A lot has been written about the impact of colours. Our favourite colour depends on the culture we grew up in and the environment we live.
However, the attributes listed in this post apply for the Western world. What it does not reflect is the difference of light or dark. Light blue conveys a totally different message than navy blue.
Blue
Statistically, 38% of all people – at least in the Western world – name blue as their favourite colour. This makes it the number one of our list.
These are some of the properties attributed to blue:
Cool, calm, trust, authority, value, loyalty
Red
80% of people answer “red” if asked just any colour.
However, it is the favourite colour of 20% of people. Given its attributions this is no surprise.
Red is a very strong colour that evokes strong emotions and sends conflicting messages from
blood to love or anger and strength.
Moreover, it symbolises strength and energy.
Green
Green is a fresh colour that reminds us of growing plants and nature. If you look at the plants in your garden or in your home you also notice that green is “colourful”. Every plant seems to have a different shade of green.
Here are some more of its properties:
Gentleness, loyalty, freshness, quality, nature
PINK
In my mind hot pink and baby pink have very different effects on people.
However, this is what colour psychology attributes to it:
Compassion, sincerity, sophistication, sweetness
YELLOW
Yellow is almost everything between sunshine, danger and envy.
Only 5% of people name it their preferred colour.
In ancient China yellow was the imperial colour representing power, royalty, and prosperity.
Purple
Although only 3% of people seem to prefer purple/violet the colour contains a substantial amount of blue and some big companies dared to choose it for their logos.
The attributes of purple go from royal to mysterious.
GOLD
Gold is the colour of success and affluence. It stands for masculine energy and the power of the sun. It is a close relative to yellow.
BROWN
Brown is a very earthy colour that exudes calm and trust.
These are the colour’s attributes according to psychology :
Dependable, trustworthy, simple, earthy, organic, stable, natural
BLACK & WHITE
Black and white are not considered colours. What they have in common is that they go with every “real” colour.
Not only they stark opposites, their effects on us are also very different
Black
Authority – bold, distinctive, power simplicity, sophistication
White
Cleanliness, innocence, peace, purity, surrender, truthfulness
GREY
Grey is not everybody’s darling but its attributes are very clear.
It is the result of black and white and these are the attributes:
Stable, sombre, cool and neutral.
Remember, grey could also be silver which would make it very luxurious.
ORANGE
Orange is not in the list of the most liked colours but it occupies the second rank among the least liked shades.
Psychologically, it is very likeable:
Affordability, creativity, joy and enthusiasm.
The next post is about logos. To design yours, this list might be usefel.
