How colour affects us

Question 1

green with envy

Answer 1

the feeling someone has who wishes they had what someone else has.

And colour is what we’re talking about today. What’s your favourite colour? Oh, I like green – a fresh, bold colour, that reminds me of nature – it can have a calming effect. And you? It’s got to be blue – it reminds me of the sea, the sky – and holidays, of course!
Colour can represent many different things, depending on where you come from. You can be ‘green with envy’ – wishing you had what someone else had. And someone can feel blue – so feel depressed. We choose colours to express ourselves in what we wear or how we decorate our home.

Question 2

wavelength

Answer 2

distance between two waves of sound or light that are next to each other.

So, colour is wavelengths of light - a wavelength is the distance between two waves of sound or light that are next to each other. As these wavelengths change, so does the colour we see.

It’s the way that we take in the wavelengths of light because colour is wavelengths of light, and it’s how that comes in through our eye, and then it goes into the part of our brain called the hypothalamus, which governs our sleeping patterns, our hormones, our behaviours, our appetite – it governs everything and so different colours and different frequencies or different wavelengths of light, we have different responses and different reactions to them.

Question 3

govern

Answer 3

control or influence.

…, which governs our sleeping patterns, our hormones, our behaviours, our appetite – it governs everything… .

Thanks for the science lesson! Karen also explained that there’s a part of our brain that controls – she used the word govern – how we feel and how we behave. And this can change depending on what colour we see.
Homeware and furnishing manufacturers offer a whole spectrum – or range – of colours to choose to suit everyone’s taste, and mood.

Question 4

sanctuary

Answer 4

peaceful, relaxing or safe place.

It seems that in our normal busy working lives, our homes were peaceful places and somewhere to relax – they were a sanctuary.

Homeware and furnishing manufacturers offer a whole spectrum – or range – of colours to choose to suit everyone’s taste, and mood. But during the recent coronavirus pandemic, there was a rise in demand for intense, bright shades and patterns. This was referred to as ‘happy design’ - design that was meant to help lift our mood.

Question 5

pale

Answer 5

colour that lacks intensity.

It seems that in our normal busy working lives, our homes were peaceful places and somewhere to relax – they were a sanctuary. To create this relaxing space, we use pale colours – ones that lack intensity, like sky blue.

Question 6

stimulation

Answer 6

feeling of being excited, interested or enthused by something.

But during the recent lockdowns, when we weren’t outside much, we tried to get that stimulation - that excitement or experience – by decorating our homes with brighter colour. Such as yellow!
Hmmm, perhaps a little too bright for me! It is all about personal taste and the connections we make with the colours we see but it makes sense that brighter colours can certainly lift our mood.