Art
Hue and your mind’s eye
BY OLLIE SYMES
Why do we see red? Or Feel Blue?
S
itting among the five senses, sight feeds our mind with a near-endless source of stimulation during our journey from the cradle to the grave. These stimuli shoot down the optical nerve
and across the brain to the occipital lobe, a relatively small section of the brain responsible for visual processes such as spatial reasoning, assessing depth, and determining colour. As part of a much greater whole, the occipital lobe transmits visual information and communicates with other lobes to assign meaning to specific shapes, patterns and colours. Focusing on the latter function, why do we seemingly associate colours with specific feelings and emotions?
gating it to sit alongside pseudo-sciences such as phrenology. Unfortunately, this general disregard also made colour psychology an easy target and breeding ground for unsubstantiated theories and ill-informed discussion until relatively recently. Scientific acumen aside, the marketing industry understands which colours we like and appreciates that colour preferences undeniably influence consumer behaviours and attitudes. Understanding and controlling the public perception of a brand is vital to creating and sustaining a successful business, and perhaps the most fundamental aspect of any brand is its colour.
Aristotle proposed the first colour theory, suggesting that colour is derived from white (lightness) and black (darkness) and that all other colours sat between the two. Yellow and blue are the primary colours that relate to the polarities of life: sun and moon, female and male, stimulus and sedation. This theory remained hugely influential for the next 2000 years. That was until the 1660s, when Isaac Newton famously split a beam of white
A brand’s colour must be instantly recognisable and usually aims to exploit hardwired (or socially constructed) colour preferences
light through a prism, establishing that white light is composed of a spectrum of seven visible colours. From this moment, the study of colour was viewed primarily through the lens of its physical properties, with little consideration given to the effect of colour on the human psyche. Unsatisfied with Newton’s clinical assessment, Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe in 1810 attempted to study the relation between colours and the emotional response they elicited. While his work predominantly influenced the arts, it is also believed to mark one of the earliest examples of the study of humanistic colour perception. The scientific community largely ignored colour psychology, rele-
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A brand’s colour must be instantly recognisable (Coca-Cola red, Cadbury purple, Amazon orange) and usually aims to exploit hard-wired (or socially constructed) colour preferences. The combination of yellow and red is used by fast-food restaurants (McDonald’s, Burger King) to create a sense of joy, increase appetite and appeal to children as bold colours. Green is perceived as fresh and natural and is therefore often used by produce brands (Whole Foods) and outdoor and farming vehicle companies (Land
Rover, John Deere). Blue is the most utilised colour in logos of major companies and is associated with competence and loyalty, essential attributes for technology companies handling sensitive data (Facebook, Twitter) or money (PayPal, American Express). Additionally, it was also found that blue shops and websites are more relaxing, less crowded and more trustworthy compared to other colours. Studies have shown that colour descriptions also influence our preferences. For example, products listed as ‘rust’ rather than ‘orange’, ‘chocolate’ rather than ‘brown’, or ‘moss’ rather
