Home Resources Emotion of Colours
Emotion of Colours
Red



Meaning & Associations

Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure.

LIGHT RED
represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
PINK
signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
DARK RED
is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
BROWN
suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.

Cultural Interpretation

China Good luck, celebration, summoning
Cherokees Success, triumph
India Purity
South Africa Color of mourning
Russia Bolsheviks and Communism
Eastern Worn by brides
Western Excitement, danger, love, passion, stop, Christmas (with green)

 
Orange



Meaning & Associations

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

DARK ORANGE
can mean deceit and distrust.
RED-ORANGE
corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
GOLD
evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.

Cultural Interpretation

Ireland Religious (Protestants)
Western Halloween (with black), creativity, autumn

 
Yellow



Meaning & Associations

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning.

DULL (DINGY) YELLOW
represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
LIGHT YELLOW
is associated with intellect, freshness and joy.

Cultural Interpretation

China Nourishing
Egypt Colour of mourning
Japan Courage
India Merchants
Western Hope, hazards, coward

 
Blue



Meaning & Associations

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness.

LIGHT BLUE
is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
DARK BLUE
represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.

Cultural Interpretation

Cherokees Defeat, trouble
Iran Color of heaven and spirituality
Western Depression, sadness, conservative, corporate, “something blue” bridal tradition

 
Green



Meaning & Associations

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety.
It is the most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance.

DARK GREEN
is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
YELLOW-GREEN
can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
AQUAis associated with emotional healing and protection.
OLIVE GREEN is the traditional color of peace.

Cultural Interpretation

China Green hats indicate a man’s wife is cheating on him, exorcism
India Islam
Ireland Symbol of the entire country
Western Spring, new birth, go, Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas (with red)

 
Purple



Meaning & Associations

Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

LIGHT PURPLE
evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
DARK PURPLE
evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.

Cultural Interpretation

Thailand Color of mourning (widows)
Western Royalty

 
White



Meaning & Associations

White is used to suggest simplicity in high-tech products. White is an appropriate color for charitable organizations. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility, so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical products.

BRILLIANT WHITE
is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.
PURE WHITE
means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.

Cultural Interpretation

Japan White carnation symbolizes death
Eastern Funerals
Western Brides, angels, good guys, hospitals, doctors, peace (white dove)

 
Black



Meaning & Associations

PURE BLACK
is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humor, ‘black death’).
NIGHT BLACK
denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.

Cultural Interpretation

China Colour for young boys
Western Funerals, death, Halloween (with orange), bad guys, rebellion