Co-written with reflectionsofrenaissance.com
“Color is the smile of Nature!”
~ Leigh Hunt
Color, thank God, is everywhere. Even on the darkest day when the sun doesn’t seem to want to shine, if we look up, we’ll still get blinded because it’s still there. Color Psychology has not really been anything that I studied, until recently. However, in the past, I recognized that I was more drawn to sites with colors, brighter pictures, and happier themes, whether or not the content that I was reading was joyful or sad.
As someone who enjoys creating websites, slides, photoshops, bookmarks, and practically anything creative, I tend to lead towards brighter color schemes. As I was touching up on things in my portfolio, I wondered if color can actually affect people’s moods? Will people most likely subscribe to my website if it’s brightly colored? Should I go with a white background or black with colors that pleasantly add to it?
Did you actually know that there was a thing called color therapy? According to Verywellmind.com. “Several ancient cultures, including the Egyptians and Chinese, practiced chromotherapy, or the use of colors to heal. Chromotherapy is sometimes referred to as light therapy or colorology.” As stated by Colorology:
-Red is used to stimulate the body and mind and increase circulation. -Yellow is thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body. -Orange is used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels. -Blue is believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain. -Indigo shades are thought to alleviate skin problems.
Color can also do so much more than this. Color can actually impact people in some very surprising ways: Warm colors like red, yellow, and orange evoke higher arousal emotions, such as love, passion, happiness, and anger. Cool colors, like blue, green, and purple are linked to calmness, sadness, and indifference. Colors can actually set into play these emotions! Wow, that’s crazy!
A very interesting movie, actually it was one of the first movies that I got to see in the movie theaters, Is Pixar’s Movie, Inside out,( June 19, 2015). It was about the kinds of emotions that the human body, has and what it would be like if those emotions were given a character. The five main emotions are Joy, which is a bright yellow, Anger is a warm red, Disgust is a poisonous green, Fear is pale purple, and Sadness is a deep blue.
Life is like a rainbow. You need both rain and sun to make its colors appear. ~Unknown
So, what about the connection between warm or bright colors and website followers? Looks actually matter. “Over 40 percent of shoppers base their opinion of a website on the overall design, and over 50 percent of shoppers won’t return because of overall aesthetics.” This was said by Veniadmin at Venedidgital.com, in their article, How the Psychology of Colors Boosts Website Conversion.
“Color is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and even influence physiological reactions.” Says Kendra Cherry at Verywellmind.com, “Certain colors have been associated with increased blood pressure, increased metabolism, and eyestrain.” She goes on. That’s amazing how color can have that effect on people, yet also scary at the same time.
So, when you’re working on the details of your own website, do you ever think about these things? Maybe if you do, it’ll start bringing in some more followers? There are many times when you can think about color and not when it comes to website building! Like, what clothes you are going to wear, what your resume will look like, what color you’re going to paint your new house, and much more. Color is just something that I can’t go without, and by reading and researching I have learned that other people can feel some of what I feel throughout the day when it comes to colors.
Sources:
Cherry, K. (2020, May 28). Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel? Verywell well. https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824
Vetter, C. (2019, December 5). The effects of colors on behavior. Neurofied. https://neurofied.com/effects-of-color-on-behavior/
Cherry, Kendra. “Can Color Affect Your Mood and Behavior?” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 28 May 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology