19040_NSFM-jan 2022_colorful_Compleet Spreads_LR

PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR
10OL
Experiencing color
17 million
This all sounds a bit technical. Let’s make things more
concrete by talking about how we experience color.
On the one hand, things like personal interpretation,
culture and context play an important role in determining
which associations a color evokes. On the other hand,
we also have shared experiences. We know this is the case,
because marketing experts and designers consciously
choose certain colors for certain moments.
colors.
After all, they know just how consumers respond or what
feelings a certain color induces. Red, for instance, is a color
that catches your eye and is ideal for quickly attracting
attention. Green stands for life, growth and nature and
creates a sense of calm in many people. Pink can have
a calming effect as well. Orange is associated with fun,
optimism and happiness. Blue radiates reliability and safety,
but also distance. Purple represents style, luxury and riches.
Grey doesn’t really express much. Black is both fashionable
Let’s start with the basics. Color is a phenomenon you
and inaccessible and is associated with both glamour and
can’t overlook. The source of all color is the sun: you can’t
fear, mourning and being cool.
see any colors in the dark. When light hits a surface,
your eyes and your brain team up to let you distinguish
between 17 million different colors.
In nature
Which color your brain identifies, depends on the section of
the color spectrum that is reflected by the surface that the
So these are the general impressions and meanings of color.
light hits. This, in turn, depends on the material of the
This raises the following question: what role does color
surface that’s being illuminated (see * page 13).
play in nature? Nature always prefers function over form.
Generally speaking, it means that plants and animals have
either a striking color or a protective color.
A protective or concealing color ensures that a plant or
animal is not noticed by enemies. A bright color warns
that the species might be poisonous or helps to attract the
opposite sex. Many male animals are extra good-looking
and colorful in order to attract females.
Colorful plants attract insects and other animals. If the
berries of a plant need to be spread around by animals for
the purpose of reproduction, then it makes sense for the
berries to be visually striking, so that insects or birds can
find them more easily. Red berries among green leaves have
this effect.
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