The Psychology of Color.
This field of study is a science that studies the effects of colors on human behavior and the perception of them, there is a very certain reality and it is that colors influence us, each color has a meaning for each person, what can be for me the color red as burning fire, for another person can be passion, blood and flavor.
Origin of color psychology (reference)
The history of color begins with Aristotle and his discovery of what he called "basic colors". These colors are related to water, sky, earth and fire. After some time, Leonardo Da Vinci, based on Aristotle's definition of the basic colors, classified them into yellow, blue, green and red and added two others, white as the receiver of all colors and black, representing the absence of them. Already in the 18th century, Isaac Newton showed that white light is formed by a band of colors, which can be separated by means of a prism and not that the prism produced these colors as previously believed.
Wolfgang Goethe, German poet and scientist, initiated what we know today as color psychology. In his treatise "Theory of color" and opposing Newton's perspective that said that color was something strictly physical, he indicates that what we see of an object is conditioned by our own perception and not only by its physical characteristics.
Currently, the most highly valued study on color theory is that of the German sociologist and psychologist Eva Heller (1948-2008), in which she develops the relationship between colors and the feelings or sensations they transmit. Relationships that, far from being casual, are inherent to our own language and thinking.
We are going to make an analysis of some of the colors and their effects on living beings, since animals are also affected by some colors, for example the same red, in a bull means something different than in a dog.
Before entering into a broad analysis we should also know that by knowing the influence that colors contain we are being owners of an important knowledge and we will know how to use them properly even in a presentation of a curricular synthesis or a decoration in a work environment.
Let's start with the color white: this particular color is one of the least valued but one of the most important. It is related to ethereal, cleanliness, purity and nobility, but also to spirituality and nature.
It is also synonymous with healing, medicine and heaven, it conveys feelings such as kindness, emptiness and naivety.
It is one of the most typical and usual colors, since in fact the writing itself is usually worn in black. It is considered synonymous with elegance, but also with power, prestige, timelessness, space and even death.
Its use is widespread and is used in a large number of very diverse sectors, although when it comes to writing it stands out for being a neutral color, unlike green or red, which lack influence or motivation.
It is related to the sun, to light and to everything that is luminous. It is also easily associated with electricity and even with money, because it evokes the color of gold.
It is a warm color that transmits joy and stimulates creativity, and also serves to draw attention and highlight things.
We relate it to water, the sea, to everything that has to do with the marine environment. It is also easy to identify it with the sky, infinity, recycling, it transmits serenity, calm.
It is a vivid, warm, intense color, associated with the most visceral emotions such as aggressiveness and passion, and also with two of the most important feelings that exist, love and joy.
It is also used to identify dangers and generate negative reactions or responses.
It is associated above all with nature, the ecological and respectful with the environment, but also with recycling, hope, health, organic and with almost everything related to the earth.
Beyond all this we also find it in certain signals and indicators and it helps to generate affirmative responses and reactions.
Conclusion:
Undoubtedly if we learn how to employ them, colors can be our allies, since we can enhance our identity by using them wisely, as we already know each color has a different meaning and in order to use this valuable tool we must know how to associate each color with a series of sensations emotions, feeling and events.
However, I would like to emphasize that the psychology of color and what is published in this article is not an exact science, it is a rather subjective science. The appreciation of it will depend a lot on the filter of the subjectivity of each person who observes the color and what it transmits to him/her specifically. Everything can be open to nuances or interpretation.
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Disclaimer: I want to let you know that English is not my native language, I may even make some mistakes in the elaboration of sentences in my posts. Feel free to correct me attentively. It will help me in my learning process.
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I liked this post! There were things I didn't know about colors. Thanks for sharing