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The meaning of colors
Disciplines >
Communication
> The meaning of colors
Meanings of color |
Cultural effects | So what?
Meanings of color
Here is a table of colors and many of the
meanings they tend to evoke. Notice how
colors can mean very different things - it is not that the colors themselves
have meaning, it is that we have culturally assigned meanings to them. For
example, red means warmth because of the color of fire. Likewise, it means anger
because of the increased redness of the face when it flushes with blood. Purple
symbolizes royalty only because the only purple dye that was available for many
centuries was very expensive.
| Color |
Meaning |
| RED:
|
warmth, love,
anger, danger, boldness, excitement, speed, strength, determination, desire,
courage |
| ORANGE:
|
cheerfulness, low
cost, affordability, enthusiasm, stimulation, creativity
|
| YELLOW:
|
attention-grabbing, comfort, liveliness, cowardliness, hunger, optimism,
overwhelm, Summer, comfort, liveliness, intellect, happiness, energy |
| GREEN: |
durability,
reliability, environmental, luxurious, optimism, well-being, nature, calm,
relaxation, Spring, safety, honesty, optimism, harmony, freshness |
| BLUE:
|
peace, professionalism,
loyalty, reliability, honor, melancholia, boredom, coldness, Winter, depth,
stability, professionalism, honor, trust |
| PURPLE:
|
power, royalty,
nobility, elegance, sophistication, artificial, luxury, mystery, royalty,
elegance, magic
|
| GRAY: |
conservatism,
traditionalism, intelligence, serious, dull, uninteresting |
| BROWN:
|
relaxing,
confident, casual, reassuring, nature, earthy, solid, reliable, genuine,
Autumn, endurance |
| BLACK: |
Elegance, sophistication, formality,
power, strength, illegality, depression, morbidity, night |
| WHITE: |
Cleanliness,
purity, newness, virginity, peace, innocence, simplicity, sterility, snow |
Cultural effects
Remember that color can be culturally dependent - for example, although Black is the color of
death in many countries, in China the color associated with death is White.
So what?
So use the color in situations where you are trying to persuade. Use shades
of brown and green to relax people and say you are environmentally friendly. Use
red to kick people into action. And so on.
McDonald's, apparently, use red and yellow because red=fast and yellow=hunger
(hence fast food!).
See also
Meaning
http://www.colorquiz.com/
http://www.colorgenics.com/
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html
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