the Emotional Response of Colour
If we remove the physics from the subject of light and colour for a moment and look at the psychology we will find that the descriptions of warm or cold colours have a great impact on our emotional response to an image. As a warm blooded species, most humans are more comfortable in an environment that is warmer rather than colder. For many, the archetypal vision of relaxed, home comforts might be an image of a roaring log fire in a room diffused with a deep orange glow. It is natural therefore that images with warmer colours (lower temperatures as defined by the Kelvin scale) should have deep associations in the human psyche with comfort and an air of welcoming and desire.
Contrast this with images with an overall cold range of colours and the human reaction is quite different. Its like pulling the welcome mat from under your feet. Take a look at the two pictures of the Taj Mahal.
Although similar images in terms of content, the messages they convey are quite different. This has nothing to do with artistic merit or right and wrong. Both images are successful for their designated purpose. However the orange coloured version might inspire the viewer to kick off their shoes and walk lazily through the water sipping cool drinks and dreaming of hot balmy nights.
The tones of the blue version depict the first light of dawn, its colours reminiscent of the chill associated with the early morning. Though in fact the ambient air temperature may be similar to the ambient air temperature in the orange version of the image our perception and therefore our emotional response will be quite different.
In these examples we have looked at colour temperature in the context of how it relates to ambient air temperature and this may seem a logical conclusion to form based on the knowledge that fire is yellow-orange (warm colours) and generates heat and ice is associated with a blue aura (cold colour) and generates cold. If we now ignore the link with air temperature, psychology offers us further insights into how our emotions are affected by exposure to warm or cold colours.
Warm colours are considered to invoke such emotions as happiness, elation and enthusiasm in the yellow to orange range and aggression and hostility in the red range. From within the cold colour range, blue and green are associated with serenity and refuge and black, brown and grey with distress and despondency. Of course these statements are an over simplification and broad generalisation when in fact the perception of colour temperature psychologically is very subjective.
And yet we see examples of this psychology in practice everyday, principally in the field of advertising where posters and television advertisements use orange and yellows to inject enthusiasm, joy and vitality, blues and greens to inspire confidence and security and not unsurprisingly a distinct lack of brown and grey. It would be imprudent however to implement these findings into an advertising campaign without first paying heed to such vital factors as fashion and cultural differences which in extreme cases can turn much of the theory upside down.
Take the test yourself. Does the picture of the lake instil a sense of serenity in you inspired by the cold blue light?
Do you feel enthused and a sense of happiness when looking at the warm colour of the yellow walls and orange doors?
