The French painter Marc Chagall said that colors are life and we cannot deny reason, they are part of our daily lives. ANDIn everything that surrounds us there is color and psychological symbolism that many strive to decipher. Precisely, color psychology takes care of it, to investigate the meanings, nuances and impressions of colors.
What do they evoke in us and where do they take us? Why do we choose one color or another to dress or decorate our room? And even, how to convey a feeling from the colors of a logo or a brand?
The colors They talk to us, even if we don’t hear them. They have their own language. Painters and creative artists understand this very well, they are your great allies. Even the world of marketing and fashion are also interested in them. Hence, throughout history Different studies and research have been carried out to explain how they influence us. We see it below in this article by psychologist Gema Sanchez.
Color psychology: what does it consist of?
Color psychology is a field of study that analyzes how we perceive colors and how they influence our emotions and behavior. Although there are more and more studies, it is true that there are several subjective aspects, which is why some consider color psychology a pseudoscience.
Interest in the universe of colors dates back to ancient times. For example, the Egyptians believed that they had healing properties and that through them certain emotional and conscious states could be favored.
Goethe’s vision that later supported science
However, it was really Goethe one of the first to be interested in color analysis from a psychological perspective. In fact, he formulated his own theory of color, in opposition to Newton’s physical vision. In it, he stated that color also depended on our perception, in which the brain and the sense of sight were involved, but it was widely criticized by science, since it had no scientific basis.
“Upon coming into contact with a certain color, it immediately synchronizes with the human spirit, producing a decisive and important effect on the mood,” wrote the German poet and playwright.
Now, he was the scientist, physicist and artist Edwin D. Babbitt who unknowingly developed color psychology. He developed a theory in which he related specific colors to a series of conditions. Their work is recognized today by a large number of sectors, although this field has advanced a lot since then.
A modern science
In fact, some 200 years later, the psychologist and sociologist Eva Heller published one of the most interesting books on the subject:Color psychology: how colors act on feelings and reason. Everything he mentions in it is taken from a study in which he consulted 2,000 people from different professions throughout Germany and which we will talk about later.
Currently, it is the marketing field that focuses the most on color perception and its influence.
Do colors influence emotions?
“Color is a means to directly influence the soul,” said Wassily Kandisky. Today it is recognized that the color It is much more than an optical effect, since stimulates the brain in different ways.
Each color has its own meaning and impacts the brain in a certain way. In fact, the Harvard University Medicine Unit has shown that the red light calms and promotes a state of alert and acute performance, while blue light is capable of exciting the brain and activating us.
This is why the marketing field shows so much interest in color psychology, as a tool to support itself in achieving its objectives. For example:
- Colors can influence our actions. in the studio Exciting red and competent blue It is stated that colors influence both the purchase intention and the friendliness and familiarity of a brand. Thus, depending on the colors of the logo or the brand itself, we feel a greater preference for one or the other.
- Colors are related to our well-being and attitude. Another study states that colored spaces in work environments positively affect the performance, productivity and sense of well-being of workers, with green being the color that provided the most benefits.
According to the study Impact of color on marketing, 90% of the quick judgments we make about products are based on color.
As we see, colors influence us much more than we think. And in this influence, the context is a determining factor, according to Eva Heller, since It makes us connect with different meanings. For example, red on a dress is not the same as on a wall, a painting or in a cosmetic product.
Now that we know that Colors can influence how we feel, we will take a tour of the most relevant characteristics and data of the best-known colors, basing ourselves in the research of psychologist and sociologist Eva Heller. Let’s start!