Color is a Tool. Use It Carefully!
Fascinating psychology of color power grants each hue its own characteristic personality to empower special moments of your life
A clear majority of people favor blue as their personal favorite. It is a proven fact that weightlifters’ capability increases in blue rooms. The color blue in the Malaysia flag represents justice, perseverance, and vigilance. The white stripes, like the sun’s rays, are for purity and innocence and the color red stands for valor and hardiness.
Websites promoting children’s toys are wise to do so via the vehicle of the primary and bright colors sticking to such combinations as yellow for happiness, and orange for playfulness, sun, fun, and warmth.
What is Color?
In 1666 the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton proved that pure light passing through a prism separates into all the visible colors. Each color is a single wavelength which cannot be separated further.The primary colors, red, yellow, and blue cannot be made by mixing other colors together. Two others which cannot be created by mixing are black and white. Secondary colors are those made by mixing two primary colors together, which is the result of such colors as green, orange, and purple.
Most Emotionally Intense Color
Red has much impact, even stimulating a faster heartbeat, attracting attention, even has the power of an appetite stimulant. Red is a popular food color, along with green and brown. It symbolizes loyalty so it is often worn to job interviews.
The weaker characteristics of red are that it can make the wearer appear heavier. This vibrant color does not contribute any help in negotiations or confrontation, but tends to remain as a popular choice for car thieves.
Calming and Refreshing
Green is the most popular for decorating because it symbolizes nature and is easiest on the eye, as well as beneficial for improving vision. Green is associated with jealousy in North America. People often use the expression ‘green with envy’ when someone is jealous. Dark green is used in references to the military, money, finance, banking, and on many websites.
This soothing color represents growth, money, fertility, and safety. It exudes the feeling of relaxation in the example of ‘green rooms’ for guests to wait before being introduced to the audience. It is also a commonly used color in hospital waiting rooms for the purpose of relaxation and calming in the face of uncertainty.
The Downside of Yellow and Healthful Benefits of Orange
Sunny yellow is an attention-getter and is often used to brighten up kitchens and other areas in homes. The flip side of yellow is that people often lose their tempers and babies cry more in yellow surroundings. It is the most difficult color for the eyes since it can be overpowering if over-used.
Legal pads are often yellow because this color enhances concentration and speeds metabolism. Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, signifies sadness to Greece and jealousy to France.
Orange has twin benefits such as increase of oxygen supply to the brain and stimulation of mental activity. The young people love and accept this color especially darker orange associated with autumn.
Purple for Royalty
This is sometimes known as the royalty color with the stability of blue and energy of red. This color is the representation of royalty, nobility, and prestige. The combination of bright purple with yellow presents the appearance of fun with a dab of mystery, magic, and extravagance.
Genuine Brown
Brown, along with green, and red are the most popular food colors. Light brown suggests a genuine natural personality, sometimes compared to a sad and wistful personality. Men sometimes mention it as one of their favorite colors.
Black’s Characteristics
Black is an overpowering color promoting numerous personality traits. Black speaks with authority, power, promoting a thinner look in clothing, suggesting superior intelligence, or submission, as in the case of priests. Sometimes suggests aloofness, or standing apart from the crowd.
The Representation of White
White is the color of mourning in China, but other representations are more positive, such as pure, clean, fresh, and good. The color for charities, non-profit agencies, often associated with hospitals, doctors, and heaven.
Blue Combines Creativity and Intelligence
Commonly utilized for corporations, hospitals and airlines, blue stands for loyalty, strength, trust, and possesses a calming effect. Since there are practically no blue foods, it is best not to use in restaurants.
Colors for Shoppers
Each type of shopper responds to color as to the individual mood. For different environments, variations occur, but the following statements generally hold true.
- For impulse buyers, the most effective colors are red, orange, black, and royal blue.
- Budget shoppers will be most greatly influenced by pink, teal, light blue, and navy.
- Traditional shoppers will respond to pink, rose, and sky blue.
