The Meanings of Colors: How Do Colors Change Your Life

Why did you choose your current smartphone? For its excellent performance? Large internal storage or remarkably long battery life?

Color doesn't seem to come out in front when choosing a phone. What you may not realize is that color can actually be the deciding factor that pushes you towards that purple iPhone 12 at the last minute.

What's your favorite color? Have you ever wondered why you prefer that color over others?

Why Does Color Matter?

We not only see colors, but we feel them as well.

Colorful iMac

We associate colors with so many things. Green has the magic of making people feel cool in summer; a brightly colored dress might improve our mood; warning signs are often red. They all bear social meanings that everyone can understand, like traffic lights.

We associate colors with personal things too. Pink is my favorite color, while I used to have everything in black and white as a teen. Yohji Yamamoto, a world-renowned Japanese fashion designer, regarded black as a beautiful color that conveys the message: I don't bother you – don't bother me! Color can be very subjective. It can evoke emotions that are related to our experiences or something we feel connected to.

The psychology behind colors is complicated, so is understanding people's perception of them.

Still, we can find some common understandings of these colors:

Blue

The color blue is associated with inclusiveness, vastness, knowledge, integrity, and calmness

The ocean is blue. The sky is blue. They are inclusive, vast, beautiful, and serene.

That's what people often associate with blue. It's powerful in a quiet way. Blue can soothe your eyes and relax your mind. It's one of the recommended colors for job interviews and important business meetings to impress people with knowledge, integrity, and calmness. Too much blue, however, can sometimes make people feel down.

Red

The color black reflects authority and power

Red is the color of our blood, the lifestream. It goes without saying that red represents energy, warmth, and enthusiasm. It's used to grab people's attention, with a stop sign, warning, and the red carpet.

If you want to call attention to yourself, use red; if you want to win a race, wear red. Compared with blue, red is powerful in an aggressive way. Athletes wearing red have a higher chance of winning, as they appear aggressive and dominant.

The red and black (which I’ll cover later) A.C. Milan jersey, for example, represents the players’ fiery ardor and the opponents' fear of challenging the team.

Yellow

The color yellow reminds people of spring, happiness, and enlightenment

Yellow is the most visible on the color spectrum. It doesn't draw as much attention as red does, but it attracts the eye first. This explains why cautionary signs and school buses are typically yellow. Some US counties now use yellow firetrucks, as they're more likely to be seen.

The brightness of yellow reminds us of sunshine and spring, which evokes happiness, optimism, and enlightenment. So, subconsciously, yellowish things can perk you up and maybe inspire new ideas.

Gold

The color gold relates to wisdom, wealth, and dignity

Gold is a cousin to the color yellow. It's also related to wisdom, warmth, and happiness. Gold also represents wealth, enchantment, and dignity. Just think of the metal gold.

A gold dress could easily place you in the limelight at a party, but it could be too flashy during the day. So, be careful when you try to incorporate too much of the color into your life. You don't want to make others think of you as too materialistic or trying to show off.

Mixing gold with other colors is a good idea. The color of gold adds luster and harmonizes with other colors.

Black

The color black reflects authority and power

Technically, black is not a color but a shade. It absorbs all colors and doesn't reflect light. We can combine pigments to create shades of black on paper to use black like other colors.

What does something that "absorbs everything" remind you of? A black hole? A tyrant? It explains why black reflects authority and power, which can sometimes arouse fear.

Black hasn't been the Pantone color of the year for the past two decades. However, it's often seen in the fashion world. You can use black to show seriousness and elegance. Classic is forever. Classic is safe.

Grey

The color grey is neutral and balanced

Grey is the most passive color, lying between black and white.

People tend to relate grey to dullness, coldness, loss, or void. When clouds turn grey, it's about to rain. Ashes are grey. But some people love the color grey because it's neutral and balanced, meaning it's a color "without color." Grey is adaptable and can become anything.

Like black, grey is classic and commonly used in the high-tech industry as many metals are grey.

To some extent, color can be used to express ourselves. It affects not only how we feel about ourselves but what others think of us too. It can sway thinking, change moods, or even affect our well-being. Of course, no one has to stick to one color. We can choose different colors for different occasions, or mix them as we wish.

Take a look at how PITAKA designers use colors on the MagEZ Case for iPhones.