Color Psychology PDF

AS1809 COLOR PSYCHOLOGY Color, as part of people’s daily life, plays a role in one’s emotions, expression, and psyche that are used even in commerce, marketing, and branding. It influences perceptions and affects how people feel. People have built relati...

AS1809 COLOR PSYCHOLOGY Color, as part of people’s daily life, plays a role in one’s emotions, expression, and psyche that are used even in commerce, marketing, and branding. It influences perceptions and affects how people feel. People have built relationship with colors, which artists or designers use to connect to viewers effectively. Moreover, the innate or learned responses of people to different colors are used by the marketeers to appeal to its consumers or target market. Psychoanalysis of Color Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis. In psychology, psychoanalysis is a set of psychological theories and techniques used to study and bring out people’s unconscious mind, including their thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories. Hence, color is one aspect that interests the psychiatrists and psychologists to study its uses, relationship, and effects to psychology. Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, was the one who began to see color as a “primal element” to be addressed. According to him, the use of color is a “manifestation of the unconscious” (Bleicher, 2012). Meanwhile, Laurie Schneider Adams, who applied psychoanalytic theory to art, “believes that the artist’s use of color is autobiographical in nature” (Bleicher, 2012). The Luscher Color Test It is a color test developed by Dr. Max Luscher in 1960. It is used to determine personality traits and disorders. One of its versions contains eight (8) colors. The first group comprises of the four (4) psychological primaries which are dark blue, yellow, red-orange, and green, while the second or auxiliary group consists of violet and the neutrals of brown, gray, and black. Figure 1. Illustration of the eight (8) color swatches of Luscher Color Test Source: Contemporary Color Theory and use (2nd ed.), 2012, p. 43 In the color test, each color will be rated. One (1) being the most preferred or desired to eight (8) being the least preferred or avoided. The order and the combination of numbers will give insight to one’s personality and psyche. Here’s a look into the eight (8) colors of the Luscher Color Test (as cited in Bleicher, 2012): Dark Blue represents total calm, tranquility, harmony, and comfort, and relates to one’s need for contentment and fulfillment. When picked in the first position, it represents a need for emotional stability, for rest, relaxation, and the desire to recharge. The person choosing blue wants a calm and orderly environment. If it is a person’s first choice, it is usually chosen for itself and not as a rejection of another color. 10 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 4  AS1809 Blue-green used in the test contains a small amount of blue. It is an expression of steadfastness—standing up tall and firm like a tree. People who choose green in the first position can be assertive and demanding, primarily concerned with themselves and their personal gains. It could be called the “me” color of people who want to add to their own personal fortune. It is no accident that this is also the color associated with money and wealth. Green, like the street light, stands for “go” and represents those who want to push ahead to succeed. Red-orange is not a pure red. It has some yellow in it, thereby giving it a bit of an orange feel and with it the feeling of energy. It represents vital forces of desire, appetite, and hunger and, as we will see, is the favorite of fast-food restaurants. It also represents activity, and the person choosing this hue will be active and participate in sports and other physical activities. People choosing red in the first position want their own personal activities to be intense and want to experience life to the fullest and live it on the edge. It is also a color of strong sexual desire, but the ability to satisfy one’s needs may be difficult. It is an intense hue and could be considered the “extreme color” as in extreme sports. Bright yellow is the most saturated intense hue in the test and stands for sunny, bright, and happy thoughts. It represents the subject’s desire for happiness. It may also represent someone who is going through a major personal crisis and wants and desires a happy outcome. Yellow is the color of haloes and gold and may have a religious significance or connotation. It represents the future, and the person who picks it is someone looking forward to the future and all it can bring. Violet is composed of both red and blue and holds some of each color’s association. Violet can represent someone who wants or sees a magical identification to the world with intimate and erotic overtones. When it is the first choice of children, it may mean they still find the world a magical place. An adult who chooses it in the first position may be both sensitive and unrealistic in their desires or goals. Brown is a shade of orange representing sensations of the body and bodily functions. It is an earthy tone indicating the importance of home and feeling of belonging. It also may denote that the person selecting this shade may have feelings of unease and the desire to remedy a problem or situation. Black is the darkest of all the colors in the test and is the negation or absence of all color. It represents the color of anarchy and protest; the person picking it wants to rebel against anything and everything. Those who choose black are those who do not to give up anything and may feel that things are not as they want them to be. It also denotes someone who may be pushing against fate and may do so just to be different and not do what everyone else is doing—the dissenter and agitator. Black has an intense effect on the other colors chosen after it and is most normally picked in the last position. Gray is a neutral; it is not a hue and is the midpoint in between black and white. It is not one thing or another and is free from all stimuli. It could be considered the DMZ color choice—not part of one thing or another. People selecting gray in the first position want to separate themselves from everyone and everything, walling themselves up. These people watch themselves go through the motions of daily life and are not involved. They prefer to stand alone stoically. Gray is statistically most often picked in sixth place in the test. Psychological Perception of Color Different colors surely have a psychological effect on people. According to Bleicher (2012), the color red, for example, increases skin temperature and raises blood pressure and respiration, while blue lowers skin temperature, blood pressure, respiration, and pulse. He added that colors can also affect people’s perception on object. Bleicher (2012) provided this situation: On the English waterfront, dockworkers complained that a product packed in very dark pigmented containers was too heavy and a strike nearly ensued. The shippers replaced the dark containers with containers colored a soft-tinted hue. The new “lighter” boxes pleased the dock workers and talk of a strike passed without issue. The size and weight of the boxes remained the same; only the color changed and with it the perception of their heft and manageability. 