We give strong unconscious reactions to different colours, therefore – knowingly or unknowingly – we are bombarded by “colour-coded” stimuli many times a day. I have a passion for colours since my very early teenage years. I even aspired to be an artist for a while, but then I finally chose psychology and for several years after graduation I was involved in a research dealing with the symbolism of colours. In this series, I would like to share this passion with you by having a closer look at the meaning of one colour at a time.
After exploring the meaning of red and blue we continue our journey with the most cheerful and most luminous of all the colours of the spectrum, yellow, which is also one of the three basic colours (red, blue and yellow).
Yellow is enthusiastic
It’s the colour of happiness, joy, cheerfulness and optimism. Similarly to red, it is also very dynamic and stimulative (it increases blood pressure, pulse and respiration rates in a manner similar to red), but this effect is noticeably less stable.
Together with red, yellow urges us to take action and make quick decisions, yellow is the colour of spontaneity and temptation - this is why many fast food restaurants use these two colours.
Yellow symbolises the release from burdens, freedom from problems or restriction. It represents the state when we let ourselves go and act freely without any limits. Like the genie we let out from the bottle.
Vincent Van Gogh was a real sunshine lover and used this colour very frequently on his paintings once wrote this to his sister: “Now we are having beautiful warm, windless weather that is very beneficial to me. The sun, a light that for lack of a better word I can only call yellow, bright sulphur yellow, pale lemon gold. How beautiful yellow is!”
Yellow represents radiating energy, warmth of sunshine, vitality, joy of life. Many brands use this “optimistic” side of yellow – like the Lipton tea here:
Yellow is easy-to-notice
Yellow captures our attention more than any other colour, because our eye processes this wavelength first (our lateral peripheral vision is quicker for yellow than for any other colours).
Try to look straight ahead and ask someone to show you yellow, red, green, blue objects (cards, pages or balls), and try to figure out how quickly you start seeing these. Most probably you will be able to see a yellow object "in the corners of your eyes" much sooner than any other colour – even red.
This explains why it is frequently used for cautionary signs, emergency/rescue vehicles or big earth-moving, excavation, construction machines and cranes. We can avoid danger by perceiving these big objects as soon as possible. But apart from these yellow is widely used in other “danger zones” for the very same reason, for example on traffic lights, blinkers of cars and several other signs indicating danger. These yellow/black danger signs can be seen perfectly even from a long distance.
Yellow is creative
Yellow refers to all activities that we engage in with full enthusiasm and really enjoy doing, it represents our “childish” self, the boheme side of us. Yellow is the “flow” experience; full engagement in something that we love. It puts us in a good mood, spins up our brain and muscles, encourages us to do something joyful. Yellow evokes spontaneity, playfulness and creativity.
Yellow is the colour of new ideas (do you remember that lightbulb that represents “idea”: it is bright yellow, too), it helps us to find new ways of doing things. Many creative agencies have yellow in their corporate design. Need a good idea? Just meditate with a nice yellow shade in mind and it will come soon…
Yellow is considered to be a childish colour, therefore many products and companies that target children or teenagers are using bright yellow (like Chupa Chups lollipops, McDonald’s, Cheerios, etc.). Also yellow is the colour of leisure products and services that promote fun, amusement and playfulness (eg. Legoland).
What does yellow tell about you…
If your favourite colour is yellow then you are probably a very good social person with a lot of friends and acquaintances – you are very good in networking. You are active, outgoing, talkative and friendly. You like to be in the limelight, you like telling jokes, you have a good sense of humour.
You are probably a person of changing moods, but when you are in a good mood, then you usually have a happy disposition and are cheerful and fun to be with. You are a good company, bringing “spice” and energy into any community. You are interested in a lot of things and enjoy trying out new things, you like changes and try to avoid boredom. You like freedom and independence and chase your dreams.
You are creative, often it is you who comes up with new ideas – but you are usually not the person who brings your ideas to life. After finding the idea, you run for the next one; you are definitely not the type of person who likes sitting for a long time.
Yellow in different cultures
- In Japan, yellow means courage.
- In many European countries and in Russia, they refer to an insane asylum as a "yellow house."
- In the 20th century, yellow – unfortunately – was “reinvented” as a symbol of exclusion, following a pattern from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. (European Jews were forced to wear yellow “Stars of David” during the Nazi era).
- In early Christian tradition, yellow was an ambivalent colour: on one hand it was associated with the Pope and the golden keys of the Kingdom, but on the other hand it represented Judas Iscariot, or more broadly betrayal, envy and jealousy. It is because Judas is usually portrayed wearing a yellow toga.
- In China, yellow is associated with pornography. (The Chinese terms “yellow picture” or “yellow book” refers to such contents.)
- In Aztec culture, yellow referred to food, especially corn, (the main food at that age).
Interesting facts about yellow
- If you have tried to paint, you might know that yellow is the only colour that cannot be “darkened” with adding black. If you try to add a little black to yellow, you get an ugly brownish-greenish dye.
- Yellow colour has a high light reflectance value and because of this it may act as a secondary light source. (A nice way to cheer up dark rooms, but beware of the quantity, because excessive use of bright yellow can irritate your eyes!)
- The yellow ochre was the earliest colour of paint: the prehistoric cave paintings (eg. At Lascaux or Altamira) were already painted with it 17.000 years ago!
- In Europe and America, yellow colour is not on top of the preference list; in a 2000 survey, only 6 percent of respondents named it as their favorite color.
- A room painted yellow feels warmer than a room painted white, and a lamp with yellow light seems more natural than a lamp with white light.
- Yellow is the colour of the Solar Plexus Chakra, that is located in the stomach area. This chakra represents vitality. When it is open, it helps to empower a person and turn his dreams and goals into reality.
If you are interested, here you can read the previous parts in this series:
Introduction
Fiery Red
Cool Blue
Forest Green
Vivid Orange
Royal Purple
Chocolate Brown
Baby Pink
Literature used
Max Lüscher: „The Lüscher Colour Test", Remarkable Test That Reveals Your Personality Through Color
Max Lüscher: „The 4-Color Person"
Max Lüscher, „Colors of Love" : Getting in Touch with Your Romantic Self
Victoria Finlay: Colour: Travels Through The Paint Box published in North America as Color: A Natural History of the Palette
http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/personality-color-yellow.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/smartertravel/what-colors-mean-in-other_b_9078674.html
http://www.inspectorinsight.com/semiotics/the-meaning-of-yellow-the-colour-of-the-golden-sun/