When you came into the office today did you feel like you were Walking on Sunshine’ sitting in a ‘Parisian Cafe’ or watching the ‘Kalahari Sunset?’ It’s quite possible the colour of your office walls have been coated in an emotional provoking colour to affect the way you feel.

Colour psychology plays a very important part in the marketing appeal of products, services, businesses and personal branding. It is the study of hues as a determinant of human behaviour and influences perceptions on the taste of food, a change in mood and the evocation of emotion.

Factors such as gender, age, and culture are still relevant, but colour is the principal cue to composition. A scientific fact that it is the first thing humanity instinctively looks to for the information we need in so we can response to what is in front of us.

The colour on your wall is part of a $30 Billion industry that is competitive and strategic when it comes to naming a colour. The process is rigorous with colour specialists, marketing professionals and lawyers coming together to connect consumers to colours that trigger feelings of calmness, comfort or adventure. So when you are painting, furnishing or accessorising your environment there are a few things to consider about the colours you are using.

Colours have descriptive categories. Visual, Geographical, Emotional and Experimental.

RED: A physically evoking colour, communicating positive attributes of strength, warmth, energy or stimulating fight, flight and excitement. In the negative it associates defiance, aggression, visual impact or strain. Red is an attention grabber, it raises pulse rates and alerts us to danger. It is perfect for drawing the eye to a particular place or setting the romantic mood in a specific space.

BLUE: Affects mental reaction and known as an intellectual hue that communicates trust, efficiency, duty, logic. It is positively associated with calmness, coolness, serenity and reflection and often seen in our emergency services like hospitals and police stations, banking and psychology services. Blue is the colour of the mind. Strong blues will stimulate clear thought and lighter, soft blues will calm the mind and aid concentration. Blue is the worlds favourite colour but can be perceived as cold, unemotional and unfriendly.

YELLOW: A highly emotional colour that screams optimism, confidence, extraversion, friendliness and creativity. The right yellow lifts our spirits and is the strongest colours psychologically. Too much or the wrong tone can cause us to give rise to fear and anxiety with our ‘yellow streak’ surfacing. These negative affects are represented with irrationality, fragility, depression and suicide. Yellow is a spectrum of extremes and forms part of the universal non verbal language and a primary colour in natures own powerful signalling system. For example, a black fly is a nuisance, a bee raises the alarm and causes us to react differently.

It is the talents of manufacturers that amuse and entertain us by connecting the name of a colour to an emotional response. Just imagine walking into a kitchen painted in Coconut Cream or sitting on a lounge covered in a ‘Field of Daisies’. Pillow cases that reflect a ‘Summer Spash’ or a dinning chair is ‘LOL Yellow’ are abstract methods of creating trends and inspiring environments to reflect mood and feelings associated with service, brand or product giving you an opportunity to communicate your business values.