Seeing red, green with envy, feeling blue, in the pink. Symbolic use of color is such a powerful part of our vernacular that we don’t even register the words in these clichés—red, green, blue, pink—as hues and tints. Instead we instinctively understand and feel the meaning associated with the color, without actually picturing red, green, blue, pink in our minds.
Color my world
Color symbolism is universal in art as well as language, making it a very useful photo communication tool. And few people doubt that color has an influence on our emotions and behavior. Why else would we care about the color of our office walls or that our shoes match our belt?
But true scientific proof of this influence has been elusive. Research on the specific impact of color on humans invariably contains contradictory and inconclusive findings. Part of the problem is that there is no way to scientifically prove we are all seeing the same color in the same way. We call the sky blue and can point to the same spot on a color wheel to identify it. But the blue I picture inside my head may look totally different than the blue inside your head. There is no way to tell. Picture a wall of television monitors tuned to the same program. Viewed side by side, you can easily spot the variations in color tuning, but viewed separately, even a very bad color monitor will appear correct without other reference. This potential variation in color interpretation could possibly trigger different physical reactions—chemical, hormonal, enzymatic—and cause me to react differently to the color blue than you.
Communicators with international audiences should note that color symbolism and preference is greatly affected by culture and even gender. For instance, blue is generally considered a very safe color for international use. A blue sky heralds good weather anywhere in the world. Blue is a holy color in Judaism; it is the color of Krishna in Hinduism and symbolizes immortality in China. But in Japan blue is the traditional color for villains!
In the western hemisphere, the color white is associated with purity, salvation and spirituality, possibly due to its close relation with pure light. So why is white the color of death and mourning in Asia and elsewhere? Some color researchers think this stems from the shroud, a white cloth traditionally used to wrap bodies or perhaps the pale skin of a dead person or even the bleached whiteness of skeletons and bones.
To avoid negative cultural connotations when using white, blend it with other colors to soften its harshness. This is a particularly good idea when appealing to primarily female audiences. In The Meaning of Color for Gender, Natalia Khouw cites studies that show that women generally favor color shades and tints, i.e., pastels, while men would rather see primary colors with high degrees of saturation. Khouw further notes research concluding that women prefer colors in the cool spectrum (blues, greens) and shun stark black, white and grey more often than men.
Color psychology
According to marketing expert Michael Fortin, Ph.D., “Your colors are part of your message. And depending on which message you wish to convey, the colors you choose can either support, emphasize or contradict your message.” But which colors are right for what message? Color psychologists claim to know. Color psychology, as defined by Wikipedia, is the investigation into the direct effect of color on human behavior and feelings. But as with color symbolism, the use of color psychology is far from, to use an appropriate phrase, black and white.
In his book, Color Psychology and Color Therapy, Faber Birren lists what he calls “Modern American Color Associations.” Here’s one interesting excerpt from his list:
RED: General appearance: “brilliant, intense, opaque, dry”; mental associations: “hot, fire, head, blood”; direct associations: “danger, Christmas, Fourth of July, St. Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, flag”; objective impressions: “passionate, exciting, fervid, active”; subjective impressions: “intensity, rage, rapacity, fierceness”
Mother’s Day? I didn’t know that. Obviously red is a power color in Western cultures, but didn’t we all (at least all Americans) already sense that? Red is also a powerful color in Asia, but with different connotations. The red in the Chinese flag stands for revolution, red lanterns marking the New Year signify good luck, and happy events such as weddings always feature red, which is the traditional color of the bride’s gown.
Unfortunately for communicators, there are no universal guidelines that say which color will work best in any given situation to convey the desired emotion. Even the experts can’t agree and instead rely on anecdotal information. For example, there is a long-standing belief among many color psychologists that red causes increased appetite. But if this were a proven fact, every restaurant in the world would be painted red! Other observational evidence of how specific colors influence behavior includes: pink rooms seem to calm prisoners, yellow wards off depression, and green medical scrubs make the wearer seem more knowledgeable.
Color for communication
Beyond the confusing quagmire of color symbolism and psychology, there are a few proven rules in art and photography that will help communicators make the most successful use of color. Knowing these rules will help you gain initial audience attention and even better, will guide the viewer’s eye to exactly where you want it to go within an image:
Light is everything
Without light there can be no image. With a small amount of light, only shapes are discernable. Add a little more light, and colors become visible to the human eye and recordable photographically. The amount of light in your image dictates the amount and intensity of color it contains. Low-light photography is like observing a scene at sunrise—objects first appear only in silhouette. As you increase the amount of light in your image, colors are revealed and grow brighter, just like what happens as the sun climbs higher in the sky. Add too much light, and colors once again recede and are muted. The human eye will instinctively be drawn to the lightest, brightest section in your image. Surround your subject with light to give it emphasis and visual punch.
Not all colors are created equal
With the exception of the two percent of the female population and eight percent of the male population who are colorblind, we all experience or “see” the full color spectrum. But some colors definitely stand out over others. Most studies put blue at the top of the popularity chart worldwide, followed by red, green, violet, orange and yellow.
Although low on the popularity scale, yellow is without a doubt the brightest color in the spectrum. Not surprisingly, it also possesses very strong emotional symbolism. Yellow is associated with sunshine, happiness and autumn’s falling leaves. In photographs, the color yellow is a siren screaming for visual attention—and it gets it. That is why so many warning signs all over the world are yellow.
Red, as discussed earlier, is also an intense color. Use red and yellow sparingly in your images if they are not the color of your subject. Otherwise their strong influence becomes a distraction, drawing attention away from your intended message.
Contrast: Its not just black and white
Painters and photographers versed in color theory know how to use contrast to add depth to an image. Contrast usually means a simple variation between light and dark areas. This type of contrast produces shadows that create the perception of a third dimension in an otherwise two dimensional flat image. But contrast and depth can also be created by alternating warm tones (red/yellow) and cool tones (blue/green) within the image.
Color is all around us, influencing us in ways we don’t completely understand but can’t deny. The use of color in communication is not an exact science, but don’t let that scare you away from using it. I like to think of colors not as a box of crayons but as a wonderfully diverse spice cabinet. Pick and choose one or two key flavors that will enhance your message without overpowering it. A dash of red, a liberal sprinkling of green and voilà! You will have them coming back for seconds.