Read This True Story of the Power of Color
“An executive for a paint company received complaints from workers in a blue office that the office was too cold. When the offices were painted a warm peach, the sweaters came off even though thetemperature had not changed.” Pantone
Sources:
Green color is important in Islam
Islamic symbols express an identification with Islam, or a particular tradition within Islam. They are also used to evoke feelings, or to stand for certain Islamic beliefs and ideas. Some symbols, such as the color green, have been associated with Islam for a long time and in many areas; others are of more limited duration and extent. Muslim art often uses such symbols to represent complex ideas (see Iconography and Islamic calligraphy). Islamic architecture may also incorporate such symbols in the decoration of religious edifices such as mosques, khanqahs, and dargahs. The Quran does not specify any symbols or colors for Islam; these Islamic symbols are results of the understandings and imaginations of Muslim artists, politicians, and thinkers
The colour green has a special place in Islam. It is used in the decoration of mosques, the bindings of Qur'ans, the silken covers for the graves of Sufi saints, and in the flags of various Muslim countries. Green has been associated with Islam for many centuries. The colour green was the colour used by Muhammad’s tribe on their flags[citation needed]. According to Muslims the colour green symbolizes nature and life.[citation needed] In the Qur'an (Surah 76:21), it is said that the inhabitants of paradise will wear green garments of fine silk. The colour green has been considered especially Islamic for centuries. Crusaders avoided using any green in their coats of arms, so that they could not possibly be mistaken for their Muslim opponents in the heat of battle.
Green color is important in Islam as it is the symbol under which Islam religion persuades Muslims and all mankind to:
- preserve the nature purity and cleanliness,
- increase green areas (prophet Muhammad says what means if the Day of Judgment comes and you have in hand a plant to seed then seed it), and
- not to spoil earth by injustice and unfair wars.
In addition, Quran says that the dwellers of the Paradise are wearing green clothes.
Quran says:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهُ خَضِرًا نُّخْرِجُ مِنْهُ حَبًّا مُّتَرَاكِبًا وَمِنَ النَّخْلِ مِن طَلْعِهَا قِنْوَانٌ دَانِيَةٌ وَجَنَّاتٍ مِّنْ أَعْنَابٍ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُشْتَبِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ ۗ انظُرُوا إِلَىٰ ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَيَنْعِهِ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكُمْ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿٩٩﴾
{ And it is He who sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby the growth of all things. We produce from it greenery from which We produce grains arranged in layers. And from the palm trees - of its emerging fruit are clusters hanging low. And [We produce] gardens of grapevines and olives and pomegranates, similar yet varied. Look at [each of] its fruit when it yields and [at] its ripening. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe. (99)}
And Quran says:
أُولَـٰئِكَ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهِمُ الْأَنْهَارُ يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَيَلْبَسُونَ ثِيَابًا خُضْرًا مِّن سُندُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ مُّتَّكِئِينَ فِيهَا عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ ۚ نِعْمَ الثَّوَابُ وَحَسُنَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا ﴿٣١﴾
{ Those (true believers) will have gardens of perpetual residence; beneath them rivers will flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade, reclining therein on adorned couches. Excellent is the reward, and good is the resting place. (31)}
And Quran says:
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّـهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَتُصْبِحُ الْأَرْضُ مُخْضَرَّةً ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌ ﴿٦٣﴾
{Do you not see that Allah has sent down rain from the sky and the earth becomes green? Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Acquainted. (63)}
And Quran says:
مُتَّكِئِينَ عَلَىٰ رَفْرَفٍ خُضْرٍ وَعَبْقَرِيٍّ حِسَانٍ ﴿٧٦﴾ فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ﴿٧٧﴾
{Reclining on green cushions and beautiful fine carpets. (76) So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? (77) }
Why do doctors wear green or blue scrubs?
Asks Jillian from Philadelphia
Scrubs used to be white—the color of cleanliness. Then in the early twentieth century, one influential doctor switched to green because he thought it would be easier on a surgeon’s eyes, according to an article in a 1998 issue of Today’s Surgical Nurse. Although it is hard to confirm whether green scrubs became popular for this reason, green may be especially well-suited to help doctors see better in the operating room because it is the opposite of red on the color wheel.
