How Colors Affect the Way We Feel
Colors have always been known to influence human psychology. They can affect mood, emotions, and perceptions in various ways. The choice or combination of colors can evoke different emotional responses and associations that help convey messages and heighten aesthetic appeal, especially in research and UX/UI design.
Color choices are integral in designing products as they solidify brand recognition and identity. They also play a vital part in addressing accessibility as sufficient color contrast and color-coded information can help those with visual impairments. But which specific colors prompt positive or negative emotions? Which specific colors actually impact our mood or even mental health?
Colors can evoke positive and negative emotion
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a polymath and writer, was the first to correlate colors to specific emotional responses in his book Theory of Colours.1 He divided colors into two categories: ‘plus’ and ‘minus’.1
The ‘plus’ category includes colors that induce positive feelings such as yellow, red-yellow, and yellow-red.1 Other studies also show that natural and pastel shades brought a feeling of calm and softness.1 In particular, the color green has been seen to alleviate stress and enhance calm feelings, while people found pale brown to be warm, soft, and quietly supportive.1,2,9 A soft pale peach color was also found to be associated with feelings of care, warmth, and friendliness.1
On the other hand, Goethe discusses ‘minus’ colors like blue, red-blue, and blue-red to induce negative feelings.1 Similarly dark colors such as black and gray have cultural connotations of anxiety and depression.1
In another study, red in particular was perceived as eliciting higher arousal and excitement.6 However, several mental health studies recommend not placing red alongside information regarding self-harm.7 This is vital when it comes to designing products such as therapeutic apps and websites for aiding people in distress.
References
- Hancock, R. (2020). Communicating Mental Health through Graphic Design – Investigating the role of graphic design for the facilitation of communication regarding mental health data. Canterbury Christ Church University. https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/download/73a0361f3ea0dcf9402e5f07b4384fdd16aa705ddfd6c788407440cb7e73af24/1723568/Communicating%20Mental%20Health%20through%20Graphic%20Design_FINAL_Amended%20%281%29.pdf
- SilverCloud® by Amwell®. (2022). Developing Illustrated Characters for Mental Health. https://www.silvercloudhealth.com/uk/blog/developing-illustrated-characters-for-mental-health
- Kimmons, R. Brigham Young University. Color Theory in Experience Design. https://edtechbooks.org/ux/color_theory
- M. de Melo, C. Gratch, J. (2009) The effect of color on expression of joy and sadness in virtual humans. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5349585
- Haller, K. (2016). Resene. Using colour for health and wellbeing. https://www.resene.co.nz/decorating-blog/494-using-colour-for-health-wellbeing.htm
- Savavibool, N. (2020, Dec). Effects of color schemes on aesthetic response of the work environment. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346961943_Effects_of_color_schemes_on_aesthetic_response_of_the_work_environment
- Chapman, S. Ryan-Vig a, S. (2020, Sep). Cochrane UK. Choosing images for sharing evidence: a guide. https://training.cochrane.org/sites/training.cochrane.org/files/public/uploads/Images%20Checklist%20for%20Evidence%20Dissemination%20-%20Final%2C%20version%201.0_2.pdf
- AL-Ayash, A. Kane, R. Smith, D. Green-Armytage, P. (2015, Feb 26). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/col.21949
- Yeo, J. P.-H., & Teo, C.-T. (2020). Designing wellbeing: The role of design in developing open-mindedness in mental health. In K. Christer, C. Craig, & P. Chamberlain (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th European Conference on Design4Health (Volume 4, pp. 766-773). Sheffield Hallam University. https://repository.nie.edu.sg/server/api/core/bitstreams/75850ba1-f1b8-40fb-9f9d-b08376ef3d8b/content
- Bran, A. & Vaidis, D. (2020) On the Characteristics of the Cognitive Dissonance State: Exploration Within the Pleasure Arousal Dominance Model. https://psychologicabelgica.com/articles/10.5334/pb.517#abstract
About the Author
Nicole Torres
Nicole is an experienced digital marketer with a background in design and information architecture.
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