If you take the time to google something like “how to decorate your office” you would get a countless number of articles that at some point stress the importance of the color scheme within your office (exhibit a, b, c). These articles range from stating the importance of color to complement mood to going as far as saying the reason you can’t focus is because the color of your office walls. Can a simple pigment that we are exposed to everyday really dictate mood, or affect attention span, or is it just urban legend?
Aesthetics can be defined as “the study of personal taste”, and the newly founded field of “neuroaesthetics” aims to define and understand the concept of visuals and how/why the brain responds the way it does to these visuals. Despite the fact that aesthetics affect everybody every single day, there is surprisingly little research that delves into the hows and whys. There is one aspect of aesthetics that has been recognized and harnessed since ancient times however…color. The use of color to dictate mood has been in practice since the ancient Egyptians and Chinese used “chromotherapy”, which was the submerging of one into a room of one color to treat a specific psychological problem such as anxiety or depression. Blue was thought to ease physical pain, while red was believed to stimulate the nerves. But are these ancient practices just a result of superstition like many other ancient (and ignorant) practices? Many modern day scientists have expressed skepticism toward the fact that color can actually affect the body and mind, but recent studies have found surprising correlational results between color and psychological response.
One study found that “warm-colored placebo pills were more effective than cool-colored placebo pills”. Another study found that “installing blue-colored street lights resulted in a decrease in crime”. One explanation for the psychological effects of color could be association, meaning that color psychology would be culturally different. Different cultures attribute color to
different emotions and outcomes. For example, within the U.S, school districts commonly assign red ink to grading points and negative revisions on a students work. For this reason, the color red becomes neurally associated with failure, which can trigger a feeling of anxiety within students. One study, reported in the same article, tested 71 college student’s performances on a 5 minute test when they were “first exposed to a name tag that was either green, black or red”. The results revealed that the students that were exposed to a red name tag “scored more than 20% lower than those exposed to the green and black name tags”. Similar studies have been done, and similar results were extracted. In this particular study, participants that were exposed to a red number consistently scored significantly lower, while those exposed to green and grey scored about the same. This phenomenon of association has appeared with other colors too, and this picture further details the common associations of colors and mood/meaning.
![](http://www.emarketid.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/colors_web_brands-600x372.jpg)
The majority of companies use a shade of blue in their logo
Although color psychology has little scientific backing at the moment, marketers have been quick to use it the their benefit, and it’s working. A study was conducted to measure the effects of color in regard to marketing success, and it was found that “up to 90% of snap decisions on a brand are the result of color alone (depending on the product)” The colors were found to affect “mood, appetite, and curiosity”. A separate study found that this “snap decision” was a result of a “color’s appropriateness to the product it represents”, so a product targeting a “rugged” demographic would not do well when “presented in bright pink”. This goes back to cultural norms that cause associations within the brain between color and perception. The study of “exciting red and competent blue” confirms that color affects the perception of the “personality of a brand”. Red seemed to induce a personality of high energy and stimulation, while blue induced a “serene” feeling and also increased productivity. Don’t believe the study? Well Twitter, Facebook, Skype, LinkedIn, and many other social media sites do, they’re all draped in shades of blue, and it’s not a coincidence. Companies that want to convey a soothing feeling (Pandora music) or are associated with productivity (Dell, AOL, Windows) have seen a marketing benefit from dressing their logos in blue.
So what can we do if we learn more about the effects color has on the human psyche? Marketing has already been mentioned, but it could as well complement home and office decor and help dictate mood (which it already does to an extent), enhance the feelings being conveyed by art, and even be used to manipulate the human mind (perhaps a stretch). So if you’re looking to get involved in a field of research, look into color psychology because it is a relatively new and unexplored field.
Hey! I am not a marketing major but colors do fascinate me in this sense. Some fun facts I just wanted to throw out there that I have heard through out the years: Never paint your kitchen yellow because yellow tends to make you want to eat more, and red cars are the highest on your insurance because they cause more accidents due to people being distracted by looking at them and then lose focus on their own driving. I also like your suggestion at the end for a future field of study. nice post!
I think it’s really cool how colors affect moods! Just like Samantha, I’m working with marketing and ads. Color is a large part of most campaigns! Here is a great article about why food industries use the colors read and yellow in their signs and ads! Take a look, it’s interesting and ties in with your idea that color can affect moods.
Hey Connor!
My determined major is Marketing so I found your blog very intriguing. As you stated, little research on this topic has been done and what is present is not very reliable. The issue that is most apparent would be the fact that “color is too dependent on personal experiences”. Other studies have been performed which reveal that our brains “prefer recognizable brands” which proves that color is extremely important.
This topic is a really interesting one and it is apparent that many other individuals are interested in it as well. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for companies to start giving this aspect of marketing some serious consideration. It could definitely benefit them in the future!!
Hi! Considering I am interested in marketing, I have always been interested in colors used throughout marketing. One of the things that fascinates me about marketing is advertising, and how ads are produced. Why do companies use certain music in their commercials? Why is the man in a blue shirt instead of red shirt? I think there is a lot of psychology behind marketing and most people do not realize it. I think you did a really good job summarizing and explaining all of this in your article, great job!! This article really ties into your article as well (and tells you that Marc Zuckerberg is color blind): http://www.fastcompany.com/3009317/why-is-facebook-blue-the-science-behind-colors-in-marketing