This is an article “Nurturing Your Relationship With Colors” by Marc Primo Warren
Saying ‘life wouldn’t be enjoyable without color’ is a true understatement. Colors influence our emotions, allows us to take in beauty, and can affect our moods in an instant. Whether we see a wide green field or a small jade stone, we’re bound to be mesmerized by the sheer magical gradients that we see around us.
There are a few reasons why colors affect us in many ways than we can ever imagine. Some may calm us down while others might trigger an active sensor within us and provide an energy boost. However, one color may affect us in a way different from others. That’s because each individual nurtures a special relationship with colors and knowing how it works is truly spectacular.
Colors with universal meanings
Various colors will affect us in different levels. There are social and cultural factors that may suggest how we should react or feel towards a color, like how black is the universal hue for mourning and white is what we associate with light. Colors take parts in representing our own lives as we live them and in that way, one sees yellow as a jolly shade while another may view it as the color for insanity.
Other universal colors that suggest particular associations are red for urgency, aggressiveness, or danger; blue for loneliness, calm, or clarity, and green for cleanliness, good luck, or even a naughty mind. But these colors can also take on a different meaning for each one of us as they are associated with how we live our lives. Red may be your spouse’s favorite color, blue your go-to color for your brand’s ads, or green as the highlight color for those accomplished projects on your spreadsheet.
Tone preferences in color
No matter how we use color, all of us build relationships with them in a way that is different from any other individual. Celebrities like Selena Gomez and Oprah make social stands with the color purple, while others like Rihanna dons the color red because it looks good on her.
In terms of categorizing them into favorites, experts say there are two groups: warm and cool. Red, orange, and yellow belong to warm colors in how they suggest heat, sunlight, or vibrancy. For cool colors, we go to purple, blue, or green—the shade of nature, water, sky, and grass.
Picking the right colors that radiate your true personality doesn’t mean you lean on either warm or cool colors. Instead, you should mix up a palette that can make you feel like it creates the perfect environment for yourself.
Add a little yellow to your cool color ensemble to give it a little visual flair. Warm colors can be inviting more than cool ones, and they can stimulate and trigger stronger emotions like passion and joy, while cooler hues will simply give you a sense of relaxation.
How color defines our personality
Our personality and the range of colors out there will always be interconnected in a way that we choose our preferences according to how they make us feel, sometimes building our personalities around them. Have you ever noticed how Steve Jobs wore the same black turtlenecks or how Ellen DeGeneres is fond of white?
Our relationships with colors tend to give signs of our personality traits but there will always be that specific set of factors that include tone (warm or cool), experiential value, and personal preference. To date, there is still no scientific evidence that validates our relationships with color but there is a universal agreement that affirms how some colors suggest a feeling or emotion specifically that can reflect our own cognitive state and cause an improved psycho-affective balance within us.
If you want to find out more about Marc Primo Warren our services or just say hi, please reach out here.