Feeling by Color

When we open our eyes every morning, we immerse ourselves in this vivid world of color. It’s quite surprising that our brain is capable of handling all this information. When we see a tree, we think the leaves are green no matter how lighted or shaded they are. This is the reason why children draw landscapes using very few colors. As we mature, we learn to discern thousands of different shades. In fact, we don’t have enough words to name them all!

Colors make us feel certain ways depending on how some colors are used. White for example symbolizes purity, peace and tranquility. In olden days, people raise a white flag to signify surrender. On the other hand, Red, white and blue immediately conveys patriotism. Green has been associated with nature, money and ‘Go’ for racing flags. Opposite of that is ‘Red’ for stop. Red can also connote passion. Yellow is for joy and happiness although it can also mean cowardice when used to describe a person. Blue might also mean peace and calmness like the flag of the United Nations. Black can mean sophistication while it can also mean evil. Pirates have often used the color black in their Jolly Roger Flags

There are a lot more emotions that can be evoked with different combinations of colors. Contrasting colors like yellow and violet pop out at the viewer while analogous colors (adjacent colors on the color wheel) tend to be more refined and calming. It is best not to use bright colors for designs all the time since it can be quite irritating to look at for long periods of time.