THE POWER OF COLORS
Tags: Archetypes, Illustration, Meaning, Graphics, Colors

Hi everybody, it’s us! Cinefood! :)

Here we are again with a new article!

Today we will talk about COLORS!

Now you may say: “I learned them in kindergarten!”

Well, my little disbeliever, every color has hidden meaning and archetypes useful to know.

Knowing them will help you in every single area: photography, graphics, video editing, fashion, … It can also allow you to “break” them and create new ones.

So, you’re welcome! ;)

Colors meaning and their uses

Colors, they are everywhere! Even when you talk about black & white (there are many discussions about it, but the most can say that black and white are definitely colors!).

Colors have always been there and their history starts with the prehistoric and their cave paintings. Over the centuries the meanings, conceptions and even the number of colors considered as such have changed: they were 3 for Aristotle (black, white and red), 7 for Newton (red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, indigo) and only 6 for Pastreau (red, blue, white, green, yellow, black).

Make up your minds, guys!

Well, these are the main colors from which all the others derive, and today we will discover their history and meanings.

RED

Is the color par excellence and one of the colors with the highest positive response!

It’s a bipolar color: it means elegance, energy, happiness, richness and plenty, but also aggressiveness, danger and drama. It’s the color of passions, ’cause it’s linked both to anger and love (both in a sentimental and in a physical way).

It has always been easy to produce and use and it has been a symbol of richness and power since ancient times, because it is the color of fire and blood.

In Europe, it was also the color of the bride on its most important day until the nineteenth century and in the meanwhile it was the color of hookers (We’ve said that this color is bipolar, haven’t we?).

In most of Asian countries it’s a symbol of prosperity and happiness.

In ancient times it was associated with male, until the Protestant Reformation, which considered red immoral and therefore prevented men from wearing it. So, it became the color of women (pink, nowadays, and blue for boys, you know?).

Today, the color red linked to a woman, means sensuality, strength, aggressiveness, confidence and also freedom and emancipation.

This color also has the ability to stimulate appetite, indeed it’s widely used by food brands, like Coca Cola or McDonald’s.

BLUE

The blue color was ignored until the 12th century: it was expensive and difficult to obtain and therefore little used. It was re-evaluated by the Marian cult, when the painters began to paint Mariah’s veil of blue.

It means stability, tradition, trust, but also depression, sadness, distance and hostile behavior. (An example is the song “I’m blue” by Eiffel 65, da bu di da bu da!). It’s also the color of communication, hygiene and transport safety.

Blue is a restful color: fixing it for a long time causes a slow heartbeat

Light blue means freshness, lightness, energy, hygiene and healthy stuff.

For the Egyptian, the color blue was linked to a sweet death, resurrection and fertility, ’cause of the Nile’s color. In China it’s linked to immortality.

It’s often used to communicate travel and transports and it’s not normally linked with food. That’s because it’s a color little present in nature and it’s normally associated with spoiled meat, so it doesn’t stimulate the appetite. However there are some exceptions, like Barilla, Red Bull and Pepsi.

GREEN

Green it’s an eccentric and relaxing color, it was recommended for wallpaper in the 18th century. It’s an easy color to get but is chemically unstable, in fact is the color of gambling and fortune.

It means growth, health, plenty, peace, natural things, freedom and serenity, but also the color of anger, jealousy and illness. It’s also the color of money and good people in gardening (It’s not my case).

It’s the color of dragons, demons and evil beings, and during the middle ages, actors avoided wearing it on stage for bad luck. Then it became the color of gambling in the 18th century. In the 19th century it became a color of permission with the creation of street signs. Today it’s the color of freedom.

Today it’s associated with natural and healthy food and it’s also used for surgeons’ coats. That’s because it is a restful color and complementary to the red of blood.

YELLOW

This color was more appreciated in ancient times than today, ’cause it was associated with richness and wisdom. It was used in weddings in ancient Rome and it was the color of the emperor in China.

In Europe this color assumed negative connotations during the Middle Ages, due to the rivalry with gold. So it became the color of betrayal and jealousy. Another reason for its bad reputation was related to its production: yellow was obtained from sulfur and therefore it had “the smell of the devil”.

It means happiness, life, brightness, comfort and friendship but also jealousy, shame, illness and betrayal.

It’s a warm and motivating color, usually associated with sweet flavors and it stimulates the appetite. It’s also linked to youthful energy, children’s toys.

PINK

It’s a lighter version of red. During the 18th century it became the color of femininity and tenderness. Then it also has been linked to omosessuality: during the Holocaust, it was a way to distinguish homosexuals in concentration campsand. Then it became the color of the LGBT+ community before today’s rainbow flag.

It means wonder, kindness, childhood, pure love, romance and sweetness. It’s associated with emotions.

It’s linked to femminility, but this is a recent connotation. At first pink was, yes, associated with breast-feeding and protection but pink became a Girl’s color during ’50s, with the birth of Barbie. Since then, pink is associated with girls and light blue with boys.

In marketing, it’s associated with skin care, hygiene, childhood and youth.

PURPLE

This color is linked to the mystical and contemplative aspect of the individual. It’s a color little present in nature and for this reason it has taken on an impalpability’s aura.

It means quiet, creativity, imagination, magic, wisdom, spirituality. It’s associated with death and mystery.

In Christian religion it’s the color of the lenten season and in the meanwhile it’s an unlucky color for actors, because in the Middle ages, during this season, all theatrical performances were suspended.

In a dark shade, violet is associated with sadness, melancholy and loneliness, while in a lighter shade it means creativity, joy and freedom of expression.

This color isn’t normally associated with food (except Milka’s, yummy!) ’cause it doesn’t stimulate appetite.

ORANGE

This color is difficult to produce and it wasn’t used in the middle age because the mixed colors were considered impure. It was revalued during the 14th century due to the importation of the homonymous fruit.

Orange is a bipolar color too (like red): it represents both childhood and maturation, sunrise and sunset, humanity and divinity.

It’s also associated with friendship, vital energy, hospitality, aggressivity and meditation (it is not by chance the color of the robes of the Buddhist monks).

In ancient Rome, it was the color of the bride’s veil: it indicated the union in marriage and the impossibility to separate from the husband (another bipolarism: a comfortable life in exchange for freedom).

In Asia it’s associated with good luck and prosperity while in Latin countries it’s linked to gold.

BROWN

This color refers to a dimension of corporeity. The need or the rejection of this color indicate a precise attitude towards what is material.

It’s linked to dirt, poverty and brutality, but also with earth, family, nature as a trunk that means prudence, maturation, patience and perseverance.

It’s usually associated with baked or grilled food and it stirs up welcoming and comforting sensations.

WHITE

It’s intended as the subtraction of all colors and it means totality.

It’s associated with new beginnings, innocence, pureness and virtue but also with sacredness, redemption and religion.

In Asia it’s linked with death and grieving.

It stimulates the appetite and it’s associated with light food. If it’s approached to black represents the duality of good-evil.

BLACK

This color has been difficult to obtain during history. It has the capacity to absorb 100% of light, so it doesn’t reflect anything. For this reason it’s associated with danger, cruelty and the afterlife. It gives us an idea of absolute and emptiness.

In Europe it’s linked to magic, superstition, death, sins and fear but also to elegance and luxury. It’s also a stylish color.

It was the color of pirates, because of their flags. Then it changed its meaning for political reasons and became the color of absolutism and pain during the 1900s.

While in Europe and in America it has negative meanings, in Asia it’s linked to monks and ninja’s, so it means both physical power and holiness.