Choosing Colour- The Meaning Behind Colours

Posted on 8th April 2018 by Emily
Filed under Papermill Direct News

Here at papermilldirect we LOVE colour and thought we would start to look a bit deeper into what some of our favourite colours mean and reflect. 

Grey 

The colour grey is the colour of intellect, knowledge, power and wisdom. It is a cool, neutral, and balanced colour and is identified as being long-lasting and classic.

Coming from a colour psychology perspective, grey is a compromise as it is either black or white, grey is the transition between the two colours. 

As grey is a trusted colour several highly successful brand use grey throughout their branding and the colour is often associated with the brands identity. Honda, Apple and Mercedes all use grey within their branding. 

“One of the greatest assets and one of the easiest ways to sway decision or attract an emotive response – or alienate a consumer – is through colour,” says June Mcleod, author of Colour Psychology Today.

- Did you know that the human eye can distinguish about 500 shades of grey

Red 

"Colour conveys emotion faster than words." - Marketing Week

Red is one of the main colours used to draw in peoples attention, this is because red stimulates energy as it is characteristically exciting. When brands have sales or offers on they more often than not will use the colour red in their promotional materials to attract people attention. 

The colour red has more personal links than any other colour, it is commonly associated with meanings of love, passion, desire, heat and sexuality. 

Studies show that the colour red can create physical effects.

- Did you know red is the highest arc of the rainbow.

Brown 

Brown is the colour of the earth and gives a sense of orderliness. It represents durability, comfort, reliability and stability.

A lot of companies will use the colour brown to signify a natural or organic product they are selling. 

Brown is a primary colour on the planet alongside the colour green. 

Brands that associate with the colour brown use this colour for two different reason, the first reason is to symbolise that they have a no-nonsense attitude, UPS is an example. The second reason is to symbolise class and luxury like Louis Vuitton. 

- Did you know if you dream of the colour brown, it means you will be lucky with money.

Green 

Green represents natural and calming feelings and is often referred to as the “colour of life”. 

It is an emotionally positive colour and is the most common colour in the natural world. 

The colour green is also associated with money and greed and people who are jealous are often referred to as the “green eyed monster”.

- Did you know green was the favourite colour of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Pink

Pink is a delicate colour and represents compassion, nurturing and love. 

Pink is a sign of hope as it inspires warm and comforting feelings. 

The colour pink is a sign of hope in colour psychology. 

- Did you know the pink ribbon is an internationally recognised symbol of hope and awareness in the fight against breast cancer.

Yellow

Spring is represented by the colour yellow, as it a sign that the sun is coming. 

This colour represents happiness, hope, positivity and optimism. 

Yellow is psychologically the happiest colour in the colour spectrum.

Yellow is the most highly visible of all colours and is often used to get peoples attention.    

- Did you know that in Japan yellow is the colour of courage. 

Tagged: Colour