Colour Psychology Vol 1: What Is Colour Psychology?

Having just graduated from the University of Reading with a BA in Art and Psychology, I initially spent the first two years concentrating my art practice on nature and food, before combining my art practice with the psychology element of my degree looking at colour interaction and colour psychology.

Colours are all around us, from the colours of everyday objects to billboards and business adverts with brands choosing specific colours to try and entice individuals by creating an emotional response. Most people have a favourite colour, or colours they are not so keen on, but many people do not consider the deeper psychological link between colour and emotions.

Different colours can create different psychological and physiological reactions in people, affecting their thoughts, decisions, and emotions. This psychological concept known as colour psychology is believed to have originated thousands of years ago back as far as the Ancient Egyptians, who it is believed looked at the effects colours had on people’s mood and how best to improve their health. It is known that the Romans and Greeks amongst other ancient cultures also used colour to influence people’s mood and personality.

In 1810 Goethe, a German artist and politician, published ‘The Theory of Colour’. This is believed to be one of the earliest essays outlining the psychology of colours and to this day is considered to be one of the most significant discussions of the emotional impact of colours[i].

However, modern psychology has advanced since then with the help of Carl Jung[ii] who discovered that individuals’ emotions and judgements can be affected by psychological and physiological reactions to different colours.

Research has shown that generally green, blue and purple (cool colours) stimulate a variety of feelings, for example, tranquillity, growth, and a sense of luxury. Green provokes a sense of growth, achievement, envy, optimism, harmony, and renewal, whilst also linking to health and relaxation. Blue stimulates serenity, tranquillity, trustworthiness, and dependability, although it can also stimulate negative emotions such as being inconsiderate. Moreover, purple links to luxury, having a lot of money, being creative, and religious beliefs, and darker shades of purple create a sense of intrigue and elegance.

On the other hand, red, orange, and yellow (warm colours) can increase levels of energy, which could also lead to a subsequent increase of anxiety. Red can initiate feelings of energy, passion, intimacy, and urgency, while also representing exciting times, rage, and intensity. Orange is known as the most stimulating colour which links to eagerness, warmth, and liveliness, whilst yellow represents feelings of joy, hopefulness, creativity, optimism, and mental activity stimulation. Pink is often associated with tenderness, femininity, adolescence, and purity, although hotter shades can be linked to authority, confidence, and excitement.

Furthermore, black, white, and brown (neutral colours) can also be linked to a range of feelings. Power, death and mystery tend to be linked to black, whilst innocence, mental activity, and neutrality are associated with white, and brown is the “colour of ‘nature’”[iii].

Colour Psychology. © LinkedIn.

Although these associations could give the impression that colour psychology follows set rules, it can be a personal thing as certain colours can mean very different things to individuals based on personal experiences and cultural differences.

A psychology study by Kaya and Epps (2004)[iv] asked college students to associate colours with different emotions. Results found that for the principal hues 79.6% of colour-emotion association were positive. In particular they found that overall, the colour blue received a large amount of positive emotional responses with participants associating the colour blue with the sky, peaceful, and happiness. They also highlighted the fact that different colours can have different meaning in different countries/cultures. In Western cultures the colour red can be seen negatively as being associated with errors in school homework, red traffic lights meaning to stop, or with danger, but it can also be seen positively linking to love and passion[v].

Some research suggests blue is commonly the preferred and most frequently used colour in both Britian and Malaysia as it is frequently found in nature (e.g., the sky) and often has associations of calmness and serenity (Golenkova, 2021[vi], Matori, 2014[vii]).

Many colours have different meanings in different cultures. An example is the colour red. In Western cultures red can create feelings of danger and urgency as well as love and excitement. Red, along with green, creates a festive colour duo often known as the common and traditional colours that are associated with Christmas. Moreover, in the Middle East, the colour red is also associated with cautiousness and danger, whereas in Eastern European Bloc countries red has links to communism. In Indian cultures brides traditionally wear red wedding dresses, representing purity. Similarly in Latin American cultures the colour red, together with white, creates religious connotations. The colour red has positive connotations in China, with red symbolising luck and happiness, which is often why the Chinese use a vast amount of red in their restaurants and Chinese New Year.

Orange is associated with warmth and autumn in Western cultures compared to cultures in the Middle East where is it connected with death and mourning. In addition to this, in Eastern and Japanese cultures orange has positive associations, for example love, health and being happy.

The colour yellow has both positive and negative connotations. In the US yellow represents a feeling of happiness and optimism, whereas in Egypt and Latin America it is linked with negative connotations of death and mourning, and in Germany it represents jealousy. In many countries, such as African countries, yellow symbolises being rich, a high status in society and material success.

Similarly, the colour blue has different meanings and connotations in different cultures. Western cultures symbolise blue with a feeling of safety, trust, security, authority and loyalty. Likewise blue is also considered to be a safe colour in America and often lacks any negative symbolism. Furthermore, in both Eastern and Latin American cultures blue is often linked with religion and spirituality.

The colour green is another example of where a colour can provoke different meanings and symbolisms in different countries and cultures. For example, Western countries associate green with nature and the environment, as well as luck and success. On the other hand, in Indonesia green can be seen as negative with it often being referred to as the ‘forbidden colour’ due to its connotations with infidelity. This is also the case in Chinese cultures. Also, in Mexico green represents independence and patriotism, compared to South America where it is linked with death.

Like the colour green, brown also seems to have symbolisms of nature in Middle East countries. However, brown seems to have more negative connotations than positive, with it linking to disapproval in Latin American countries and mourning in Eastern and Indian cultures.

Finally, black symbolises elegance, luxury and power in the US, masculinity in Latin America and mourning in many other cultures, whilst white is associated with purity and weddings in Western cultures and death and humility in Asian cultures[viii].

In conclusion, colour psychology is a very unique and personal concept with different colours provoking different emotional responses in individuals, often dependent on their own human experiences, and the emotional connotations vary throughout different countries and cultures. By understanding what colour psychology is, it can help individuals and companies understand the deeper meaning of the colours they use.

Sources and Bibliography 

[i] “The Psychology of Colour,” March 12, 2019. https://www.centrecolours.co.uk/the-psychology-of-colour.

[ii] Cianci, Lisa. “Colour Psychology and Physiology.” Pressbooks, February 23, 2023. https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/colourtheory1/chapter/colour-psychology-physiology/#:~:text=He%20is%20quoted%20as%20saying,with%20all%20of%20Freud's%20theories.

[iii] Sybaris. “Psychology of Color: How Color Impacts Feelings About Art.” Sybaris Collection, October 31, 2022. https://www.sybariscollection.com/psychology-color-color-impacts-feelings-art/.

[iv] Kaya, N., & Epps, H. H. (2004). Relationship between color and emotion: A study of college students. College Student Journal, 38(3), 396. http://irtel.uni-mannheim.de/lehre/expra/artikel/Kaya_Epps_2004b.pdf

[v] Aslam, M. M. (2006). Are you selling the right colour? A cross‐cultural review of colour as a marketing cue. Journal of Marketing Communications, 12(1), 15–30.

[vi] Golenkova, N. (2021, August 5). What is the most popular color in the world? LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-most-popular-color-world-natalia-golenkova/

[vii] Matori, S. (2014). Colour preferences amongts [sic] paediatric patients in Perak, Malaysia / Suziyanty Matori. https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/15167/

[viii] Jennifer.Murphy. “How Color Is Perceived by Different Cultures | Eriksen Translations.” Eriksen Translations Inc., March 17, 2025. https://eriksen.com/marketing/color_culture/.