The Psychology of Color

I'm sure that most, if not all, of us know that a particular color can cause certain moods to be enhanced or negated, which is important for whatever medium of art that we each work in.

To find information on color psychology, please see the book, "Color Psychology and Color Therapy: A Factual Study of The Influence of Color on Human Life," by Faber Birren. You can buy it online on Amazon or check it out from a library, since it has been out since around 2006. Also, that's just one example of a book on the psychology of color. There are a lot of books published on the topic, even recent publications can be found.

As our group is located in New York City ("NYC"), we are accustomed to wearing and seeing the use of the color black extensively, more so than probably any other city or locale in the world. Initially, I just thought that black was so popular in NYC because it hides dirt best in clothing, luggage, and so on. However, black may be consistently popular in NYC to various types of people for the following various reason or reasons: 1) it is a slimming color; and 2) it connotes authority and power.

Throughout the world though, blue, which is regularly recognized as the most popular favorite color, may cause people to be peaceful and relaxed. Interestingly, author David Johnson states, "Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms." On the other hand, there are some shades of blue that can be too icey cold, and therefore, not all blues enhance or help produce relaxation.

If you don't have time to read or skim the aforementioned book, you might just go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_symbolism_and_psychology and http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html.

You might find the psychology of color to be not only fascinating, but to also be a tool to use in each and every one of your works of art.