Colour Meanings
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
RED
WESTERN MEANING
Red is the color of passionate love, seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure. Our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the color of fire and blood, energy and primal life forces.
Photo by @Cristianhold
GLOBAL MEANING
The history of languages reveals that red is the first color after black and white.
Photo by dsevilla
SPECIAL MEANING
Red is the color of good luck in Asia and is the most popular color in China. Most Japanese children draw the sun as a big red circle.
Photo by miuenski
SHADES
Aside from light and dark shades of red, there are two kinds of red: Yellow-based reds are “tomato” reds. Blue-based reds are “berry reds.” Some say that males are more attracted to the tomato reds: females to the berry reds.
Photo by Luz Adriana Villa A.
INTERESTING FACTS
Red captures attention.
Red is a good color in India, Nepal and Japan.
Photo by jane.garratt♥
ORANGE
WESTERN MEANING
Orange is hot, healthy, fruity and engaging but it can be abrasive and crass.
Photo by A Guy Taking Pictures
GLOBAL MEANING
Orange's global similarities are significant: Orange evokes the taste of healthy fruits, bursting with juice. Orange is associated with vitamin C and good health. Children all over the world are drawn to orange. Orange is the color of life rafts, hazard cones, and high visibility police vests.
Photo by magnusfranklin
SPECIAL MEANING
Orange is both the name and emblematic color of the royal family. Orange is the color of prison uniforms in the U.S. Orange is a sacred and auspicious color in Hinduism. The middle traffic light is orange in France. In the U.K., orange stands for the Northern Irish Protestants and has very strong religious and political significance.
Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography
SHADES
It’s worth noting that there are many shades of orange – and different meanings. Some may be more appealing to those who find orange difficult: terracotta or cayenne – a dark orange, persimmon - a red-orange, pumpkin - a pure orange, mango - a yellow orange, salmon - a pink orange, melon - a light orange.
Photo by kevin dooley
INTERESTING FACTS
"Safety orange" is used to set objects apart from their surroundings, particularly in complementary contrast to the azure color of the sky. It’s used for hunting and construction zone marking devices.
Photo by anantal
YELLOW
WESTERN MEANING
Yellow is the most luminous of all the colors of the spectrum. It’s the color that captures our attention more than any other color.
Photo by Claudio.Ar
GLOBAL MEANING
In almost every culture yellow represents sunshine, happiness, and warmth. Yellow is the color most often associated with the deity in many religions (Hinduism and Ancient Egypt). Yellow is the color of traffic lights and signs indicating caution all over the world.
Photo by Adrian Dreßler
SPECIAL MEANING
In Japan, yellow often represents courage. In China, adult movies are referred to as yellow movies. In Russia, a colloquial expression for an insane asylum used to be "yellow house." Bright “marigold” yellow may be associated with death in some areas of Mexico.
Photo by Sprengben [why not get a friend]
SHADES
Strong mustard yellows and deep yellow ochres, there are no dark yellows.
Photo by @Doug88888
INTERESTING FACTS
Yellow is the most visible color of the spectrum. The human eye processes yellow first. This explains why it is used for cautionary signs and emergency rescue vehicles. Peripheral vision is 2.5 times higher for yellow than for red. Yellow has a high light reflectance value and therefore it acts as a secondary light source.
Photo by Scarleth White
GREEN
WESTERN MEANING
Green is no longer just a color. It's now the symbol of ecology and a verb. Since the beginning of time, green has signified growth, rebirth, and fertility. In pagan times, there was the "Green Man" - a symbol of fertility. In Muslim countries, it is a holy color and in Ireland, a lucky color. It was the color of the heavens in the Ming Dynasty.
Photo by @Cristianhold
GLOBAL MEANING
Green is universally associated with nature.
Green symbolizes ecology and the environment.
Traffic lights are green all over the world.
Photo by marfis75
SPECIAL MEANING
In China, Green may symbolize infidelity. A green hat symbolizes that a man's wife is cheating on him.
