Red

Red. Red is such an important color in our lives. It is used so frequently for so many things. In human color psychology, red is associated with emotions that stir the blood, like anger, passion, and love. Red is also used as a symbol for sin, guilt, and passion. It is related to adultery-- in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, the main character Hester Prynne is punished for adultery by having a red letter A sewn into her clothing. The devil, who represents sin, is almost always depicted as being red, surrounded by flames.

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Red catches people's attention, and is often used either in a negative way to indicate danger and emergency, or in a positive way in advertising to gain more viewers, or in nature, as a ripe fruit announces its readiness with its red color. Several studies have indicated that red carries the strongest reaction of all the colors, with the level of reaction decreasing gradually with orange, yellow, and white, respectively. Because of this, scientists have repeatedly recommended red for warning signals, labels, and signs. Because of these recommendations, red has seen widespread use as a danger signal, in stop signs, to warn people of extreme heat or flammability, and even to signal warnings in sports such as soccer.

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Red is one of the most common colors used on national flags throughout the world. On these flags it carries the same meanings which it does anywhere else: the blood, sacrifice, and courage of those who defended their country, the sun and the hope and warmth it brings, and the sacrifice of Christ's blood (in some historically Christian nations) are a few examples. Red is the color of the flags of several countries which once belonged to the former British Empire.

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Turquoise

I think turquoise is an often overlooked color. We automatically think of blue, or even teal. And in some shades, turqouise isn't the most appealing color, but other times it's quite nice. The word turquoise actually comes from the French word for Turkish. The color is actually based on the gemstone turquoise...

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In holistic medicine, turquoise is believed to have a caliming effect. It is often used to treat patients who are prone to panic attacks or mania. Many psychiatric hospitals paint their walls turquoise or other shades of light blue to calm their patients.

Turquoise is also closely related to water. This is where the shades aqua and aquamarine get their names. The Carribbean is often referred to as 'The Turquoise' because of the shallow waters that take on the color in sunlight.

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Yellow

Yellow. First thing that comes to my mind is sunshine. Which then leads me to happiness. So generally, yellow is a happy color. It is very pleasing and goes well with other colors. Like red, yellow does have conflicting meanings. Yellow is often associated with cowardice and deceit, the complete opposite of happiness and hope.

Yellow is also used as a warning because of the high visibility. It is also used as a hazardous color, to grab your attention. Workers wear yellow for safety, and yellow signs warn us of hazards on the road.


For years yellow ribbons were worn as a sign of hope as women waited from their men to come marching home from war. Today, they are still used to welcome home loved ones. Many familes put yellow ribbons on trees in front of their homes, to signify that they have a loved one in the armed forces.

Yellow has many different meanings in other cultures as well, and often meanings that we would find odd to relate to yellow. Yellow is for mourning in Egypt and actors of the Middle Ages wore yellow to signify the dead. Yet yellow has also represented courage in Japan, merchants in India, and peace.

My Favorite Color!

My favorite color is blue. Why? Honestly, I've always liked blue because I just never wanted to like all the girly colors like pink and purple. I enjoy any shade of blue. My room at home is a relaxing sky blue color, with white trim...it reminds me of clouds in the sky.


Blue is a very interesting color in that it is a symbol for two very opposing feelings. We think of depressed and sad as 'feeling blue.' But, when we think of a blue sky as being happy and relaxing, and without one, it's a bad day. Dark blues relate to the sadness of blue, and light blues relate to the happier blue feelings.


One of the most important resources on Earth, water, is blue. Well, that is the first color we relate to water...it is actually clear, but can often be brown or green. We wouldn't be able to live without water...our bodies are made up almost entirely of water.

Loyalty to Color

Through time, people have become loyal to colors that symbolize things. Schools, sports teams, organizations, and even countries adopt colors to be recongized by, and their followers become loyal to.

Many schools have 'school colors' which their sports teams adorn their uniforms with and interiors of buidings are often painted with these colors. Often, the color becomes part of the school mascot even....



Schools form student groups to support their sports teams, and will cover themselves head to toe in their school's colors....


Professional sports teams also are associated heavily with color. The Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and countless other teams include color in their name/mascot. At any sporting event, it is instantly known what team you are a fan of, based on the colors you are wearing.

Many organizations identify with colors, including labor organizations and even greek organizations. Having a color to bring people together helps to unify a group of people who otherwise may not have anything in common

Animals & Color

Animals take full advantage of color, and use it in many different ways. Some animals use colors to warn that they are dangerous. Animals also use colors to camouflage themselves from predators or prey. Even still, animals use their colors to attract and impress mates.

Poison dart frogs are probably best known for their bright colors that warn of danger. The bright colors in patterns on their back warn humans, and other animals to stay away, because they are dangerous. Some animals also will mimic these types of warning colors to trick other animals into thinking they are dangerous, which wards off predators.

Many animals also use their color to camouflage themselves. They adapt their color to the nature of their surroundings, which allows them to hide from a predator, or hide from their prey.

Tartan Hawkfish

Leafy Sea Dragon

Animals also use color to attract and impress a potential mate. They will fluff up feathers or fur to create an illusion of size, and display beautiful colors and patterns. Probably one of the most well known examples of this is the male peacock. Many male bird species, like ducks and cardinals, will have a different color than the female, in order to show of.

Color

I think we very often taken color for granted. It probably sounds like a silly thing to say, but we really overlook all that color does for us. Color saves lives, represents how we feel, who we are, informs us, and we even learn to love and hate certain colors.

Color saves lives by being present in an ambulance, to tell people to get out of the way because someone is in a life threatening situation. It also saves lives by warning us of dangerous situations or hazardous materials.

In addition to saving lives, color expresses how we feel. We associate many colors with different feelings, both emotional and physical. Green can represent envy, but also sickness. Red can represent love, but also anger as well.

We use color to represent who we are or where we are from in flags. Different patterns of colors put together make up a flag that symbolizes an entire nation. The flag of the United Kindom is actually made up of the three flags of the countries that are the UK: St. George's Cross of England, St. Andrew's Cross of Scotland, and St. Patrick's Cross of Ireland. All three are simple designs which are overlayed on each other to create a more elaborate symbol of the united countries.

We also learn to like or dislike a certain color because of what it is associated with. One good example of this would be the associations of red and blue with the political parties. Democrats dislike the "red" states because they are primarily republican, and vice versa.