Color matters. If you don’t believe it, ask a business and marketing professional. They understand color and the impact it has on the buying public. Ninety-two percent of consumers are more influenced by color than by touch or smell.
Consumers said also, that color was more important than most other factors put together in choosing a product. The fashion industry understands color and markets effectively. The restaurants understand color and uses it to stimulate appetites.
Think about it, wouldn’t you rather have an attractive colorful plate of food than a brown colored bowl of oatmeal setting in front of you? Of course, if you’re committed to eating healthy food, just replace the bowl with a red one. The psychology of color might work for you.
The ancient cultures of Egypt and China used color as therapy in healing techniques, just as alternative medicines and holistic health practitioners do today. It was thought, for instance, “red increased circulation, yellow stimulated nerves and purified the body, and blue soothed illness and treated pain.”
The problem with different colors and their meanings is that meanings can go in either direction. Take blue, for instance, blue can act either as a soothing color or a sad and depressive color. Blue rooms are said to make people more productive, but blue can also seem cold.
Yellow is a warm and sunny color, but is said to cause people to lose their tempers. Yellow rooms have the distinction of making people lose tempers and making babies cry.
Green is said to be the most popular decorating color because it has a calming effect. Dark green is said to be a rich and masculine color. There are so many meanings attached to colors that it’s hard to know if there are really universal meanings to them, or if they depend on culture to define their meanings and effects on people.
By and large, psychologists are skeptical of color theories and they don’t buy into the theory of color therapy, maintaining that the effects are exaggerated, and they are temporary at best. They also maintain that attached meaning of color differ from culture to culture.
On the other hand, psychologists in the for profit businesses are lending their expertise to make sure the right psychological colors are used in products and decors to get you to spend money. Sometimes, it’s a funny world.
Artists, designers and the fashion industry all depend on colors to promote or sell their products. They predict the general public with a high degree of certainty.
Color, it matters.
Sources:
http://colormatters.com
http://infoplease.com
