Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology

Remember that series I wrote waaaay back in January about Colour Psychology? I wrote a series of posts about the seasonal colour personalities and also about the meanings and effects of colour. Well isn’t blogging just wonderful? You all tweeted it lots for me, you even gave me lots of lovely feedback about it. And then, as I wrote more and more posts those popular colour psychology posts slipped into the archives, only retrievable with a lot of digging.

Since colour psychology is so fundamental to everything that we do, and also to what I tend to post about on the blog, I thought it might be very helpful for you to have a quick reference to the Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology with all the core detail in one place. And so without further ado, I present to you the series, grouped handily together into one category for your browsing.

You’ll always be able to access from the drop down menu at the top, and very soon Stu will also put a link in from the side. I hope that you enjoy!

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Brown is my black. I love it’s earthy, substantialness and it’s subtle calming effect when used in lighter shades. Brown feels natural, grounded, stable and reliable. There isn’t much that’s flighty or unreliable about brown is there? If used in the right proportion brown can feel balanced (I love to combine it with green or lilac) and there are the obvious organic connotations too.

It’s a very down to earth colour that signifies stability and reassurance. It’s practical, honest, genuine and sincere as well as being warm, industrious and sensual. It’s a hardworking colour, wholesome and values quality above anything else. It encourages orderliness and organisation, although not necessarily perfectionism. Brown isn’t a flashy colour, but it is certainly quietly confident.

Negatively many people dismiss brown as being boring, staid and heavy. And it can indicate instability or unreliability. It can also indicate a lack of sophistication, stinginess or materialism.

Bell: Cox & Cox, Stationery & Twigs: Brides; all other images: Martha Stewart

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I love orange. It’s a bit of a marmite colour, and when we first explored using orange as a part of the Flourish identity I was pretty resistant. To me orange represented everything that was downmarket and low-frills. Thanks mainly to budget airline Easyjet our view of orange has been tainted in recent years. And pretty unfairly I might add.

Orange is creative, sociable, fun and approachable. It represents abundance, boundless energy, passion and sensuality. It also provides security and physical comfort in the sense of food and warmth.

Negatively one might perceive orange as insecure, frivillous, deprived and lacking in serious. There are also our “conditioned responses” to the colour thanks to it’s use in recent years. I say give orange another go! Many clients are reluctant to even consider it but when combined with skill and flair you can be on to a winner.

Images: all Martha Stewart

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Pink is a very feminine energy. Compassionate, warm and nurturing it is more than just a tint of red. Pink combines the passion and warmth of red with the purity and softness of white. It is romantic, intimate and represents procreation, kindness and empathy. It’s soft tones are reassuring, nurturing and intuitive. It also represents [...]

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Gold is rich, opulent, warm and successful. If silver represents the feminine quality of the moon, then gold positively exudes the masculine strength of the sun. Gold is associated with wisdom, enlightenment and power. It’s widely recognised as a symbol of wealth and royalty across the world. Gold represents generosity, compassion and inspires a sense [...]

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Silver is a feminine energy that represents reflection, illumination, prestige and wealth. It can be balancing, calming, glamorous or soothing depending on the finish and can indicate wisdom, insight, self control and responsibility. It can also be very dignified and responsible and its illuminative qualities can mean that it reflects energy back – positive or [...]

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White. A non colour? The absence of light? Or a colour in it’s own right? Actually white is a colour, and in colour psychology terms brings with it its own set of characteristics and attributes. Polar white – the stark white of a minimalist apartment or art gallery is as hard to wear and work [...]

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I love turquoise. I love its freshness and ability to brighten up a “safe” palette of colours. In terms of colour psychology it’s fantastic, if a little under-used at times. Turquoise is a mix of blue, green and yellow, and because of that communicates many of their attributes. It radiates the calm, communicative qualities of [...]

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Red is a physical colour. It denotes motivation, stamina, courage, warmth, energy, stimulation and excitement. It’s also about strength, excitement and get up and go. It can be wonderful if you use it correctly, and you don’t have to use bright, brash, bold tones to get your message across either. The mood board above mixes [...]

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Green is one of my very favourite colours. It’s communicates balance between mind, body and emotions. Green also exudes harmony, rest, relaxation and restoration. It’s reassuring and there’s an instinctive, primal pull with green that takes us back to the idea that green shows an abundance of food and growth. Green is also linked very [...]

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