In Israel, green may symbolize bad news.
In Japan, the words for blue and green are the same.
In Spain, racy jokes are "green."
Photo by tillwe
SHADES
There are more shades of green than that of any other color. Greens range from yellow-greens, such as lime and avocado greens, to those with a blue tinge (such as emerald). Aqua or turquoise are colors that are typically half green and half blue.
Photo by zebble
INTERESTING FACTS
Approximately 5% - 8% of men and 0.5% of women of the world are born colorblind. People who are protans (red weak) and deutans (green weak) comprise 99% of this group.
Photo by MightyBoyBrian
BLUE
WESTERN MEANING
Blue is the favorite color of all people. It’s nature’s color for water and sky, but is rarely found in fruits and vegetables. Today, blue is embraced as the color of heaven and authority, denim jeans and corporate logos. It is cold, wet, and slow as compared to red’s warmth, fire, and intensity.
Blue has more complex and contradictory meanings than any other color. These can be easily explained by pinpointing by the specific shade of blue.
Photo by kevin dooley
GLOBAL MEANING
Blue's global similarities are significant: Blue is the #1 favorite color of all people. 53% of the flags in the world contain blue. Blue is the most commonly used color in corporate identity. A dark blue suit is professional business attire. Blue jeans are worn all over the world. Aristocracy is blue-blooded in all European languages.
Photo by guy with cameras
SPECIAL MEANING
Greeks believe that blue wards off "the evil eye. The English “to feel blue” has no equivalent in other languages while in German (literally: to be blue) means to be drunk or in Russian (literally: light blue) means to be homosexual. Dark blue is the color of mourning in Korea. The god Krishna has blue skin. Shades of blue are described as shallow or deep instead of light or dark in China. Blue is for a baby girl; pink for a baby boy in Belgium. “Prince Charming” is called “The Blue Prince” in Italy and Spain.
Photo by Luz Adriana Villa A.
SHADES
Dark blue: trust, dignity, intelligence, authority Bright blue: cleanliness, strength, dependability, coolness
(The origin of these meanings arises from the qualities of the ocean and inland waters, most of which are more tangible.) Light (sky) blue: peace, serenity, ethereal, spiritual, infinity
(The origin of these meanings is the intangible aspects of the sky.)
Photo by Joost Nelissen
INTERESTING FACTS
Blue has very few connections to taste or smell. Therefore it may act as an appetite suppressant.
Photo by atomicshark
PURPLE
WESTERN MEANING
Purple’s rarity in nature and the expense of creating the color and has given purple a supernatural aura for centuries. Purple is also the most powerful wavelength of the rainbow – and it’s a color with a powerful history that has evolved over time. In fact, the origins of the symbolism of purple are more significant and interesting than those of any other color.
Photo by Luz Adriana Villa A.
GLOBAL MEANING
Purple's global similarities are significant: Purple tends to be a color that people either love or hate. Among Mediterranean people, purple was reserved for emperors and popes. The Japanese christened it “Imperial Purple” Purple is the color of mourning or death in many cultures (U.K., Italy, Thailand, Brazil). Purple is not a common flag color. Only two flags contain purple.
Photo by aussiegall
SPECIAL MEANING
The “Purple Heart” is the American award for bravery. Purple is a symbolic color for the gay community in many Western cultures. Purple is the color of popular children's television characters – "Barney" and "Tinky Winky" (the purple Teletubby from the BBC). In Italy most performing artists would not go on stage if they have to wear anything purple.
Photo by Steve took it
SHADES
There are three distinct purples: Red-Purple, Purple, and Blue-Purple. Red-purples are warm, blue-purples are cool, and pure purple is neutral.
Photo by razgriz2520
INTERESTING FACTS
Purple is the hardest color for the eye to discriminate. Purples have been used in the care of mental of nervous disorders because they have shown to help balance the mind and transform obsessions and fears.
Photo by harold.lloyd