Green could help physicians see better for two reasons. First, looking at blue or green can refresh a doctor’s vision of red things, including the bloody innards of a patient during surgery. The brain interprets colors relative to each other. If a surgeon stares at something that’s red and pink, he becomes desensitized to it. The red signal in the brain actually fades, which could make it harder to see the nuances of the human body. Looking at something green from time to time can keep someone’s eyes more sensitive to variations in red, according to John Werner, a psychologist who studies vision at the University of California, Davis.
Second, such deep focus on red, red, red can lead to distracting green illusions on white surfaces. These funky green ghosts could appear if a doctor shifts his gaze from reddish body tissue to something white, like a surgical drape or an anesthesiologist’s alabaster outfit. A green illusion of the patient’s red insides may appear on the white background. (You can try out this “after effect” illusion yourself.) The distracting image would follow the surgeon’s gaze wherever he looks, similar to the floating spots we see after a camera flash.
The phenomenon occurs because white light contains all the colors of the rainbow, including both red and green. But the red pathway is still tired out, so the red versus green pathway in the brain signals “green.”
However, if a doctor looks at green or blue scrubs instead of white ones, these disturbing ghosts will blend right in and not become a distraction, according to Paola Bressan, who researches visual illusions at the University of Padova in Italy.
So, although doctors trot down the street these days in a rainbow of patterned and colored scrubs, green may be a doctor’s best bet.
Do you know why Green color is so commonly used in hospitals?
Green is the complimentary colour of red.It goes well with medical accessories and doesn't shout for attention. Green, which provides a high-contrast environment, reduces eye ...See More
Do you know why Green colour is so commonly used in hospitals??
Green is the complimentary colour of red.It goes well with medical accessories and doesn't shout for attention. Green, which provides a high-contrast environment, reduces eye
fatigue and make bright red blood splashes less conspicuous.Also,we can find green colour as neutral even if we observe in spectrum.(Earlier the colour used was white...the combination of bright operating lights and an all-white environment led to eyestrain for the surgeon and staff. By the 1950s and 1960s, most hospitals had abandoned white and apparels were selected in favor of various shades of green)
Which is more important in green construction: materials or tech?
What does it mean to be green? Green means reduced carbon emissions, lowered energy consumption, and trending away from non-renewable resources for the greener pastures of solar and wind and biofuel. Green means lowering our carbon footprint while developing new methods of construction. Green is good -- but what kind of green is best? In one corner we have green construction materials, eco-friendly products that lesson the environmental impact of building new communities and businesses. These include materials like biodegradable paints, recycled insulation, and natural building substances like hempand rammed earth.
In the other corner we have cutting-edge technology. These are the innovations that drive us to new discoveries and new methods of powering our society. These are the advanced solar panels, geothermal systems and smart electronics that fundamentally change our lives. but is one category really more important than the other? Let's take a look at how green materials and green technology are influencing the development of construction.
Color Psychology
Do different colors affect your mood?
Like death and taxes, there is no escaping color. It is ubiquitous. Yet what does it all mean? Why are people more relaxed in green rooms? Why do weightlifters do their best in blue gyms?
Colors often have different meanings in various cultures. And even in Western societies, the meanings of various colors have changed over the years. But today in the U.S., researchers have generally found the following to be accurate.
Black
Black is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men. Black outfits can also be overpowering, or make the wearer seem aloof or evil. Villains, such as Dracula, often wear black.
White
Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorating and in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. However, white shows dirt and is therefore more difficult to keep clean than other colors. Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility.
Red
The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention.
The most romantic color, pink, is more tranquilizing. Sports teams sometimes paint the locker rooms used by opposing teams bright pink so their opponents will lose energy.
Blue
The color of the sky and the ocean, blue is one of the most popular colors. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms. Blue can also be cold and depressing. Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty. People are more productive in blue rooms. Studies show weightlifters are able to handle heavier weights in blue gyms.
