Colors - how they affect us

1. A little excursion into color psychology

In the world of color psychology, colors are more than just, yes, what actually is a color? Quite simply explained, colors are simply what our eyes see when the light hits an object and is reflected from it back to your eyes. Each color is created by a different wavelength of light, Harald Lesch would probably call this "electromagnetic spectrum". (Scary) Fun fact: Human eyes can only see a tiny part of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, namely the so-called "visible light."

These frequencies range from 430 to 770 terahertz (THz). To make it clear what that means: If the entire spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays were a distance from New York to Los Angeles, then the piece we can see would be nothing more than the thickness of a hair. Pretty crazy, right? This means that there is so much more that remains hidden from us-we are virtually blind! But back to color psychology. Colors have the power to influence our thinking, our mood and even our behavior. Imagine this: a color could make the difference whether you are having a relaxing day or feeling like a Duracell rabbit on speed. Crazy, right?

So color psychology is like the cool, somewhat eccentric uncle of psychology. She examines how we react to different colors and how these reactions can affect us without us realizing it. Red, for example, can make our hearts beat faster, while blue soothes us. These reactions are deeply rooted in us and can greatly influence our decisions and behavior.

But why is this happening? Why does a shade have so much power over us? Well, some clever scientists believe that there are evolutionary reasons for this. Others believe that it is related to our personal experiences and our culture. The answer is probably a mixture of both. The fact is: colors influence us, and quite violently.

So yes, the next time you stand in front of your wardrobe and don't know what to wear, or when you try to choose the perfect color for your bedroom, think about color psychology. She can be the key to lifting your spirits, increasing your attention, or simply making you feel better. Stay tuned as we delve deeper into this colorful world and explore how you can use the power of colors to your advantage.

2. How colors mind games play with us

The meaning of the individual shades

The main colors red, blue, yellow and green, from which all combinations can be mixed, each have a basic meaning. This can vary in different cultures, so let's first look at Western culture:

• Red : The color of passion, love and energy. It is striking, powerful, maybe even a little aggressive. It has an activating effect, which is why red tones are used for buttons in many online shops. There is even said to be a study that claims to have found that football players who play in red supposedly win more games.

• Blue : Stands for calm, competence, security. It has a trust-building effect on us, which is why companies that operate a very business-oriented business such as Insurance often rely on shades of blue.

• Yellow : Radiates optimism and joy. Warmth and security are often associated with yellow. As a color that is often chosen by children in their pictures to paint the sun (although the sun is actually a glistening white-please don't look directly into it to find out!), A bright yellow can lighten the mood on cloudy days. That's why we like to wear our five slides with yellow tones as slippers in winter.

• Green : Green is the color of nature, freshness and renewal. It has a calming effect and can even help us think more creatively. Who would have thought that?

• Black : Black is actually not a color, if you look closely at it, black is simply the absence of color. Let's let it be five degrees and treat it as a color in the sense of the article. Power, elegance and mystery are the characteristics of black. It can make us feel strong and independent, but it is also the color of grief.

Emotional reaction to different colors

Now that you know the basic meanings of colors, let's go one step further. Colors can cause strong emotional reactions.

Think of a beautiful sunset. The warm orange and pink in the sky can trigger a profound calm and satisfaction in you. Or imagine going into a room entirely in white. You could feel clean, clear and peaceful, maybe it even leaves a pure or sterile impression, like in a hospital.

In the following table we have built an overview in which we have broken down as many tones as possible. Important, depending on how you count, there are up to 16.8 million colors and different approaches to how they can be grouped. We have limited ourselves to the 20 common ones so as not to write on this article until the end of our days.

As already indicated, our cultural and personal background have an impact on how we perceive colors. The list therefore serves as an overview for orientation and not as a written law.

The science behind color psychology