Essay Colour Communicat

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Colour: Art & Science (DESN2633)
Student: M. Christine von Holt
Program of Study: Study Abroad Chile

ऀ Date: 6 May 2011


Colour communication

ऀColours are an essential part of human life. Not only do theymake the world seem more beautiful, but also they are able to communicate emotions, feelings, social status and moods and in this way influence people’s behaviour. According to Wright (1998), colour is Nature’s own form of pure communication.
ऀPerception of colour can be subjective. Some colours can evoke memories and transport people to important stages of their lives and so influence theiremotions and feelings. However there are certain colours that have universal meanings and others that have particular meanings to specific cultures (Cherry, 2005; Aslam, 2006). For instance warm colours (red, orange and yellow) evoke different emotions from feelings of comfort to anger. In general red is stimulating and exciting, but it has different meanings around the world (Wright, 1998). In the USAit means danger, in China good luck and in Egypt death (Aslam, 2006; Cobble, Dagget & Gertel, 2008). Buddhist monks and Hindus believe that orange is a sacred colour (Aslam, 2006). On the other side, cool colours like blue, green and purple can evoke different feelings from calm to sadness. For example, in some cultures blue is believed to keep the bad spirits away and to bring peace (Howard,n.d.). Blue is often associated with intelligence, stability, high quality and trust (Howard, n.d.; Aslam, 2006). Purple has different meanings between cultures. In Mexico it represents envy and anger while in China and the USA it is related to love (Aslam, 2006). This way we can see that in some cultures colours have different meanings and so they communicate different things. The purpose of thisassignment is to show the importance of colour communication in human life, to explain how colour can evoke emotions and influence human behaviour and the way colours are use to communicate different things in particular areas.

ऀThroughout human history individuals have used colours to communicate different things. In the fifth century BC, Greeks believed in the antithesis between darkness andlight (Aslam, 2006). Aristotle created a scale of seven colours, where white and black where at the extreme of it (Westland, 2011). The number seven had an important meaning in the ancient world; there were seven wonders, seven deadly sins, etc (Westland, 2011). The number four was also a relevant number for the Greeks and therefore many theories included this number (Westland, 2011). One of thesetheories was the humour theory, which explained that the human body was filled with four basic substances, which were named humours. Because of the importance of this number in ancient Greece, the four-colour doctrine was created (Westland, 2011).
ऀIn the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, colour were often used to communicate certain aspects of religion (Aslam, 2006). For example, blue was relatedto heaven, purple to martyrdom and authority and white with purity. In the renaissance mourning was communicated by black, purple and scarlet (Aslam, 2006).ऀ

ऀAs stated before colours evoke emotional responses and are able to induce different emotions, moods and feelings. Colour induces typically to a positive emotional response (Clark, 2004). Maybe that is one of the reasons why almosteverybody has a favourite colour or associates earlier recollections with particular colours.
ऀ A study has shown that there is a connection between brain and body when it comes to colour (Cobble, et al, 2008). Red is an energizing colour because it stimulates the autonomic nervous system (Cobble, et al, 2008). The left-brain is in charge to translate emotional reactions to colour, while the right...