Green
Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on TV sit in "green rooms" to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth. However, seamstresses often refuse to use green thread on the eve of a fashion show for fear it will bring bad luck.
Yellow
Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism.
Purple
The color of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.
Brown
Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.
Colors of the Flag
In the U.S. flag, white stands for purity and innocence. Red represents valor and hardiness, while blue signifies justice, perseverance, and vigilance. The stars represent the heavens and all the good that people strive for, while the stripes emulate the sun's rays.
Food for Thought
While blue is one of the most popular colors it is one of the least appetizing. Blue food is rare in nature. Food researchers say that when humans searched for food, they learned to avoid toxic or spoiled objects, which were often blue, black, or purple. When food dyed blue is served to study subjects, they lose appetite.
Green, brown, and red are the most popular food colors. Red is often used in restaurant decorating schemes because it is an appetite stimulant
The Meaning of Colors
Red
¨ Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
¨ Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure.
¨ It has very high visibility that’s why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red.
¨ In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is the color found in many national flags.
¨ Red brings text and images to the foreground.
¨ Use it as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions; it is a perfect color for 'Buy Now' or 'Click Here' buttons on Internet banners and websites.
¨ Red is widely used to indicate danger (high voltage signs, traffic lights).
¨ This color is also commonly associated with energy, so you can use it when promoting energy drinks, games, cars, items related to sports and high physical activity.
Light red represents joy, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.
Orange
¨ Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and tropics.
¨ Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
¨ To the human eyes, orange is seen as a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat.
¨ Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people.
¨ As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite.
¨ Orange is the color of fall and harvest. I
¨ n heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.
¨ Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design.
¨ Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys.
Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.
Yellow
¨ Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
¨ 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 that’s why taxicabs are painted this color.
¨ When overused, yellow may have a disturbing influence; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms.
¨ Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning.
¨ In heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected with cowardice.
¨ Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings.
¨ 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, 'kiddish' color, 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 color, 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 color to highlight it.
¨ Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.
Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.
Green
¨ Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility.
¨ Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety.
¨ Dark green is also commonly associated with money.
¨ Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for human eyes; 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 color of free passage in road traffic.
¨ Use green to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical products.
¨ Green is directly related to nature, so you can use it to promote 'green' products.
¨ Dull, darker green is commonly associated with money, financial world, banking, and Wall Street.
Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.
Blue
¨ Blue is the color of the sky and sea.
¨ It is often associated with depth and stability.
¨ It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
¨ 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 symbolize piety and sincerity.
¨ You can use blue to promote products and services related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water).
¨ Blue is linked to consciousness and intellect.
¨ Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males.
¨ Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.
¨ Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because blue suppresses appetite.
¨ When used together with warm colors like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example, blue-yellow-red is a perfect color scheme for a superhero.
Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
Purple
¨ Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red.
¨ Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition.
¨ It conveys wealth and extravagance.
¨ Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
¨ Almost 75 percent children prefer purple to all the other colors.
¨ Purple is a very rare color in nature; some people consider it to be artificial.
Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.
Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.
White
¨ White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, and purity.
¨ It is considered to be the color 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.
¨ In advertising, white is associated with coolness and cleanliness because it's the color of snow.
¨ You can use white to suggest simplicity in high-tech products.
¨ White is an appropriate color for charitable organizations
¨ 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.
Black
¨ Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.
¨ Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes).
¨ It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humor, 'black death').
¨ Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black tie, black Mercedes).
¨ In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.
¨ Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but the black background diminishes readability.
¨ A black suit or dress can make you look thinner.
¨ When designing for a gallery of painting or photography, you can use a black or gray background to make other colors stand out.
¨ Black contrasts well with bright colors. Combined with red or orange - other very powerful colors - black gives a very aggressive color scheme
Read more: Color Psychology | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html#ixzz2RivGwRC2
This is a very interesting article about the psychological meaning of your favorite color. Follow the link impact of color psychology on us
ReplyDeleteThere are many country flags with color combinations such as the Green white orange flag and the blue yellow flag countries check out and read more about country flags at Flaginfos
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