I have decided to look into different colours and
their associated meanings in terms of emotional responses.
I tried a quick ‘Google’ search, i entered “Colours
and emotion” the first website I found was: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
Just as a side note everything below is copied and pasted from the website mentioned above, none of it is in my own words. this is because the website is not a reliable source of information and was only used as a starting point to further research.
Which said:
(Mostly paraphrased / copy & pasted)
Red
Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is
associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as
passion, desire, and love.
It raises blood pressure and respiration rate. It also
has a high visibility and should therefore be used to bring things into focus
and the foreground.
Light red
represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love
Pink signifies
romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness
Dark red
is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing,
malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests
stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Orange
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness
of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange
represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination,
attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
Humans perceive orange as a very hot colour so it
should be used to give the sensation of heat, but it is not an aggressive
colour like red.
Dark orange
can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange
corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and
thirst for action
Gold evokes the
feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth.
Gold often symbolizes high quality.
Yellow
Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated
with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses
cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy
Dull (dingy) yellow
represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy
Green
Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth,
harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence
with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money. It is the most
restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests
stability and endurance.
Dark
green
is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.
Blue
Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often
associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom,
confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body.
It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly
associated with tranquility and calmness.
Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it
is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise,
and stability;
Light blue
is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness
Purple
Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy
of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility,
luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated
with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
According to surveys, almost 75 percent of
pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors. Purple is a very
rare color in nature; some people consider it to be artificial.
Light purple
evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.
White
White is associated with light, goodness, innocence,
purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection
White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As
opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent
a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.
Black
Black is associated with power, elegance,
formality, death, evil, and mystery.
Black is a mysterious color associated with fear
and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation
(blacklist, black humor, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority;
it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black
tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.
Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth,
but a black background diminishes readability. A black suit or dress can make
you look thinner. When designing for a gallery of art or photography, you can
use a black or gray background to make the other colors stand out. Black
contrasts well with bright colors. Combined with red or orange – other very
powerful colors – black gives a very aggressive color scheme.
Although this might be a good start to research into
colour and emotion, i cannot say for sure that this website is a reliable
source of information which is why i have copied and pasted the information and paraphrased. So in the near future i am going to be looking for an
academic text that goes into detail about colours and emotional responses
specifically in film, and if possible fantasy film.
Colour meaning - [online] last accessed 30th December 2012 on http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
