23/10/2014 The Psychology of Colour

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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOUR

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Alain de Botton (9)

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Alongside the notes of the musical keyboard and the letters of the alphabet, colours
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provide the building blocks of our emotions. It is not for nothing that we say we are
‘feeling blue’ or ‘seeing red’. Each colour is subtly connected to a web of experiences 2010
and associations. Some of these are highly idiosyncratic: a particular yellow might
remind us of a long-dead grandmother’s kitchen or a pair of boots we had as children.
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But others carry more universal meanings. Exploring the associations we have
around colours is a way to get to understand ourselves and, as importantly, gives us a
way to tell others who we are.

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YELLOW

HOPE

Yellow is carefree and confident. It’s not on the defensive. It acts as a shield against
despair and feelings of humiliation. It’s eager for our attention, like a happy child
delighted to be at the centre of things. At times, its energy can be oppressive, but like
its most famous ambassador – the lemon – there are few things it won’t enhance. The
German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe loved yellow, considering it to be the
colour of a gently hopeful attitude to life. He owned a collection of twenty yellow
waistcoats, which he always twinned with white trousers – for he loved a little
serenity as well.

ORANGE

VITALITY

Orange is a little more mature, strong and threatening than its neighbour and sibling,
yellow. It almost tips over into something frightening. There is much of it in the
boiling interior of the sun. Yet in the correct dose, it seems like a concentration of an
energy and vitality that too often we lack in our own minds and circumstances. To
give over an entire room, car, flag or garment to this colour may be risky, as it can
verge on extremity and obsession, and yet to deny the occasional wisdom of the
colour seems wrong as well. We should know how to build in moments of what
orange represents into a well-balanced life.

LIGHT RED

ADVENTURE

A bright, light red is adventurous, witty, even a touch heartless. It’s not too bothered
by what others think. And that’s a tonic when, as is so often the case, we are
excessively anxious about the opinions of other people. Light red is not harsh, just

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23/10/2014 The Psychology of Colour
independent. It’s more interested in being followed than in being a follower. It’s the
colour of your banner when you feel you can take on the world (or some part of it
that matters to you).

DARK RED

POWER

When Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804, he wore a splendid

crimson velvet cloak. This is the colour of thrones, of cardinals, of power and pomp,
of ceremony and feasts. Dark red is sympathetic to authority and favours the idea of
maturity. It is assertive and assured, and can function as a reminder of a more
demanding, insistent attitude when, through misfortune or our own mistakes, we
falter. It speaks to the fragment of a Napoleonic attitude buried in everyone’s soul.

VIOLET

AMBIGUITY

Violet is red that has almost been transformed into blue. It holds a little onto both, it
remembers both, which makes it mysterious, ambiguous and suggestive. Early
Renaissance artists liked to depict angels, busy on errands of mercy between heaven
and earth, as wearing violet gowns. The colour evoked for them the idea of an infinite
‘beyond’ that was not threatening or dangerous, somewhere we could long for but
which remained always just out of sight.

LIGHT BLUE

CLARITY

Light blue is inescapably the colour of a clear, morning sky – with a cool hint,
perhaps, of the north or the mountainside. It’s a colour for being active. It’s
undaunted, cheerful, ready to get on and face all the things you’ve been putting aside.
Shadows, confusion, doubts and second thoughts go into hiding when light blue
appears. It is never cruel, just filled with breezy goodwill. It is logical, clear. It
admires the simple, straightforward statement. It wants you to tidy your desk.

DARK BLUE

DISCIPLINE

This is the colour of order and discipline. It tells us not to give up, to search for
reserves of resilience. It is resolute, reliable. Dark blue doesn’t get sidetracked. It
sticks to the key task, to the big point. It keeps the end in view. Strong rather than
hard; courageous rather than fierce, it is civilised and directed. It is power on our
side, protective and helpful. It is the colour of a good, true father.

LIGHT GREEN

SANITY

Light green has the fresh, natural feel of sanity. It is summoned when we are grateful
rather than envious. When we don’t need to do down others to feel good about
ourselves, and when we are more interested in finding out how things go well rather
than complaining when they don’t turn out quite right. We can use this colour to help
us focus on our power to do something – rather than blame others for our failings or
doubt our strengths.

DARK GREEN

REALISM

The soothing realms of deeper, greyer green are about realism. This word sometimes
has unfortunate associations, as though it was the opposite of hope, but in fact,
there’s such a thing as mature, realistic hope. This emotion tells us that things are
tough, but that the worst will pass, that what we have may be good enough, that we
will manage and cope despite inevitable frustrations and compromises. This is hope
that has acquired a proper knowledge of the troubles of life – but hasn’t given up. It
pulls us back to sobriety, to patience and moderation.

LIGHT BROWN

MELLOWNESS

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23/10/2014 The Psychology of Colour
This is a colour that does not want to draw attention to itself. It is conscious of times
past, and feels their wistful tug. It likes quiet. It is meditative and gentle. But it is not
about putting us to sleep. Light brown is our friend when we want to calm down and
avoid external stimulation, so that the quieter, smaller voices of the inner world – the
half memories, the tentative associations, the delicate starting moments of a new
thought – can be heard.

DARK BROWN

DIGNITY

Dignity means not having to try to impress. You are sure of yourself – of who you
are, and what you stand for. It might be the colour of an old mahogany table, with a
clock ticking quietly in the background. Time is slow and ample, there’s no rush, no
haste. Dark brown is not a hectic colour – it’s the shade of comfort or dark soil on a
wet day. Not glamorous, but deeply good and reassuring. It is solid and dependable.

BLACK

AUTHORITY

Black is the perennial colour of fashion and sophistication in the modern world. It is
strong, without illusions. It flirts with cynicism. It is the least naive, the least childish
of colours. We need black when we want to keep our cool; we’ve seen too much
already to get carried away now. It is a reminder of the appeal of being a little bit
harsh, a little bit demanding and decisive. Black is lean.

We could do worse when getting close to another person than to use each of these
pencils in turn and discuss what its colour symbolises for us. And when wondering
what mood we are in, we might pick a pencil without thinking too much, doodle with
it and dwell on what our choice tells us of our state of mind.

Shop the Psychology of Colour pencil set

Posted by The Philosophers' Mail on 23 October 2014

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