COVETED MAGAZINE PAGE 81.
COLOURS OF EMOTION
Colour is emotional, it can make a person light up a room or feel
cosy at home. Colour is how (most of us) see the world and it
can be the difference between if we love or hate something. It
expresses emotion and personality.
Perceptions of colour can be subjective, but some psychological
effects of colour are universal. Warm colours like red, orange and
yellow evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and
comfort to feelings of anger and hostility.
Cool colours like blue, purple and green are often described as
calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.
Red is the only colour that will cause a measurable physiologi-
cal reaction in your body – increasing your heart rate and blood
pressure.
Pink is actually thought to be the most calming of all colours.
Interestingly, dangerous criminals are sometimes housed in pink
cells as studies show certain hues of pink can calm aggression.
But psychological aspects of colour are often generalized or over-
simplified.
Some will say green represents nature, red should represent love,
and blue is calming. These generalizations don’t always hold true
when given context. Green can mean sick, red can represent dan-
ger and blue might symbolize depression in some contexts.
COLOUR & CULTURE
Colour is not completely agreed on universally and can appeal
differently to individual countries. There are many aspects to
colour, especially from a cultural standpoint that should be con-
sidered. Colours represent national or political groups, are often
associated with religion, sports teams, schools or other promi-
nent organisations. They can also be associated with holidays.
It’s important to keep in mind the cultural context your colour
palette will be viewed in. For example: In western cultures black
is a colour of mourning,
In Japan, however, it is a colour of honour, with white being the
colour of mourning, Red in the west represents danger, love and
passion.
In India it is the colour of purity, in China, it is a colour of good
luck and in South Africa, it is a colour of mourning. Yellow rep-
resents courage in Japan, mourning in Egypt and hope in the
West.
Colour is a power which directly influences the soul.
We live in a colourful world, take
time to contemplate what colours
resonate with you, make you happy,
calm your nerves and energize you.
Take advantage of the benefits that a
colourful life has to offer.
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