COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY IS BULLSHIT

(AT LEAST until we have more research on it). Here’s why

Okay, hear me out. I'm not saying colour psychology is completely and totally bullshit, just like… sort of… mostly bullshit — until it’s been studied waaaay more. Here’s Why:

Strap in, this is a hefty one.

IN CASE YOU DON’T KNOW:

Colour psychology is the study of colour and how it affects human behaviour. If you give it a quick Google, you’ll find a bunch more examples similar to the below.

There are a heap of articles claiming that blue means X, green means Y, and yellow means Z.

1: THE SCIENCE DOES NOT EXIST

That’s the problem with everyone relying so heavily on colour psychology — the science simply does not exist. Well, not yet anyway.

There hasn’t actually been enough research into it for us to rely on it so heavily — like ACTUAL research. I hate to break it to you, but Jan’s arts & crafts blog, or some random marketing website really don’t cut it as credible sources.

Andrew J. Elliot, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Rochester did a 2015 study that unpacked a lot of this. He basically found that the science really just isn’t there yet.

“It is premature to offer any bold theoretical statements, definitive empirical pronouncements, or impassioned calls for application; rather, it is best to be patient and to humbly acknowledge that color psychology is a uniquely complex area of inquiry that is only beginning to come into its own.

Findings from color research can be provocative and media friendly, and the public (and the field as well) can be tempted to reach conclusions before the science is fully in place. There is considerable promise in research on color and psychological functioning, but considerably more theoretical and empirical work needs to be done before the full extent of this promise can be discerned and, hopefully, fulfilled.”

Source: Elliot AJ. Color and psychological functioning: a review of theoretical and empirical work. April 2015. PMID: 25883578

TL;DR: It seems promising, but we don’t know enough about it yet.

Well, damn.

2: NOT ALL HUES ARE EQUAL

I mean, really, you can’t possibly tell me that both of these colours really, truly communicate the same feeling.

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you want your brand to feel trustworthy, you need to do a hell of a lot more than just use the colour blue.

The same goes for all the other colours of the rainbow.

Facebook is blue, but does anyone really trust that Zuck guy? Just sayin’.

3: BAKER-MILLER PINK

You might've heard of this famous shade of pink painted on the walls of jails in the 80s. Alexander Schauss, the guy behind it all, through his research found that this particular shade of pink could temporarily reduce hostile or aggressive behavour.

But the catch? If you *actually* look into it, you’ll find that few years later Schauss himself, and again psychologist Oliver Genschow 30 years later, both recreated the original experiment to prove if it did, actually have any legs.

Basically both of the follow-up studies were a huge flop and found that Baker-Miller Pink didn't reduce aggressiveness at all.

Are we really shocked?

4: DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF COLOUR

Personal perception is a huge part of this conversation that is forgotten way too often. Personal experiences, religion, cultural background, our heritage, gender identity, where we’ve come from, and events in our lives can all influence how we naturally react to particular colours. Believe it or not, even language plays a part in this.

Just like that itchy as hell purple jumper your mum used to always force you to wear when you were little, so now, the colour purple naturally gives you the heeby jeebies.

And when it comes to branding, colour is just one part of the puzzle. Without typography, copywriting, shapes, layout styles, photography, art direction, and everything else — colour can create a totally different feeling. It’s these elements that all make up the bigger picture, to pull on our heart strings and create an emotional reaction.

5: IT’S NOT AN ACCESSIBLE APPROACH TO DESIGN

What about people with vision impairment? What about people who struggle with colour blindness?

That blue that you specifically chose just because you want your brand to appear trustworthy, isn’t going to be perceived as that same shade of blue by all of us.

This approach is putting too much responsibility on colour alone, to tell an entire brand story.

6: IT’S A LITTLE… CONTRADICTIVE

In Western culture, I’m sure a lot of us will associate the colour red with passion and love, but we also associate red with warning and emergency. And what about fast food, or holidays like Christmas? You can see where I’m going with this.

The problem with this approach to colour psychology is that it’s also kinda claiming that one colour can single-handedly communicate a bunch of different messages simultaneously. But if you ask me, this doesn’t really add up.

So, instead, look at the energy of the colour — is it a muted and soft red, or is it an electric red that’s going to grab attention? What other elements is it paired with? What other colours are in the palette?

7: COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY DOESN’T HELP US PUSH THE BOUNDARIES

If we follow the ‘rules’ of colour psychology, then for a skincare brand using natural ingredients we should be choosing greens, right?

Although green might tell a story of ‘nature’, every man and their dog uses the colour green to communicate their sustainability / natural / from-the-earth message.

So if you're trying to stand out in an already saturated market, is green really going to be the best choice for this?

I don’t know about you, but I see this as an opportunity to redefine the ‘meaning’ of particular colours. Now THAT’S exciting.

SO, WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

Focus more on how your palette works as a whole — and the identity as a whole — rather than selecting particular colours because of a ‘meaning' some random article online claims colours have.

When we look at the identity as a whole, pieces of the puzzle like copywriting, photography, and art direction are just as important as the logo and colour palette, but are too often overlooked.

Until we’ve got more research and science in this area, I'd take colour psychology with a grain of salt. Or maybe like the whole entire amount of salt in the Pacific Ocean.

And like they always say, don’t believe everything you see online.

AFTER ALL, DESIGN RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN.

Who said we even need rules about olour in the first place? And honestly, if you ask me, this world could do with a whole lot more colour in it. 🌈

When colour psychology has been properly researched, then we’ll talk.