Over the centuries, colors have been used to evoke certain emotions, and an examination of the history of color offers fascinating insight into the human condition, as well as showing how different cultures have developed different attitudes about color. Here are some examples of what various colors have come to represent over the years:
Red
Red has traditionally been associated with courage and love in Western culture, but in China, red is the color of happiness and good fortune. In fact, white has traditionally been the most preferred color for wedding dresses in the United States, but the Chinese prefer to dress their brides in red.
Orange
Orange is considered a warm color, perhaps because it has evoked the sensation of fire, since the beginning of mankind. Painting the walls a subtle orange, leaning towards a warm brown, stimulates the appetite and can reduce tension. However, as the orange color becomes brighter, it begins to take on a feeling of high energy and can lead to anxiety.
Brown
Brown is another warm and comforting color, which stimulates the appetite and makes food taste better. That makes brown coffee, in all intensities, with or without creamer, an ideal candidate for dining rooms.
Yellow
Since it has always been associated with the sun, yellow has traditionally been considered a cheerful color. Yellow is also the first color most people see in early spring, when daffodils begin to bloom. However, there seems to be a cultural difference between East and West when it comes to yellow. The Chinese revere yellow enough to have considered it the imperial color since the 10th century, yet various Western studies have shown that yellow is many people’s least favorite color.
Green
Green is another color that has both an up and down side. It is associated with spring new growth, prosperity, and clean fresh air, but it can also have a negative connotation, in terms of mold, nausea, and jealousy. Throughout the centuries, green has been considered to represent fertility, and during the 15th century, green was the most popular choice for European brides’ wedding dresses.
Blue
Because it is associated with the color of the sea and the sky, blue has come to symbolize serenity and infinity. That’s especially true of greener shades of blue, like aqua and teal. On the other hand, cooler shades of blue can have a tendency to cause feelings of sadness.
Purple
Over the millennia, purple has been associated with royalty in Western civilizations, due to the difficulty and expense of producing the purple dye, which was made from a particular species of mollusk shell. Even today, when purple can be produced as cheaply as any other color, the use of purple is still considered to represent elegance and sophistication.
There are stories and connotations for each color, and different cultures assign different meanings to colors. For example, American brides generally prefer white wedding dresses, while many Asian cultures dress their brides in black, reserving white for funerals. But regardless of what culture it comes from, one thing is certain: colors will always have an effect on humans and must be carefully considered when decorating a home.
(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.