Understanding human emotional reaction to color is important in advertising, fashion, product design, graphic design, and architecture. Color plays a major role in mood associations which determine the way we feel about a product. Researchers have shown that up to 60% of a consumer’s first impression of a product comes from its color.

Today, technology is giving us lots of new opportunities to use color in new and exciting ways. Trends are taking us into new color realms, but it is important for us to understand some basics about color before we can travel on new color journeys.

Selecting color goes beyond the psychological, biological, cultural influences and consumer lifestyle trends. It involves us as individual people. The most important rule of designing beneficial products or environments is the balance between unity and complexity. Color variety is psychologically beneficial. One color is not good and another bad, it is the symphony of relationships of color and design that make the strongest and most beneficial connections.

British psychologist M.D. Vernon wrote, "Thus we must conclude that normal consciousness, perception and thought can be maintained only in a constantly changing environment. When there is no change, a state of "sensory deprivation" occurs; the capacity of adults to concentrate deteriorates, attention fluctuates and lapses, and normal perception fades."

When reviewing the complete color picture, colors must change degree in shade, temperature, and intensity. The most successful color groupings depend on variety and contrast. Colorist, Faber Birren sums up our need for variety: "In response to environment, people expect all of their senses to be moderately stimulated at all times. This is what happens in nature, and it relates not only to color and changing degrees of brightness, but to variations in temperature and sound. The unnatural condition is one that is static, boring, tedious and unchanging. Variety is the spice -- and needed substance -- of life."

In 1953, color specialist Frederick M. Crewdson shared his views on the need to balance variety and unity: "Balance is the securing of unity in the midst of variety. Both variety and unity are necessary to sustain interest, and these opposing forces must be balanced. Variety is necessary to attract and arouse interest; unity is essential to create a favorable impression and to satisfy the moods and desires. Variety overdone is confusing and unpleasant; unity overdone is monotonous. The mark of good color arrangement is in knowing where to stop between the extremes."

In the 1960s, color specialist, Richard Ellinger had this to say about humans and our emotional response to tedium: "We are easily bored. We can easily get too much of anything. Emotionally, we demand relief whenever monotony threatens. We demand the play of opposing forces."

Published: June 8, 2001

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Kathy Lamancusa is a trend strategis, professional speaker and author who tracks the forces that impact our lives. Over 1.6 million copies of Kathy's books are in print, and she has appeared on numerous television and radio shows including Oprah! She is a public speaker who can offer organizations entertaining and enlightening peeks into what is coming and what is shaping change so that they can better reach their own customer bases.