psycologyofcolour

Psychology of Colour – Green

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Oasis, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Green symbolises life, fertility and resurrection.  Green is calming.  The colour can help put people at ease in a new place.

God said, “Let the earth grow green with vegetation, plants yielding seed and trees bearing fruit, each according to its kind.” And it was so.  The earth turned green with vegetation, plants yielded seeds and trees bore fruit, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning; it was the third day.  Genesis 1:11-13

Lake Wood, Northumberland, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Space and interior designers often use green plants and green colours in public spaces, restaurants and hotels.

Buildeo is an interior design company with clients that include Holiday Inn, Hilton and Formby Hall Golf Resort.  Their advice for hotel lobby colours is green colour based.

Customers will feel connected to nature with green.  The addition of a fountain, waterfall and unusual green plants evoke a sense of peace and tranquillity in a space.

Thames Sluice, Henley-on-Thames, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

The awards that have been given at the Chelsea Flower Show this year have themes of water and green plants – particularly the ‘Ecotherapy Garden’ .

Yellow and reds (see past blogs) generate feelings of stimulation.  Red and yellow is attention grabbing, can stimulate hunger and motivate speed.  Not surprising that KFC, McDonalds and Burger King use the yellow and red pallet.

Green has many layers to it and a rich history.  Mixing blue and yellow produces green.  The word for green and blue in some languages is the same!

Ancient Egypt associates green with regeneration and rebirth.  Ancient Egyptian artists ground malachite for green pigment.  Malachite is a copper mineral and stalagmites and stalactites that are green have copper deposits mixed with the calcium carbonate.

Malachite was used by the Ancient Egyptians for tomb decoration, but this fell out of use over time as it oxidised and went black over time.

Ancient Romans use copper to make green pigment.  This was achieved by soaking copper plates in wine which made Verdigris – the colour found as patina on old metal.

Place de la Republique, Lille, France, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Verdigris was used for mosaics and painting.  This technique for green production was used through the medieval period where monks would use this pigment to paint scenes in illuminated manuscripts.

During the Renaissance, plants began to be used to make paint.  However, the pigment from plants faded quickly.

Green is often associated with the Islamic religion, but this idea was only developed in the 12th Century.  In the Quran green is mentioned eight times, always in a positive sense, as a colour of vegetation, spring and paradise.

Michel Pastoureau, described as a ‘historian born in colour’, and a master of medieval images, symbols and colour has written about this.  He believes that in the 1100s green came to be seen as a unifying colour for the muslims.  Green became the sacred colour. That is why many copies of the Quran from the Middle Ages had green bindings, as they do today.

Michel Pastoureau has written a full book titled ‘Green – The History of a Colour – translated from the French by Jody Gladding.

Similarly, a great number of religious dignitaries wear green clothing. Muslims believe green is a “symbolism associated with paradise, happiness, riches, water, the sky and hope”.

In 1775 the Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele made green pigment with arsenite, a chemical compound of arsenic.  This was as deadly as it was vibrant.  The colour was used for curtains, art, clothing and toys.  It sickened people for decades and is thought to be a contributory factor in Napoleon’s death.  The wallpaper in the room where he was exiled contained Scheele’s green.

More positively, green is restful, soothing, cheerful and health giving.  Green is thought to relieve stress and help heal.  Those who have a green work environment experience fewer stomach aches.

Green landscape photography, available in different sizes, can have a positive impact upon a room.  Please call me with any questions with reference to images that may help the professional space within which you work.

Landscape, Goudhurst, Kent, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Green is the colour of balance and harmony and can, therefore, be helpful in times of stress.

So many of us are exposed to the glare of electronic screens on a daily basis. Prolonged use of computers have been noted as having an aggravating impact on tinnitus.

If you expose yourself to green environments, research suggests this can lower blood pressure and heart rate.  If you click on this text area, you will see evidence that green stimulates recovery and relaxation and has a positive impact upon mental health.

Sulhampstead Cattle Bridge, Kennet Canal, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Colour-chakra theory from Hindu scriptures adds green; strengthens bones and muscles, disinfects bacteria and virus, and relieves tension; used to treat malaria, back problems and blood pressure.

Goldstein asserts “under the influence of green (as with blue) light, time is likely to be underestimated.”  “Also, weights will be judged lighter.”

Theale Lagoon, Theale, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Negative associations:

Boredom, stagnation, envy, blandness, enervation, sickness

 Positive Associations : (source: Envato Pty. Ltd.)

Health, hope, freshness, nature, growth, prosperity

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Next week in the Psychology of Colour series – Pink

The Psychology of Colour – Red / Vermilion

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Summer

Red exudes warmth and, like no other colour, radiates a strong and powerful energy that motivates us to take action.  It is used effectively as a warning colour on road signs and as the ‘stop’ light for traffic lights. Red lights also show car users when the driver in front is braking.

In medieval times, artists would use a mixture of sulphur and mercury, heated to very high temperatures, to produce red pigment.  Known as vermilion, red was also produced from cinnabar.

Cinnabar ore contains mercury.  The ore is toxic. Many miners lost their lives whilst mining the mineral as, when it is ingested, inhaled or comes in contact with the skin, it can lead to mercury poisoning.  This toxicity can lead to neurological damage, kidney problems and respiratory issues.

