When I was writing my Doctoral thesis, the focus of my research was on understanding how people think or act and consumer behaviour.
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Part of the research was based around what is called the servicescape. Or simply defined as the behaviour of people within a service environment affected by an organisation's landscape, exterior design, signage, parking, interior design, decor, equipment, layout, signage and colours.
These environmental stimuli affect the emotional states of pleasure and arousal in consumers. In part, these stimulus factors are physical features - for example, colour.
Organisations have designed their servicescapes to ultimately influence consumers' reactions. But does the colour of something, a place, object or item really impact a person's mood or mental health overall?
In an article in Psychology Today, 2015, Dr Sally Augustin, editor of Research Design Connections, stated: "the most important thing to know about colours, and our emotional response to them, has to do with colours' saturation and brightness. Saturation is how pure a colour is. Brightness is, as you'd expect, basically how light a colour seems".
Researchers have conducted numerous studies on the effects of colour on a person's behaviour, following are what some of those researchers, in part, have identified as special 'powers' of particular colours.
Green: has been linked to more creative thinking. Green, which is nature's colour, is restful, soothing, cheerful, and health-giving, Green is thought to relieve stress.
Red: seeing red has been linked to impaired analytical reasoning, for example, making it a bad option for the work environment. People tend to associate red with negative, danger-bearing emotions. Studies show that being exposed to red can cause some of the following physical effects; elevated blood pressure, enhanced metabolism and increased heart and respiration rates.
Purple: is one colour that can lead to differing feelings, emotions, and associations. Purple is soothing, mysterious, conveys wisdom, can be a sensual and exotic colour, or a symbol of royalty and wealth.
Yellow: can create feelings of frustration or anger. Yellow is a fatiguing colour to the eye due to the high amount of light it reflects. Yellow is also a bright colour that is often described as cheery and warm.
Blue: is a trustworthy colour. Blue can also be described as calm, peaceful, inspiring, tranquil, secure and serene. Blue can be a sad or sombre colour.
Orange: can be identified as a bright, happy, and uplifting colour. Orange is used to draw your attention, conjure feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth.
White: is the colour of 'purity' but it also can represent cold, bland, and sterile environments. White can alter a person's perceptions of a space, as white makes rooms seem larger and more spacious. White is the number one ranked colour for evoking moods of quietness and concentration.
Black: According to German scientist Hermann von Helmholz, "Black is real sensation, even if it is produced by entire absence of light. The sensation of black is distinctly different from the lack of all sensation". Black is usually associated with death in many cultures. Black is also a colour associated with unhappiness, sexuality, formality, and sophistication. In ancient Egypt, black represented life and rebirth. Black is the number one ranked 'fashion' colour overall, among 40 per cent of the females and 16 per cent of males surveyed, this is due to its assumingly slimming quality.
If black is the most popular fashion colour, then what colour is least favoured? According to Dr Steve Palmer, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, adults surveyed felt that their least favourite colour was a greenish-brown colour because they associated it with bad things, for example, faeces, snot and rotting vegetation.
Then there is the psychology of a colour you like so much that it alters the perception of something. Dr Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, has found that the colour red was associated with sweetness, so much so, that participants in one of his studies thought that salty popcorn tasted sweet because it had been served in a red bowl. Or people like red because it's the colour of strawberries or cherries. Conversely, per Dr Palmer, when people are presented repulsive objects in a colour they liked before, they have a decreased preference for that previously liked colour.
Colours can also be associated with the foods we eat. Food researchers conducted studies that reveal when people searched for food our conditioning has taught us to avoid toxic or spoiled foods, which are often blue, black, or purple. When food dyed blue was served to study participants, they lost their appetite; therefore mentally, we may shy away from those specific coloured foods.
