Life full of Colors - The Subtle Influence on our Wellbeing
Posted by LAILA REGALADO
To me, life is all about colors! I love the way they change our mood, stimulate or calm us and can even cure skin conditions (blue light against acne, for example) or reduce arthritis (infrared light).
But what is color, exactly?
In very simple terms, a colors are wavelengths of light reaching our eyes. Black has all the colors of the spectrum, and white has none.
That thought alone, I find to be pretty impressive and magical.
There has been much research done on all diferent colors and how they affect ones psyche and I will share the ones that I find the most exciting.
But before that, let's quickly refreshen some of the terms we have learned in art-class back in the days:
Primary Colors
The primary colors in the color spectrum are red, blue and yellow.
With these colors, so says the color theory, all other colors can be created.
Secondary Colors
Green, Orange and Purple are the secondary colors. They are achieved by mixing the primary colors:
Yellow and Blue makes green, Red and Yellow make Orange, Blue and Red create Purple.
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary Colors are all colors that can be created from either, primary and secondary ore secondary colors being mixed together.
Color Hue
The whole, pure spectrum of a color consists of a color variety in so called "Hues". Hues are the Colors before white is being added to them (for example the pink color before it becomes a rose pastel).
Color Harmony
Harmony in between a Color Scheme can be achieved many ways - two complimentary colors on the color wheel can make a very interesting composition.
Choosing colors analagous to one another give a harmonic impression.
Monochromatic color choice is achieved by choosing one color and use different shading of the same color scheme.
There also is a triadic color scheme , split complementary, tetradic harmony and square color harmonies. You will find lots of Information on it in this Youtube Video.
Depending on the Color Schemes we are decorating our room in, we can either feel relaxed or energized. Many factors, besides the color itself plays a big role in this:
Are we choosing warm or cool colors? Are the colors complimentary colors or do the all belong to the same color hue?
Being thoughtful on those details can have a massive impact on the feeling we get by being in that room.
The same rule applies to the way we dress:
Our color choices can change the way we appear to the outside world, therefore it is always recommended to
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Dress the part
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Dress for how you feel
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Dress to express (and to impress, if you desire)
Warm and Cool Colors
Colors in the red spectrum are considered warm colors, whereas the blue spectrum are cool colors, these colors are generally calming, but can also cause a certain feeling of sadness, if used excessively.
Introducing Colors and their psychological & physiological effects
Red
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Stimulates the Body
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Increases Circulation
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Passionate
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"Fiery"
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Power
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Anger
Read more about this fiery colors and its effect on our psyche in this blog article.
Purple
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Mystery
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Spirituality
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Wealth
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Royalty
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Imagination
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Wisdom
This color is rare in nature, and considered intriguing and mysterios.
Once a color that was only allowed to be worn by royalty - purple is now allowed to be worn by us all.
Purple connects to the higher realms and the spiritual world.
Blue
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Used in Acne Therape
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Treats Pain
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Stable
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Calm
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Reliable
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Productive
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Sadness / Melancholy
Blue is a favorite color for many people - especially men like this color. Known for calming our mind (just think about the effect the blue ocean has on our psyche almost immediately) - people can bring more peace into their mind by decorating a room in soothing blue colors.
Blue in fashion is a really versatile and rich color and can be mixed together with many other colors - soft blue and pink being one of my personal favorites.
I use blue in my Moon Romance Silk Scarf and it gives me a sense of clarity and purity just looking at this beautiful and deep color.
Green
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Nature
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Luck
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Ecological
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Money
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Health
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Envy/Jealousy
Green is a stress reliever. I have read in the past that 30 Minutes of walking in the forrest equals a whole weekend of a wellness-retreat. And I can relate to this. Seeing all those earthing colors in different hues (the browns and all the different shades of green) makes me reconnect with earth right away. It is so grounding! No wonder green has proven to be beneficial to our health.
People wearing green are seen as reliable and grounded.
Read more about this beautiful color here.
Yellow
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Stimulates the nerves
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Attention
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Energy
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Positivity
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Warmth
Yellow has become one of my favorite colors. This color increases my energy levels and makes me feel positive and ready to achieve anything I set my mind onto.
I started loving this color so much, that I even got myself some very yellow drapes. Unfortunately, they do not exactly look their part on the windows - so the correct Hue of Yellow is extremely important to make it a fresh and energizing stimulus for the eyes.
Yellow is tiring for the eyes - so too much can become irritating and even make aggressive. A little yellow will go a long way and cause attention - guaranteed.
Brown
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Nature
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Strength
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Security
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reliability
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loneliness or isolation
Brown is one of the least favorite colors of both men and women. I personally like this color, it is grounding, earthing and reliable. The woods are brown, one of the forrests main colors is brown and autumn has many different hues of it, too.
But I can see how much of it might be seen as depressive and boring.
Orange
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increases energy levels
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Enthusiasm
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Positivity
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Energy
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warmth
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excitement
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Happy
Orange is a combination of yellow and red - to very stimulating and attention getting colors. It is a warm color and associated with positivity and energy.
The Sunset has wonderful and breathtaking orange hues and is soothing, energizing and romantic.
Pink
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Romance
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Kindness
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Femininity
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Joyful
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Vibrant
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Refreshing
I personally believe there can never be too much pink, and my all time favorites are the pastel and rose pink shades. I just love them and cannot get enough of this wonderful color in the spectrum. It soothes me, makes me more joyful, soft and calm.
It has been proven that people who had been locked up in a pink room loose their aggression - in some prison cells they have the "pink room" - a room where aggressive prisoners are being brought into to calm down.
Read more about this fun fact here.
One of the most feminine colors in the spectrum, of course this color is the main color I am using for the Laila Regalado Brand. The Romance Silk Scarf is one of the most favored accessories by many of my friends - and it is my all-time favorite, too. I love wearing this Silk Scarf in my hair or as a purse-charm. Romantic and Vibrant - pink is not only for the girls, but for the feminine aspects within ourselves.
You can find this romantic design here.
Colors and their influence on our psyche - in a nutshell
Colors like orange, red, yellow and green work on different levels of our psyche. Where blue is a calming color, red is known to make us fiery, more passionate and even aggressive. Yellow stimulates, green calms and soothes. There also are hues of different mixed colors, an outcome of these is pink: pink is a mix of white and red, depending on how these two colors are mixed it can be soothing or stimulating.
Additional Resources on Color Psychology:
A wonderful book on the psychology of Color is "The Little Book of Color" by Karen Haller, you can find it on Amazon here.
99Designs is a German Website that explains the psychological effects of colors.