours -
red, blue, yellow and green. They relate
respectively to the body, the mind, the emotions
and the essential balance between these three.
The psychological properties of the eleven basic
colours are as follows (Learn how you can
harness the positive effects of the colours,
by joining us on one of our courses):
RED. Physical
Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth,
energy, basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation,
masculinity, excitement.
Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact,
strain.
Being the longest wavelength, red is a powerful
colour. Although not technically the most visible,
it has the property of appearing to be nearer
than it is and therefore it grabs our attention
first. Hence its effectiveness in traffic lights the
world over. Its effect is physical; it stimulates us
and raises the pulse rate, giving the impression
that time is passing faster than it is. It relates to
the masculine principle and can activate the
"fight or flight" instinct. Red is strong, and very
basic. Pure red is the simplest colour, with no
subtlety. It is stimulating and lively, very friendly.
At the same time, it can be perceived as
demanding and aggressive.
Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust,
efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness,
reflection, calm.
Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion,
unfriendliness.
Blue is the colour of the mind and is essentially
soothing; it affects us mentally, rather than the
physical reaction we have to red. Strong blues
will stimulate clear thought and lighter, soft blues
will calm the mind and aid concentration.
Consequently it is serene and mentally calming.
It is the colour of clear communication. Blue
objects do not appear to be as close to us as
red ones. Time and again in research, blue is the
world's favourite colour. However, it can be
perceived as cold, unemotional and unfriendly.
YELLOW. Emotional
Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem,
extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness,
creativity.
Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility,
depression, anxiety, suicide.
The yellow wavelength is relatively long and
essentially stimulating. In this case the stimulus
is emotional, therefore yellow is the strongest
colour, psychologically. The right yellow will lift
our spirits and our self-esteem; it is the colour of
confidence and optimism. Too much of it, or the
wrong tone in relation to the other tones in a
colour scheme, can cause self-esteem to
plummet, giving rise to fear and anxiety. Our
"yellow streak" can surface.
Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment,
universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance,
environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace.
Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness,
enervation.
Green strikes the eye in such a way as to require
no adjustment whatever and is, therefore, restful.
Being in the centre of the spectrum, it is the
colour of balance - a more important concept
than many people realise. When the world about
us contains plenty of green, this indicates the
presence of water, and little danger of famine, so
we are reassured by green, on a primitive level.
Negatively, it can indicate stagnation and,
incorrectly used, will be perceived as being too
bland.
VIOLET. Spiritual
Positive: Spiritual awareness, containment,
vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality.
Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression,
inferiority.
The shortest wavelength is violet, often
described as purple. It takes awareness to a
higher level of thought, even into the realms of
spiritual values. It is highly introvertive and
encourages deep contemplation, or meditation. It
has associations with royalty and usually
communicates the finest possible quality. Being
the last visible wavelength before the ultra-violet
ray, it has associations with time and space and
the cosmos. Excessive use of purple can bring
about too much introspection and the wrong tone
of it communicates something cheap and nasty,
faster than any other colour.
Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth,
security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun.
Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity,
immaturity.
Since it is a combination of red and yellow,
orange is stimulating and reaction to it is a
combination of the physical and the emotional. It
focuses our minds on issues of physical comfort
- food, warmth, shelter etc. - and sensuality. It is
a 'fun' colour. Negatively, it might focus on the
exact opposite - deprivation. This is particularly
likely when warm orange is used with black.
Equally, too much orange suggests frivolity and a
lack of serious intellectual values.
Positive: Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth,
femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the
species.
Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia,
emasculation, physical weakness.
Being a tint of red, pink also affects us
physically, but it soothes, rather than stimulates.
(Interestingly, red is the only colour that has an
entirely separate name for its tints. Tints of blue,
green, yellow, etc. are simply called light blue,
light greenetc.) Pink is a powerful colour,
psychologically. It represents the feminine
principle, and survival of the species; it is
nurturing and physically soothing. Too much pink
is physically draining and can be somewhat
emasculating.
GREY.
Positive: Psychological neutrality.
Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness,
depression, hibernation, lack of energy.
Pure grey is the only colour that has no direct
psychological properties. It is, however, quite
suppressive. A virtual absence of colour is
depressing and when the world turns grey we are
instinctively conditioned to draw in and prepare
for hibernation. Unless the precise tone is right,
grey has a dampening effect on other colours
used with it. Heavy use of grey usually indicates
a lack of confidence and fear of exposure.
BLACK.
Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security,
emotional safety, efficiency, substance.
Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace,
heaviness.
Black is all colours, totally absorbed. The
psychological implications of that are
considerable. It creates protective barriers, as it
absorbs all the energy coming towards you, and
it enshrouds the personality. Black is essentially
an absence of light, since no wavelengths are
reflected and it can, therefore be menacing;
many people are afraid of the dark. Positively, it
communicates absolute clarity, with no fine
nuances. It communicates sophistication and
uncompromising excellence and it works
particularly well with white. Black creates a
perception of weight and seriousness.
It is a myth that black clothes are slimming:
Which of these boxes do you think is bigger/
heavier?
No comments:
Post a Comment