It Can Cheer You Up, Calm You Down, Even Make You Smarter
Color can make you feel good or feel sick. It can tire you or increase your productivity. Color is perceived differently depending on your age, mood and mental health. Savvy packaging designers use color to suggest product attributes, such as cleanliness, flavor and freshness, and global marketers tread carefully around cultural color biases.
How well do you understand color’s influence? Answer these questions…
1. Among adults, what color is liked worldwide?
Yellow
Green
Blue
Gray
2. What color is the first to disappear from a child’s crayon box?
Green
Yellow
Blue
Red
3. What food color is most popular among adults in Western nations?
Brown
Red
Yellow
Green
4. What color car is outlawed by Brazil and Ecuador because of its high incidence of traffic accidents?
Black
Red
White
Brown
5. What color goes by 100 different names in the Eskimo language?
Gray
White
Black
Blue
6. What color puts people in a bad mood if looked at too long?
Green
Red
Yellow
Orange
7. On signs, which color combination is the most visible?
Black type on white
White type on black
White type on red
Black type on yellow
8. For printed materials, which combination is the most legible?
Black type on white
White type on black
White type on red
Black type on yellow
9. What color has a calming effect on people?
Blue
Green
Pink
White
10. What color helps children score higher on tests?
Yellow
Green
Pink
Blue
11. What color is the most restful on the eyes?
Purple
Green
Gray
Blue
12. Which color is very popular for cleaning products?
Yellow
Red
White
Blue
ANSWERS
1. Blue. According to several studies, adults worldwide prefer blue, followed by red, green, purple, yellow and orange. Nearly 50% of those queried in a survey by the American Roper Organization named blue as their favorite color, followed by red.
2. Red. Children universally favor red. A physiologically energizing color, red stimulates and excites.
3. Brown. Adults in Western nations find brown particularly appetizing because it is associated with savory meats, breads and sauces. Blue is the least appetizing, since virtually no natural foods (except blueberries) are that color.
4. Red. Although insurance records from many countries show that red cars are involved in a higher incidence of traffic accidents, Brazil and Ecuador are the only countries to forbid individuals from driving them. Optically, red advances, creating the impression that red objects are closer than they are. Red also physiologically gets the adrenaline pumping, so accident-prone red cars may say more about their drivers than their visibility on the road.
5. White. To help them describe the nuances of ice and snow, Arctic Eskimos have more than 100 words for white.
6. Yellow. Yellow, especially bright lemon-yellow, is the most luminous color in the spectrum and, hence, the most fatiguing color if viewed for long periods of time. (Conversely, it’s the most cheerful if seen at a glance.) Anecdotal studies have shown that couples fight more in lemon-yellow kitchens and babies cry more in lemon-yellow rooms. On the other hand, bright yellow makes school buses very visible.
7. Black type on a yellow background. The strong color contrast and the fact that yellow is the most luminous color in the spectrum make this combination ideal for warning signs. But since yellow tires the eyes, just a little goes a long way.
8. Black type on a white background. It is easy to read and not as tiring on the eyes as yellow. The least legible combination is red type on a blue background.
9. Pink. Interestingly, while red is the most energizing color, pink has a calming, sedating effect. The California children’s probation department found that violent children have fewer outbursts when placed in pink rooms. Many hospitals and correctional institutions have painted rooms pink for the same reason.
10. Blue. Through color experiments, researchers have found that children tested in rooms with blue ceilings tend to score as many as 12 points higher on IQ tests.
11. Green. This is the most restful color. Green has risen in popularity as people have become more ecology minded.
12. Blue. Blue is popular for cleaning fluids from detergent to beauty cleansers because it suggests hygiene and coolness.
