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We're back with another issue of Positive Pulse, the blog for everything to do with healthy living. In honor of Pride Month, this month's theme is colors! Colors can put us into different moods and using color psychology can teach us what colors lead to what emotions. There are also many colorful games we can play to test our knowledge and have fun.
What is Color Psychology?
In its simplest terms, color psychology has become a popular area of color theory that
assigns emotional and psychological connotations between colors and emotions.
Many of these meanings are universal because they have an effect on the brain but some are
only cultural. When traveling, it would be wise to research the accepted and non-accepted
colors for any family or cultural event you are attending abroad.
Whether you like a color frequently depends on childhood memories and your association
between colors and feelings. If your mother made you wear yellow one day and your
classmates made fun of you, yellow is not likely to be your favorite color as an adult.
Sometimes a hue can have many connotations for you. For example, you may choose to
wear an orange blouse one day because: It lifts your mood, you are ready to act, you are
feeling creative, or you want to make a statement.
The Meaning of Colors
- RED attracts the most attention and is associated with strong emotions, such as love,
passion, and anger.It’s the universal color to signify strength, power, courage, and danger.
Red is energizing and exciting, motivating us to act. It can also give confidence to those
who are shy or lacking in willpower. - ORANGE is the hue of encouragement, optimism, and self-confidence, marking the
extrovert. Orange radiates warmth and happiness, combining the physical energy and
stimulation of red with the cheerfulness of yellow. Orange can inspire courage, enthusiasm,
rejuvenation, and vitality. It can also have a stimulating effect, particularly on the appetite. - YELLOW is the color of the mind and the intellect, resonating with the left, logical side of
the brain. It is creative, the tone of new ideas and new ways of doing things. Post-it notes
and legal pads were invented in yellow for a very good reason! Being the lightest hue of the
spectrum, yellow is uplifting and illuminating, offering hope, happiness, and fun. It’s a
warm and happy color that creates a sense of cheerfulness and playfulness, brightening
people’s spirits. - GREEN is of nature, of balance and growth. It is restful and secure, symbolizing harmony,
healing, and stability. It also represents security and self-reliance. Darker greens relate to
money, wealth and prestige, while lighter greens relate to rebirth, growth, and freshness. - BLUE is the color of trust, serenity, and peace. It suggests loyalty and integrity as well as
conservatism and predictability. This has the opposite effect on the brain than red. It is
calming, reducing tension and fear, slowing the pulse rate and reducing appetite. While
inspiring wisdom and higher ideals, it is sincere, reserved, and quiet. Being cool, it creates a
sensation of space. - PURPLE is the color of imagination and spirituality, inspiring high ideals. It can be
creative and individual or immature and impractical. It is also an introspective tone,
allowing us to connect with our deeper thoughts. People drawn to purple are usually
sensitive and compassionate, understanding and supportive, thinking of others before
themselves. They will often have a peaceful and tranquil quality, with quiet dignity about
them.
Colors Games
Looking for some fun color brain games to pass the time? Try some of these options.
- Pantone (board game)
In Pantone: The Game, the player who is currently the artist chooses a character
card, then designs a representation of that character using only color swatch cards.
The other players subsequently take turns trying to guess who it is. If no one can
guess the character during a round, a hint is given at the start of the next round, with
each hint reducing the number of points awarded to both the artist and the player
who correctly identifies the character. Whoever has the most points after each player
acts as the artist three times wins. - Hues and Clues (board game)
Hues and Cues is a vibrant game of colorful communication where players are
challenged to make connections to colors with words. Using only one and two-word
cues, players try to get others to guess a specific hue from the 480 colors on the
game board. The closer the guesses are to the target, the more points you earn. Since
everyone imagines colors differently, connecting colors and clues has never been
this much fun! - Sagrada (board game or app)
Draft dice and use the tools-of-the-trade in Sagrada to carefully construct your
stained glass window masterpiece. Each player builds a stained glass window by
building up a grid of dice on their player board. The highest scoring window artisan
wins! - I Love Hue (app)
I Love Hue is a gentle journey into colour and perception. Reorder mosaics of
coloured tiles into perfectly ordered spectrums. Lovingly made for players who
enjoy beautifully crafted puzzle games - or anyone who needs a few moments of
visual tranquility. - I Spy
I spy is a guessing game where one player (the spy or it) chooses an object within
sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something
beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players attempt to
guess this object. It is often played as a car game. You can also play this by choosing
a color instead of a letter!
RESOURCES:
https://londonimageinstitute.com/how-to-empower-yourself-with-color-psychology/