Colour Flashcards
Problems regarding colour for the visual merchandiser
Each person may have a distinct reaction to the same colour.
In our vast and global market place there are cultural and regional differences in colour preferences.
Public taste in colour changes, sometimes dramatically over time.
Psychology of Yellow
Sunshine and gold.
Happy, bright, cheerful, vital, fun, alive.
Daisies, Marigolds and lemons.
It is optimism, expectancy, relaxation and a wide open armed acceptance of the world.
Suggestive for change, challenge and innovation.
It is spring, summer and easter, when it turns gold it is autumn.
Psychology of Orange
Friendly and Sociable.
Agreeable, overt, glowing and incandescent.
Exciting vibrant filled with anticipation.
Fire and flame, Rising sun in the tropics or setting sun in the desert.
Halloween and autumn leaves.
Psychology of Red
Exciting, stimulating, loving, powerful and sexy.
Assertive, demanding, obvious possibly cheap or vulgar.
Warm, stirring and passionate.
valentines day and Christmas.
It is carnations for fathers day and patriotism.
Conveys sale, clearance a warning, fire and fright.
Popular colour.
Psychology of Pink
Sweet, lovely, pretty.
Little girls complexion, rosebuds, ribbons, lace.
Fleshy, raw, undercooked.
Flowers for mothers day, easter eggs and bunny ears, nightgowns and lingerie, elegant approach to Christmas.
Psychology of Green
Alive, cool, growing.
Springtime and summer.
lawns bushes, vegetables, trees and forests.
Any setting if its alive and growing.
St Patrics day and other half of Christmas scheme.
Some greens can be bilious and stomach turning- reminiscent of khaki and war.
Psychology of Blue
Popular colour choice.
Cool, calm, comfortable, collected.
Soft soaring skies, serene lakes, gentle horizons, security of hearth, home and flag.
It is quiet but can become cold, moody or even depressing.
Always right for spring and summer skies, shadows on snow and patriotic celebrations.
Psychology of Blue- Green
Cool, tasteful colour. Sensitive and restful but alive. Vital yet quiet. water, sky and grass. Peaceful growing. Great summer colour to compliment white and glowing tan complexions.
Psychology of Peach
Warmth and happy of a down tones orange without its grating qualities.
Smiling glowing colour.
Easy to be with and delightful to be in.
New neutral, pastel earth tone.
Friendly colour that will go with almost everything.
Psychology of Rust
Other end of the orange scale.
Deep rich and earthy without being earthbound.
Full bodied colour with the warmth of orange but with none of its blatant or irritating qualities.
Earth colour that goes with other colours but is neither invisible nor intruding.
Personification of autumn.
Psychology of Violet/ Purple
Traditionally regal colour become a favourite amongst children.
Some shades it is happy, youthful.
Deepest richest form it is a colour of taste, discretion and distinction.
High fashion colour that has to be sold.
Can come across as overbearing and pompous.
Lavender may convey old fashion charm, Victorian or Eastern trim.
Psychology of Gray
Neutral barrier that makes separations but no statements.
Gray exists well with other colours that have more to say.
May be depressing, down in the dumps or super elegant and sophisticated colour that suggest fine jewelry, silver, furs and designer salons.
Psychology of Brown
The earth, hearth and home.
family and the farm, simple things, wood clay other natural materials.
Steps back to let other colours step forward.
Unlike gray it does not disappear.
Warm and can sometimes cast a glow.
From the lightest off white beige to the deepest charcoal brown it is relaxed, unexciting and in no way unnerving.
Deep colour for autumn.
Psychology of White
Blankest of blank.
Strong and able supporting player that makes every other colour, by comparison, turn bigger, bolder and brighter.
Innocence, hope, angels, religious celebrations, wedding gown and the binding brilliance of clear light.
Cotton puff white can be a sparkling accent, a sharp highlight a crisp delineator or an unpleasant comparison by which other whites may come off as dingy or unhappily yellowed.
Can be sterile, antiseptic, bleak and harsh.
Psychology of Black
Connotes night, a vacuum and an absence of light. It is mystery, sex and death as well as intrigue and sophistication.
Ultrachic or ultra depressing, it can also be ominous and threatening or downright dull. It can be sensuous as satin or as deep as velvet.
Black is a neutral, but a neutral that needs careful handling.
