When you walk into a bright yellow room, you might feel cheerful and energised. Step into a deep blue space, and suddenly everything feels calm and quiet. But why? Why do colours make us feel things—and why do most of us seem to agree on what certain colours mean?
Colour psychology has fascinated artists, designers, and scientists for centuries. Today, research from neuroscience and psychology confirms what we’ve always sensed: colour is more than what we see—it’s something we feel.
The Science of Seeing Colour
Colour starts with light. When light hits an object, certain wavelengths are absorbed, and others are reflected. Those reflected wavelengths enter our eyes, where cones in the retina detect them. The information travels via the optic nerve to the brain, where the visual cortex interprets colour.
But colour perception isn’t just visual—it’s emotional. Studies using fMRI scans show that viewing colours activates areas of the brain linked to emotion (Xia et al., NeuroImage, 2016). Why? Because colour perception evolved as a survival tool. Warm colours like red and orange signalled ripe fruit or fire, while cooler tones like blue hinted at water or shade. Our emotional connection to colour is wired deep in our biology.
How Colour Affects Mood and Behaviour
Psychologists have long studied how colour influences behaviour. A landmark 2006 study by Elliot and Maier found that colour impacts performance, mood, and even physiological responses like heart rate. Red, for instance, can increase alertness but also anxiety, while green is linked to calmness and creativity.
Interestingly, colour doesn’t just affect how we feel—it changes how we act. Research shows that people are more likely to make impulsive purchases in warm-coloured environments and take more time in cool-coloured ones. Hospitals often use calming blues and greens for a reason: they reduce stress and promote recovery.
Why We Agree on What Colours Mean
Across cultures, there’s surprising consistency in how people interpret colours. Red feels passionate or urgent. Blue feels calm. Yellow feels happy. Why? There are two main reasons:
1. Biology: As mentioned, colour perception evolved for survival. Red signals blood, danger, or ripe fruit. Green signals fertile land. Blue signals clear skies or clean water. These associations became hardwired.
2. Cultural reinforcement: Over centuries, meanings get layered. Red for love (think Valentine’s hearts), white for purity (wedding dresses), black for mourning. These associations strengthen with time, creating shared symbolism.
Still, culture matters. In Western cultures, white is purity. In some Eastern cultures, it’s a mourning colour. But the emotional weight of colour remains powerful everywhere.
The Emotional Power of Colour in Art and Design
Artists have always understood this. Van Gogh wrote, “Color in a picture is like enthusiasm in life.” He used yellow to express joy and blue to express despair. Mark Rothko’s massive colour field paintings are designed to overwhelm the senses and evoke emotion without a single image—just colour.
Designers use these principles daily: brands choose red for urgency (think Coca-Cola) or blue for trust (Facebook, LinkedIn). Therapy rooms lean into earthy tones and greens to soothe anxiety.
Does Colour Really Change How We Feel? The Evidence
The science says yes—but context matters. A 2015 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that participants consistently linked warm colours (red, orange, yellow) with high-arousal emotions (excitement, energy) and cool colours (blue, green) with low-arousal emotions (calmness, relaxation).
However, personal experiences influence perception too. If your happiest memories are tied to a red bicycle, red might feel joyful to you instead of intense.
Colour as a Language We All Speak
Ultimately, colour is a universal, emotional language. It’s why we say we’re “feeling blue” or “green with envy.” It’s why hospitals are painted pale green and why fast-food chains love red and yellow.
And it’s why, when you pick up a paintbrush, the colours you choose aren’t random—they’re a reflection of what you feel and what you want to say without words.
The Psychology of Colour – Why Colours Make Us Feel Things
Next up in this series: Let's take a deep dive into specific colours and what they represent—scientifically and emotionally—and how you can use them in your art to express yourself.
This post is a collaborative effort between AI and myself in order to work a little bit faster.
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