How Do Colors Affect Your Mood?
Can color transform a space?
Can color change your attitude & influence your energy?
Can your mood really be altered by color?
The answer to all of these questions is YES!
The colors we paint our walls make a big impact on our behavior on a daily basis. If your home, your workplace or the restaurant you're at has walls that are painted the wrong colors, you probably won't want to spend that much time inside of that space.
When choosing the right colors for your spaces, try to list the type of feeling you want the space to have. Blue is the color of water and the sky, so it gives off feelings of purity and infinity. It is also a spiritual color and symbolizes fidelity. Purple was a luxurious color in history because it was hard to find, so it is associated with royalty and nobility. Plants and flowers are green, so green is known as the color of life. It symbolizes growth and immortality. It is known as the color of seasonal renewal. Yellow is the color of the sun, so it is associated with sunshine, knowledge and the flourishing of living creatures, but also with autumn and maturity. Because the sun was worshiped by many people years ago, the rays of yellow personified divine wisdom. Orange conveys energy, enthusiasm and balance. In Buddhism, orange is representative of fire. Red is the color of fire and blood. Blood and fire have positive and negative meanings: bloodshed, aggression, war, and hate vs. love, warmth and compassion. Brown represents earthiness, simplicity, health and dependability.
Let's look at McDonald's, Jack in the Box and In-N-Out as examples. They paint their walls yellow and red not only because those colors get our attention, but also because we typically can't stand to look at those colors for long periods of time. The most irritating color to us is yellow. Red is the color of energy, movement and vitality. These FAST food restaurants want you in and out (hence the name In-N-Out) as quick as possible.
Another thing to keep in mind about color is that some cultures may have different thoughts and views for certain colors, especially black and white. Black symbolizes death in the Western world, but in China white symbolizes death. White can represent freedom, purity and innocence in the Western world. Black also symbolizes absence, power, professionalism, mystery and sorrow in the Western world. In the Japanese culture, black signifies experience.
“Psychologists have documented that living color does more than appeal to our senses, but it helps us to remember things. Color helps us process and store images more effectively than black and white.”
Everyone has their own opinions about which colors are most pleasing to them, but balance with color selection is very important. You can never go wrong with neutrals - grays, browns and white. Natural colors are always complimentary. Take cues from nature, I believe that the answer to most of our questions lie in nature. Add in a pop of color, but just make sure its not too much and not too little. If you like red, accent with red. If you like yellow, get a yellow chair or a yellow pot for your plants. Whatever you go with, be mindful of the people using the spaces on a daily basis and the people who will be visiting. What reaction and emotion do you want to give off?
People usually identify you or your brand with a color, so make sure you chose the right color to represent you.