Colour Psychology

Welcome back! Today we will be continuing on with learning about colours to which we will be discussing the emotions associated with each. If you haven’t read our colour theory basics blog post, be sure to check that out.

Colour theory is an omnipresent concept in design as it holds a great impact on marketing and advertising and can work to achieve a certain effect through design. Colour psychology is the association of emotions attached to each colour.

As a general rule of thumb, there are standard psychological effects of warm colours versus cool ones. Generally, warm colours are associated with foods which explains why many restaurants lean towards them in their décor. These warm and bright colours can also bring energy to environments or designs, whereas, cool colours are seen as more relaxing and soothing.

Emotions in colours stem from the foundation of what we associate specific colours with when people are young. Humans see colours as indicators to familiar experiences and feelings. We are so quickly attuned to these indicators that we sometimes don’t even know that we judge colours the way we do. Of course not all hues of a colour share the same feelings but they can overlap. Since colours carry such an important role to how we judge things on a surface level, companies take great care into branding their company to have an identity that represents their core values as a company.

Red is a strong colour that can represent many things such as fear and pain due to its association to blood. On the opposite end of the spectrum, red can represent passion and love.

Yellow is a vibrant colour that breathes energy. With this energy, it also gives itself a feeling of youth and playfulness. Similar to red, on the opposite end of things, yellow can be seen as caution and danger. Depending on how yellow is used, it can produce a feeling that can invigorate your design.

Orange is a colour that embodies both yellow and red. Orange combines the passion as well as the energetic and playfulness nature of yellow. Often seen a s a happy colour, it creates a fun feeling in branding.

Blue lies in the middle of the cool colours and as such it is a colour that gives off a feeling of calmness and tranquility that is affiliated with the soft oceans and vast blue sky. Blue is also a colour that is often seen to represent trust and responsibility.

Green lies between yellow and blue, because of this, this colour has the ability to both be a warm colour and a cool colour. Nature and wildlife are also heavy associations to this colour in nature which give the overall colour a strong sense of balance as well as harmony.

Purple is similar to green lies between the lines of what is definitively cool and warm colours being red and blue, as such is also can be both a warm and cool colour based on which of the two hues it is closer to. Purple is usually thought of as a colour that symbolizes royalty, luxury and importance. Due to its red side of its composition, it also has more emotive qualities such as love and romance.

White is a simple colour that is defined by being pure and serene. It represents freedom, grace and heaven. While white is a colour that strongly embodies cleanliness, it also has a cold and sterile feeling which can also be unsettling as it can lack personality and feeling.

Black on the other end is colour that is very dominating and assertive. Black is very powerful and depending on its application, it can offer a sophisticated and elegant feeling similar to purple.

Colours are not just a simple aspect in design but it is essential to it and branding. Colours set the tone for what to expect from your company from the opening second and allows itself to make an impression on your audience the moment they look.

For more information, check out our YouTube video that discusses colour psychology as well! Link: