Sometimes colors create a physical reaction (red has been shown to
raise blood pressure) and at other times it is a cultural reaction (in
the U.S. white is for weddings, in some Eastern cultures, white is the
color for mourning and funerals). Colors follow trends as well.
Avocado, a shade of green, is synomous with the 60s and 70s in the
minds of some consumers.
The Colors of Calm
Cool colors tend to have a
calming effect. At one end of the spectrum they are cold, impersonal,
antispectic colors. At the other end the cool colors are comforting and
nurturing. Blue, green, and the neutrals white, gray, and silver are
examples of cool colors.
In nature blue is water and green is plant
life - a natural, life-sustaining duo. Combine blues and greens for
natural, watery color palettes. Heat up a too cool color palette with a
dash of warm colors such as red or orange. If you want warmth with just
a blue palette, choose deeper blues with a touch of red but not quite
purple or almost black deep navy blues.
Cool colors appear
smaller than warm colors and they visually recede on the page so red
can visually overpower and stand out over blue even if used in equal
amounts.
The Colors of Excitement
Warm colors rev us up
and get us going. The warmth of red, yellow, or orange can create
excitement or even anger. Warm colors convey emotions from simple
optimism to strong violence. The neutrals of black and brown also carry
warm attributes.
In nature, warm colors represent change as in the
changing of the seasons or the eruption of a volcano. Tone down the
strong emotions of a warm palette with some soothing cool or neutral
colors or by using the lighter side of the warm palette such as pinks,
pale yellows, and peach.
Warm colors appear larger than cool
colors so red can visually overpower blue even if used in equal
amounts. Warm colors appear closer while their cool counterparts
visually recede on the page.
The Colors of Intrigue
Colors with attributes
from both the warm and cool colors can calm and excite. These are
colors derived from a mix of a cool and warm color such as blue and red
or blue and yellow.
A cool blue and a warm red combine to create
deep purples and pale lavendars. To a lesser extent, shades of green,
especially turquoise and teal, also have both the warming and cooling
effects born of warm yellow and cool blue. Some light neutrals such as
cream, pale beige, and taupe evoke some of the same warm and cool
feelings of purples and greens. The opposite or clashing color for
purple is green and for green, purple.
The Colors of Unity
The neutral colors of black,
white, silver, gray, and brown make good backgrounds, serve to unify
diverse color palettes, and also often stand alone as the only or
primary focus of a design.
Neutral colors help to put the focus on
other colors or serve to tone down colors that might otherwise be
overpowering on their own. To some extent blacks, browns, tans, golds,
and beige colors are considered warm. While white, ivory, silver, and
gray are somewhat cooler colors. Yet these warm and cool attributes are
flexible and more subtle than that of reds or blues.