10 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 4  AS1809 Expression, Mood, Emotion Color can also affect one’s emotion and mood. Bleicher (2012) discussed an experiment on color and emotion done by the U.S Navy. The U.S Navy painted the holding cells in its military jail, pink. This study found that even the most hostile and agitated sailors become docile and calm in the pink holding area. It says that it happened because the color pink was emasculating, which made the prisoners feel less manly and easier to control. However, the study also found out that if the prisoners are held longer in the pink cell, it will make them more violent, aggressive, and uncontrollable because the quiet pink color can irritate in an extended period of time. Bleicher (2012) also discussed the color green. According to him, unlike the questionable color pink, it is a welcoming hue that makes people adjust well to new surroundings. He said that the green paint and interiors can lessen homesickness among children and can create warm and inviting atmosphere for guests. Color is also used to sway emotion through the appetite. Bleicher (2012) gave fast-food restaurant as an example. He said that the reason why most of the fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s use the same warm hues is because the colors yellow, red, and orange increase the appetite. These colors don’t only make people eat more but faster too. The ideas are to get people in, stimulate their appetite, and get people out as fast as possible so other people can come in and take their places. He added that the bright-colored, hard plastic seats are used to keep people from getting too comfortable and lingering. On the other hand, upscale restaurants use opposite colors such as dark, cool hues and lighting to make customers relax and take their time. It is because in an upscale restaurant, more time means higher bill. Meanwhile, it is also evident that food manufacturers use color to appeal to consumers. Different flavors call for different colors. Coloring agents are listed as ingredients in almost all products in the market such as soft drinks, sports drinks, junk food, and candy. Bleicher (2012) mentioned Coke as an example wherein a caramel coloring is added to it to have a rich brown color instead of a colorless liquid; color yellow is added too in butter and margarine; pink boxes are used in pastries; golden and brown tones are used in packaging of bread to imply the idea of home-baked or oven freshness; and saturated bright blue is used to attract the younger market who have no negative associations to color yet. Lastly, color is used as a means of visual expression called the heightened color. In this method, artists use any color that they want in any way they wanted to make their painting or image stand out. This method gives an image power and intensity and forces a viewer to pay attention and think of the painting or art. It also provides powerful liberation to an artist since color is used for color’s sake alone and without the need to be relevant in the real world (Bleicher, 2012). Branding In businesses, branding is a technique used by business owners to establish their brands, to get their products and services recognized, and to be easily identified by the consumers. The elements of branding include packaging, trademark colors, copy, and typography among others. Color, being one of the important elements of branding, is not only used to improve a product’s taste or flavor but to signify and recognize a brand. According to Bleicher (2012), shoppers can recognize a product in only.03 seconds, and people reach for a product even before reading its name because of its color. In market research studies cited in Bleicher (2012), a person can already accept or reject a purchase within 90 seconds, and 60 percent of this acceptance or rejection is based on color as the most important aspect of the decision. There are factors to consider when choosing the right color for a product such as socioeconomic class, age, sex, etc. because specific colors may not be as appealing and appropriate for other groups compared to another. Here are eight (8) color branding reminders from Opara & Cantwell (2013): 10 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 4  AS1809 1. Keep the colors for your brand thoroughly consistent so that your products are easily identifiable by consumers. 2. Ask clients if they have already dealt with any consumer or stakeholder surveys on color. 3. Make colors symbolize what the brand stands for and think about what colors give the brand its temperament. 4. Remember that colors stimulate emotional sentiment and empathy toward brands. 5. Ensure that you know what colors competing brands are using. 6. Remember that color is an efficient and effective method for wayfinding and products. 7. Don’t use too many colors in one place, as pedestrians and consumers must remember where they are and what product they are purchasing. 8. Understand that various cultures and consumers symbolize colors differently. “Color is one way of achieving differentiation—attaching a color to one thing to show it is not like another thing” (Opara & Cantwell, 2013, p. 50). The authors added that companies spend a lot of money to distinguish themselves through colors, and the majority of the visual identities use the middle range. Many global brands most-used color ranges are red and blue. References Bleicher, S. (2012). Contemporary color theory and use (2nd ed.). New York: Cengage Learning. Cherry, K. (2019, July 1). The influence of psychoanalysis on the field of psychology. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from verywellmind: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-psychoanalysis-2795246 Opara , E. & Cantwell, J. (2013). Best practices for graphic designers color works: An essential guide to understanding and applying color design principles. Massachusetts: Rockport. 10 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 4 of 4