The Colour of Emotion: How different colours can affect your mood

There are many ways that colour can influence your mood and make you feel differently depending on the hue you’re exposed to. Some colours can even make you do the opposite of their usual effects, like cool colours warming you up or warm colours cooling you down!

Artists and interior designers have long believed that colours have a dramatic effect on mood, feelings, and emotions. Research shows that colours strongly influence how we feel, as well as how others react to us. Experts found that although colours may influence our feelings and actions, those effects are influenced by individual, cultural, and situational factors. Colour psychology suggests different shades may have a range of effects, ranging from increasing our mood to creating anxiety.

Red, orange, and yellow (or warm colours) may all increase your mood. Colours that fall into the red part of the spectrum, which may have a yellow undertone, like scarlet reds, as well as red oranges, are known as warm colours. Shades from the colder side of the colour wheel, like blue and green, are associated with tranquillity and relaxation. In general, cool colours are calmer and less relaxing than warmer colours, although particular shades may exhibit different properties.

Whether you are feeling warmer or colder may be dependent on the colour tone of your surroundings. How different colours can influence emotions depends heavily on how bright, dark, tinged, or shaded a colour is, as well as whether it is a cool to warm colour. Colours can influence the degree of recall of things, direct attention, invoke emotions, and even influence motor functions and productivity.

Colour preferences also have an influence over what items people choose to buy, what clothes they wear, and how they decorate their environments. Colour preferences, from the clothes you wear to the cars you drive, sometimes serve as statements of how we wish others to see us. Otherwise, preferences about particular colours, or associations of colours with particular moods, emotions, or values, are highly personal and subjective and heavily influenced by culture and personal experiences, says Steve Palmer. Colours can play a major role in communicating nonverbally, creating specific moods, or even impacting decisions that people make.

Different shades of colours can be used in creating illusions and effects, e.g., an eye may be drawn towards a specific item in a room by changing its colour tone compared with that of the wall on which it is resting within the room. Room colours can also invoke certain moods, for instance, painting the walls in low-saturation colours like luminous greens will evoke feelings of tranquillity and relaxation. Another very important factor is making sure that the colour of paint that you pick does not negatively impact your mood.

Another way colours can produce happier emotions is to mix multiple primary and secondary colours together to produce a bright, young look. Colours are constantly used to try and get people to crave, to connect with a positive or negative tone, encourage confidence, feelings of tranquillity or energy, and in innumerable other ways. It is important to note that colours can be subjective: What may make one person feel happy may make another feel annoyed, depending on a viewer’s past experiences or cultural differences. Certain shades may evoke feelings of warmth and comfort, evoke a spirit of joy, or set up an atmosphere of tranquillity.

Here’s a breakdown of colour meanings:

Red

Red evokes feelings of passion, sexuality and anger. In Feng Shui, red is used to symbolise good luck and happiness. Red is also said to increase levels of concentration and make people more productive.

Orange

Studies have shown that orange is a very effective colour for increasing feelings of joy. People associate orange with happiness, optimism and warmth, which are all emotions that make us feel good. The more we see orange, the more we will be drawn to it and the better we will feel.

Yellow

A study showed that people who were exposed to yellow were more alert than those who were exposed to blue, red, or green. In addition, they performed better on cognitive tasks like memorizing a list of words. That sounds pretty good to us!

Green

Many people are drawn to green because of its calming effect on the mind and body, so it's often used in spaces like hospitals and retirement homes. Green is also thought to be a calming colour because it is the opposite on the colour wheel from red, which is known for causing feelings of anger. That said, not everyone feels calmed by green. It might bring out a person's fears or anxieties (or make them feel more comfortable with their fears), depending on their past experience with the colour green.

Blue

It's been said that blue symbolises depth, intelligence, and sincerity. For many people, blue evokes feelings of tranquillity or peace. Those who experience anxiety might find themselves feeling better in a room painted blue because it makes them feel more secure. Blue also has a calming effect on the human brain, which is why it is often used as the primary colour in children’s bedrooms. On the other hand, this colour may make some feel sad or depressed if they associate it with negative events such as the loss of a loved one; therefore, some psychologists suggest using yellow instead to counteract this feeling.

Purple

In some cultures, purple is seen as a very regal colour, associated with wealth and royalty. This is due in part to the purple dye extracted from murex snails (or purpura), which was greatly prized by ancient civilisations. When these were found, it was considered a sign of good fortune and prosperity. In other cultures, purple has been used to symbolise spirituality and wisdom, often because blue and red are opposites on the colour wheel.

Pink

This shade also symbolises comfort, which is why it's used in baby girl nursery themes and romantic settings. So if you're feeling down, try this colour to cheer up a little! It could be just the thing to put a smile on your face.

Black

People have often associated black with the feeling of sadness, but it's time to change that mindset. Black is a stylish colour and is perfect for those who love minimalism. It also provides a sense of balance because it's not too bright or dark. Black is great for creating a sense of sophistication and elegance in any room. This colour creates an airy, open space when used as an accent wall in kitchens or bathrooms.

White

Colour has the power to change our emotions. White is the purest colour, and it represents peace, truth, innocence and purity. It's a calming colour that will soothe you when you're feeling anxious or stressed out.

Colour temperature

Different colours elicit various emotions, depending on their temperature. The temperature of a colour is determined by the amount of black in the colour and its intensity. A warm colour has a lot more red, orange and yellow than a cool colour, which has more blue, purple and green. Cooler colours are said to be calming, while warmer colours evoke more intense emotions like anger or passion.

The colour you surround yourself with can change your mood. The next time you are feeling blue, try adding a pop of colour to your surroundings or wardrobe to help brighten up your day!