The Psychology Of Colour

As life continually throws hardships our way, one seemingly unimportant thing can easily save the mood and boost our day to day confidence: colour. As they all shine, various colours confer different perspectives, lending us inspired moments and energetic impulses that we sometimes don’t even know how to explain.

The psychology of colour is a science studied by colour experts and sociologists worldwide, who work tirelessly to crack the codes of hues, shades and variations. The results found by studies of colour are then applied to areas like marketing or fashion to ensure that the product is accepted, recognised and ultimately adopted by the consumer.

Colours can improve our overall mood in the blink of an eye - once you know what potentially suits you and makes your brain flutter with ideas, all that is left to do is surround yourself with colours that gloss over your day from the moment you open your eyes.

Colour is the first feature that we judge before deciding whether to place a product in the cart or back on the shelf. Before taste, smell, or touch, our eyes determine whether or not to trust a product.

Similarly, when you look at yourself in the mirror, the colours you wear immediately define how you will take on the day and impact your confidence levels. Wearing black will convey class and elegance, while orange brightens up everyone’s day around you, highlighting a sense of uniqueness and suggesting an energetic and daring mind. 

What if the colours you wear helped people form their first impression of you?

Countless studies have been run to answer questions about confidence and mood while wearing bright colours. In a study, published in 2010, researchers tried to understand the effect of colour on psychology and attractiveness, asking both men and women to wear T-shirts of various colours, after which they would be photographed and judged in terms of beauty.

The study found that the subjects were judged more confident and attractive for both genders when wearing black, red, then blue, thus confirming that clothing colour has an immediate effect on attractiveness. 

Colour, Preferences and Behaviour

In his 2012 paper, named Children’s Gender and Parents’ Color Preferences, sociologist and demographist Philip N. Cohen stresses that colour preferences appear to change from childhood to adulthood. Starting with warmer tones, we tend to lean towards cooler, calmer colours as we grow. Another study, by Joe Hallock, found that a sampled population of 232 individuals selected blue as their favourite colour, regardless of gender, followed by purple for women, and green for males.

However, far from just being data used to launch a new product, colours are tricky. People may prefer or avoid a range of colour due to local customs, superstition, or the aura that they feel it has. 

What we recommend doing is trying out various colours in front of the mirror, on a day where your confidence is at its highest, so you can understand what would make you look great in your own eyes.

Bright colours are intertwined with the concept of confidence. At the end of the day, we all know deep down what looks good on us.

Down the line, colours and textures that appeal most to our senses and convey health, energy and positivity are the ones that you should lean towards. By waking up all of your senses and triggering a feeling of wellbeing every time you look at a fabulous piece of jewellery or item of clothing, colours can warm up your day and calm you down simultaneously. At some point, the good feeling turns into a state of calm and wellbeing.

Whether you feel like looking bright and shiny or expect focus and clarity from your day, come back to this little guide when you feel like boosting your confidence, lifting your mood, and starting your day on the right foot.