From the end of the 19th century a less harmful alternative to cinnabar was found, cadmium.  Today vermillion is made from modern, harmless and stable pigments.

Love

Associations with the colour red include physical energy, passion, attention, stimulation and excitement.

In the UK, pillar boxes are painted red and the original telephone booths were coloured red.

Red is also the colour of blood and has historical connotations with sacrifice, danger and courage.

In Roman times, on the battlefield, Roman soldiers wore a red tunic under their armour to represent blood and strength.  The compact line of the Roman infantry, dressed in red, had a psychological impact on the enemy, which perceived it as strong and valiant.

It is also the colour of war, Mars.  Roman soldiers and gladiators were both adorned in red.

In some accounts, Caesar’s face was painted red.  This was perhaps as an imitation of Rome’s highest and most powerful god, Jupiter.

China also has a love of the colour red.  Throughout the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) red was used as a signal of strength and power. The dynasty was founded in the south and the ruling family’s name, Zhu, means vermillion.

Red is the luckiest colour in Chinese culture.  It symbolises joy, vitality, celebration, success and good fortune.  It is used for weddings and for the Chinese New Year.

The colour red also has a capacity for arousal.  Red stimulates the physical and adrenalin.  It raises blood pressure, the heart and respiration.  The colour also evokes strong emotions and is considered intense and even angry.

Red is believed to sensitise the taste buds and sense of smell, thereby increasing appetite.  All this occurs because the heart rate instinctively quickens, which causes the release of adrenalin in the blood stream raising blood pressure and stimulating the nerves.

The colour red, in Hindu scriptures, activates the circulation system and benefits the five senses.   It is used to treat colds, paralysis, anaemia, ailments of the blood stream and lungs.

Goldstein asserts “under the influence of red light, time is likely to be overestimated”.

From a ‘brand’ perspective, it is easy to recall when red is used.

The adverts that depict father Christmas delivering CocaCola are memorable, as are the Virgin Atlantic reels encouraging individuality.

Next week in the Psychology of Colour series – YELLOW

 

New Blog Series -The Psychology of Colour

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BLUE

Blue light exposure can positively affect cognitive performance…

Bluebell Wood, Suffolk – Hugo Richardson

The Source of Blue

The origin of blue for use in art colouring came from the Ancient Egyptians, who created the first blue pigment as far back as 2,200BC.  Sand, ground limestone and copper-containing minerals, like malachite or azurite, were heated to high temperatures for blue in art.

However, alternative thoughts believe that the richest blue on earth is called ultra-marine, which means ‘over-seas’.  In Britain’s case, this means the Mediterranean Sea, literally the sea at the ‘middle of the earth’.

Ultramarine blue can be made from lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli is normally a mixture of three minerals including lazurite (very complex blue mineral), calcite (calcium carbonate, which is white) and pyrite (an iron sulphide that is white gold in colour).

The finest lapis lazuli comes from Badakhshan.  The mines, on the precipitous walls of the upper Kokeha Valley, in North Eastern Afghanistan, have been worked for more than 6,000 years.

Lapis lazuli was not just used in paint, but four and a half thousand years ago, a pair of lapis-and-gold goats were placed in the royal cemetery of Ur in Mesopotamia. It was used on the Afghan Buddhas of Bamiyan, dated to the 6th century AD.

Around three-and-a-half thousand years ago, lapis was used to adorn the golden funeral masks and jewellery of the pharaohs.

Blue in a Business Context

Blue sky thinking is the thought process of limitless creation beyond conventional thought, limitless like the blue sky.  This type of thought requires a group of people that need to think outside the box in a ‘brainstorming way’.  The activity should not be constrained by the limits of practicality.

Exposure to blue light can positively affect cognitive performance, alertness and reaction time.  The colour blue is often used to decorate offices, because research has shown that people are more productive in blue rooms.

Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness and serenity.  It is described as peaceful and tranquil, secure and orderly.

Blue very well may improve sports that are reliant upon team work and decision-making.

Colour-chakra theory from Hindu scriptures adds: blue raises metabolism; is used to stabilise the heart, muscles and bloodstream; used to treat burns (methylene blue), skin diseases, glaucoma, measles and chicken pox and throat problems.

However, blue light, by raising metabolism, can decrease sleep quality and duration.

The River Stour, Early Saturday Morning – Hugo Richardson

Blue is calming, relaxing and healing but not as sedentary as indigo.

Jeanne Kopacz is an interior design professional and author of  ‘Colour in Three Dimensional Design’.  Kopacz suggests “the sight of the colour blue causes the body to release hormones when it is surveyed, particularly a strong blue sky.  Many believe blue can lower blood pressure, slow the pulse rate and decrease body temperature”.

Positive Associations (source, Envato Pty. Ltd.):

Trust, Loyalty, Dependability, Logic, Serenity, Security

Negative Associations:

Coldness, Aloofness, Emotionless, Unfriendliness, Uncaring, Unappetising

NEXT WEEK,  The Psychology of Colour: RED

Calm Morning Mist, Image Captured During Covid – Hugo Richardson