It is a known fact that Isaac Newton was the first man to
introduce the concept of the color spectrum for the first time.
Isaac Newton is contemplated to be the master of many scientific
concepts like gravity, the theory of colors and many others.
However, it is important to put light on the fact that his
work didn't give a detailed explanation of the colors
but only identified the important component of colors and their seven
shades namely Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.
The study of colors was done by Isaac Newton however, it was the Egyptians who
explained the importance and the strength on the color in the lives of the people.
The study of colors was contemplated to be a form of natural
energy by the Romans, Egyptians, Chinese and Greeks,
and the other ancient masters and hence there isn't any particular
definition for the origin of color psychology as a subject.
The emergence of color psychology as a subject is
contemplated to be one of the newest branches in psychology.
By definition, Color Psychology is defined as the science or the study of the effects
that colors tend to have over the moods, behaviors or feelings of the people.
The use of color psychology has been adopted in various fields because of the
effects that colors tend to have over various determinants of human behavior.
Experts say that every individual is its own color psychologist
as the emotions of the people are highly influenced by the color.
But the question arises how colors tend to affect the emotion of an individual?
Color is a form of light energy that sends signals
to our brain through the means of the eyes.
When the light of the color falls on the retina of the eye the
wavelengths of the light are converted into electrical impulses
which are passed to the Hypothalamus of the brain which is responsible
for governing the emotions and the endocrine system of the body.
The electrical signals of the color fall over the hypothalamus
which then trigger emotions like happy, sad, hungry,
elevated and even cool or warm depending on the
impact that each color leaves on the brain.
The branch of Color Psychology is considered
to be a part of modern psychology.
Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, is considered to be one of the
most important researchers in the field of color psychology.
He once quoted, "Colors are the mother tongue of the subconscious."
Through the means of Carl Jung studies,
the concept of Art Therapy was introduced as according
to him, an individual can express his/her pains
and traumatic feelings best through the means of art and
can get relief from the distress of the trauma faster.
Carl Jung established a connection between the cultural perceptions of an individual
to the reaction of the body of an individual on seeing the color stimulus.
Through the use of colors, one can determine the various unclear perceptions.
There is no direct relation between the perception and
color however they greatly complement each other.
For example- People create the first impression
of the taste of the food being served to
them on the basis of its appearance which is
partially determined by the color of the food.
However, apart from the color of the food, the color
and the condition of the surrounding atmosphere
coming within the eater’s vision tend to have an
effect on how one judges the palatability of food.
The use of color also tends to improvise the effectiveness of the placebos.
The ‘placebos’ are nothing but colored medicine or
pills prescribed for providing the patient with
the psychological benefit and relatively does not
have any therapeutic or physiological effect.
For example- orange and red (hot colors)
colored pills are generally used as stimulants
for improving the functioning of the central nervous system
whereas the cool colored pills are used as depressants.
The association of the colored pills with the relief that they provide is the result
of the expectation of the patient and not the direct effect of the color itself.
These effects can be considered culturally dependent views.
Therefore, it is very important to make correct
choices of colors while making or constructing things
as different colors tend to have different effects
in instilling an emotion within the person.
Factors like gender, age and culture also play an important
role in determining how an individual perceives color.
Like for instance, it has been found that the heterosexual males find
women more appealing when they have been dressed in red colored apparels.
On the other hand, heterosexual females find men appealing in any and every
colored clothes that they put on provided they are properly dressed.
The field of Color Psychology is widely used
in the field of marketing and branding.
The big companies and business consider color as an important part of their
marketing strategy due to the fact that the colors of their products,
goods, and services highly affect the perceptions and emotions of their customers
and hence determines the purchase rates of the products, goods or services.
The choice of colors for making logos is also cautiously
made by the company owner for the very same reason.
While making of logos for the company, it is kept in mind that the colors
being used for making logos matches the personality of the products, goods,
and services that are being provided by them to the customers.
‘Color Emotion Guides’ are also available for the companies which helps
them in determining the most suitable color for branding and advertising.
Also, for the window display of the products in the stores
color plays an important role in attracting the customers.
Many types of research have been made on the
same and the results have suggested that warmer
colors tend to attract more customers spontaneously as compared to the cooler colors.
There is a phenomenon known as the ‘Blue Public Lighting’
which makes use of the blue lights in public places
and this has been found to have useful effects
in reducing the negatives vibes of the place.
In the year 2000, Glasgow, a city in Scotland
installed blue street lighting in its neighborhoods
and it was found that the rate of crimes subsequently reduced in that area.
The occurrence of this incident was reported
by various news outlets of the time.
Similarly, in the year 2009, a railroad company in Japan
installed the blue lighting system at the railway stations
in order to reduce the frequency of suicides being
committed in that area and was proved to be useful.
However, the effect of this technique has still not been proven scientifically.
The Psychology of Color is based on a general model which is
comprised of the basic six principles which are as follows:
1. Each and every color used by the humans in various
fields of work and décor carry a specific meaning.
The meaning that the color holds within it is usually ascribed to the
emotions that each color produces within the minds of the humans.
2. The meaning of each color has either a learned meaning that is the
meaning denoted to that color as a result of the various researches
conducted for it or has a biologically innate meaning
that is the meaning denoted to that color since origin.
3. The meaning of the color is assessed by the perceiver immediately
after the color comes into visual contact with the perceiver.
4. The method of evaluation highly determines the emotions associated with that
particular color and thereby enforces what is known as the color-motivated behavior.
5. It is a commonly known fact that the color influences its meaning
over the person as soon as it comes into visual contact with that color.
6. The meaning of the color and the effect that the colors tend
to have on people is highly determined by its context as well.
Till now you might have understood from the aforesaid context that the
selection of color for building and designing of products, services, goods,
marketing, branding, making logos, painting architectural
structures, for expressing the palatability of food,
instilling emotions within the perceiver and for uses
in various other fields marks a very important step.
Therefore, it is important that every person irrespective of his/her
field is aware or has knowledge about the psychology of color.