COLORS What do they mean?

Color Schemes Color Schemes are combinations of colors that communicate a feeling or mood Complimentary colors: red & green

Color Schemes Color Schemes are combinations of colors that communicate a feeling or mood Analogous colors: blue, purple, red, orange, yellow

Color Schemes Color Schemes are combinations of colors that communicate a feeling or mood Monochromatic: all reds

Color Schemes Color Schemes are combinations of colors that communicate a feeling or mood Grayscale: Shades and tints of black

What the words REALLY mean

RED suggests excitement, strength, sex, passion, vitality, aggressiveness and commands attention. The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. Danger. Red is the color of attention, causing the blood pressure and heart rate to rise. Use red to inject excitement into your brand. Business wise it associated with debt, is great for boldness and accents.

Blue --(listed as the most popular color) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness. BLUE suggests security, authority, faithfulness and dignity. For business it suggests sanctuary and fiscal responsibility. It is the most popular and the second most powerful color. Blue can also be cold and depressing. People are more productive in blue rooms.

Yellow: Happy. Warm. Alert. Yellow can be an attractor for your business with a relaxed feeling. YELLOW suggests warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness, jealousy deceit and cowardice. Business wise it appeals to the intellectual types and is a good accent. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused.

Orange -- playfulness, warmth, vibrant ORANGE suggests pleasure, cool, excitement, cheer, endurance, strength and ambition. For business it is good for highlighting information on charts and graphs. Orange: Vibrant. Energy. Play. Add some fun to your company if you want to create a playful environment for your customers.

Green -- nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance Green: Natural. Healthy. Plentiful. To create a calming effect or growth image choose green. Go green go. GREEN suggests health, fertility, freedom, freshness, healing, tranquility and jealousy. Businesses use it to communicate status and wealth. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color.

Purple --royal, spirituality, mystical, dignity PURPLE suggests spirituality, royalty, luxury, wealth, sophistication, authority and mournfulness. In business it is upscale and works with artistic types. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial. Purple: Royalty. Wise. Celebration. Maybe add some purple tones to your look for your premium service business.

White --pure, clean, youthful, mild. White: It's a neutral color that can imply purity in fashion and sterilization in the medical profession. WHITE suggests refined, purity, devotion, contemporary and truthfulness. For business it can be sterile and refreshing. The best color on the web for a background color. Black and white have the highest contrast and best readability.

Black --sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery BLACK suggests authority, power, boldness, seriousness, is distinguishing and classic. Business wise it's great for creating drama and is good for a background color (except on websites, it is very hard on the eyes). It is ideal for text on a light background. Black also implies submission and is associated with evil.

BROWN suggests richness, politeness, helpfulness and effectiveness. In business it suggests less important items. Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather.

What do they mean in other cultures? ColorWestern Europe & USAChinaJapanIndiaMiddle East RedDanger, anger, stop Joy, festive occasions, luck anger, dangerpurityDanger, evil Yellow Caution, cowardice, joy, happiness Honor, royalty Grace, nobility, childish, gaiety Happiness, prosperity BlueMasculinity, calm, authority Strength, power, immortality Villainy protective BlackDeath, evilEvil Mystery, evil Green Sexual arousal, safe, sour, go, Youth, growthFuture, youth, energy Fertility, strength WhitePurity, virtueMourning, humilityDeath, mourning Purity, mourning

People have personalities Color can also symbolize personality In your color groups make a list of countries and corporations that share your color symbol

What does this all mean to YOU You are being manipulated by the use of color. In anticipation of a ban against using words such as "light" or "mild" on cigarette labels and ads, tobacco companies have lightened package colors to convey the same message, a move the American Lung Association has attackedAmerican Lung Association as disingenuous. In other words it’s still a dangerous product on matter what you color it.

What does this all mean to YOU You can be affected emotionally by color Separate studies demonstrate that each color of the spectrum has individual psychological, physiological, and neurological effects. Physiologically light/color reaches the hypothalamus, the control center of the autonomic nervous system of the body. This regulates the pituitary - the master gland of the endocrine system. Each color has a different wavelength and this initiates specific responses in the nervous system.

What does this all mean to YOU? You can have reactions to color based on your culture, age, or socio-economic status Associations and Perception

What does this all mean to YOU as a Designer? How can you use color effectively to communicate a feeling or to support a message?