How Colors Impact Our Emotions

There are three types of colors, warm, cool and neutral. Each of these types of colors impact our emotions and how we feel. Colors can fuel certain feelings such as happy, sad, depressed, angry, etc. Types of colors can also have a physical impact on our body’s as well creating feelings of hunger, tired or anxious. Understanding how colors impact your world can help you when you need to relax or change your mood.

Feeling Warm

Red, orange and yellow are warm colors that evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and help give us energy boosts. These are summertime colors, summer is a time of play and happiness.

Red

Red is a very passionate color and evokes several conflicting emotions. Red is a great energy booster but can also increase our appetite because it causes an adrenaline rush and increases our heart rate. Fast food restaurants use red in their logo’s because of the impact it has on making you feel hungry. If you need a relaxing day, stay away from red. If the walls in your bedroom are red, you may want to consider changing to a more relaxing color.

Orange

Orange is a happy color. It is not quite as aggressive as red and tends to make you smile and builds trust. Orange provides energy and balance within our feelings. Orange is a good color for a craft room. Be careful since orange is a combination of red and yellow, too much can be overstimulating.

Yellow

Yellow evokes laughter and feelings of hope. Too much yellow can be stressful and cause irritation because it is not always easy on the eyes. When you are working and go to highlight something how often do you pass up the yellow highlighter and go for the orange or pink color?

Feeling Cool?

Cool colors are green, blue and purple. Cool colors tend to calm and sooth our spirit. Too much cool can lead to feelings of sadness. These are winter colors, winter is a time of serenity and sadness.

Green

Green evokes feelings of possibility and hope. We associate money and plants to the color green, both are symbols of new beginnings and wealth. The color green makes us feel secure and safe. If you need to feel inspired green is the color you need.

Blue

Calmness, spirituality, security and trust are all associated with the color blue. Think about how you feel when you look up at a beautiful clear blue sky. You can’t help but smile, feel relaxed and feel connected to nature.

Purple

Purple is a very powerful and strong color that commands respect. Often purple is associated with royalty. If you want to stand tall and command respect, surround yourself with the color purple.

Neutral Colors

Neutral colors are black, white, gray and brown. Too much of these colors can make you feel depressed and heavy. Neutral colors can be balanced out when combined with cool and warm colors. Surprisingly neutral colors can make very strong impacts on your emotions.

White

White is often associated with purity, simplicity and sterile. A room decorated with mostly white furnishings may look beautiful. However, would you feel comfortable lounging on white couch and propping your feet up on a white ottoman while eating a slice of pizza?

Black

Black creates two types of impressions, one of sophistication and heaviness. Black can be a very intimidating color and cause people to shy away from you. It is customary to wear black to funerals because it evokes somber emotions and is perceived as a very serious color.

Brown

Is a very earthy color and serious color. We tend to not notice brown but react to other colors surrounding it. Brown is a color that is not intimidating and evokes neutral emotions.

When setting up my studio, I researched colors and how they make us feel. I decided to trust in the various colors of blues and aqua. The colors create a very calm and relaxing place where clients feel safe and secure when getting a massage. Now that you know a little more about colors, think about the impression you are making with your wardrobe, your office and your home. Need a minute to relax and calm down, stand outside and look at the sky.