The Study of Color Psychology
An art piece by the writer, Nadia E S Saadeh, showing the symbolism of different colors (The Puma Prensa / Nadia Saadeh)
By Nadia Saadeh, Staff Writer
An art piece by the writer, Nadia E S Saadeh, showing the symbolism of different colors.
When you think of the color of red, you probably associate it with the emotion of anger, while blue is associated with sadness and yellow is the color of happiness. But why does this association happen?
An experiment was done in which subjects taking a test were given a number that was either red, black, or green. The students with red numbers scored 20% or less lower than students with black or green numbers.
Here is a list of colors and their symbolism:
Red-passion, love, anger. Red is the color of passion. Wearing red can make you look like a powerful passionate person. Red raises blood pressure and heartbeat and is the color of blood.
Orange-enthusiasm, adventure, optimism. Orange is the color or energy and positivity. It can express excitement and adventure when worn as clothing. Orange also represents ego and pessimism.
Yellow-joy, intellect, logic. Wearing yellow marks you out as a joyful, optimistic person. You will look like a lively, friendly person who would want to talk with anyone.
Green-nature, growth, jealousy, money. Wearing green can show wealth, and that you have great perseverance in your heart. Green is the color of growth and is commonly associated with plants and nature. However, green can also represent money, greed, envy, and jealousy.
Blue-trust, calmness, sadness. People who wear blue are often seen as trustworthy and authoritative. Blue is often used in police, surgeon, and airline uniforms to show trust.
Purple-imagination, royalty, wealth. In ancient times, purple dye was so rare that it was only allowed to be worn by royalty due to it being very hard to create. Thus, the color purple symbolizes royalty and nobility. Purple also represents imagination and knowledge.
Color can be very symbolic in art. Thomas Laughlin, the art teacher at Maria Carrillo High School says that color psychology is sometimes incorporated into his projects. “When I [use color psychology, it is] usually in the color wheel,” Laughlin says. “Students have to choose things based on the mood of their work.” For the color wheel project, students colored in a paper picture of the 12 main colors of the color wheel. Students can choose what colors they use in their various projects, which can influence the mood of the art piece in many different ways.
An art piece by the writer, Nadia E S Saadeh, demonstrating a color field, an arrangement of different shapes and colors.
An art piece by the writer, Nadia E S Saadeh, demonstrating a color field, an arrangement of different shapes and colors (The Puma Prensa / Nadia Saadeh)
Colors may be thought of as little kids coloring with crayons, but colors are much deeper than childhood drawings. They have a whole world of hidden meanings and emotions. And once you discover this hidden history, you will never look at your pack of Crayola Crayons the same again.