Why Do You like Red, But I Like Green? There’s More To It Than You Think

We all have color preferences. But did you know they are based on much more than our personal likes and dislikes? Our prediliction for certain hues is a result of many reasons, from many different levels of our being, each building upon each other, forming what is called the “color experience pyramid”. This was first explained to me by one of my esteemed teachers in the IACCNA, Frank Mahnke. If you have further interest in this subject, it is explained in depth in his book Color, Environment and Human Response.

The base of this pyramid is formed by our biological reactions to color stimuli. It comes down to mere survival. Animals have relied on color cues to know when a fruit is ripe and ready to eat or that a potential mate has good genetic breeding material. Changing colors have alerted us to changing of seasons. These biological reactions are completely out of our conscious control.

The next level is referred to as the “collective unconscious”, archetypal images that we have inherited from our primordial ancestors. We are born with this knowledge; it is part of the genetic makeup of our brain. From these inherited experiences of millions of years of past generations we carry on such behavior, including our color reactions.

On top of this sits our associations with color, also known as color conscious symbolism. We all make color associations and many are universal. For instance, if you were to ask people, from any part of the world what colors they associate with the words love, growth and hatred, they would reply with red, green and black respectively. Expressions such as ‘I’m green with envy” or “I’ve got the blues” are color associations.

Cultural influences come next. Specific cultures all have associations and experience color accordingly. While white is the color of mourning for the Chinese, in the west it represents pureness. Red is auspicious for some and threatening to others.

Fashion and trends follow in sequence. Don’t be thinking you’re not immune to their sneaky influence. You may believe it was actually your idea to paint your dining room “wasabi”, or “aubergine”, but it probably, more likely, is a subliminal reaction to the insidious effects of advertising. Whatever the Color Marketing Group has decided will be the next year’s “in” colors, we consumers tend to follow.

We’ve finally climbed to the summit of the color experience pyramid, that very small part atop, resting upon the supporting lower strata. Here lies your personal relationship with color, your very own likes and dislikes. Well, at least you thought they were your own.

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The Professional Color Consultant

A professional architectural color consultant should have a refined sense of color earned from years of experience, yet refrains from imposing her own personal color choices upon the client. Although she is aware of current color trends, she does not follow them.

She concerns herself not only with decoration, but the psychological and physiological aspects of color as well. Her ultimate concern is the end user’s well being.

A pamphlet from the color store may show some fine color combinations, but a good consultant knows how to balance them: in placement, quantity, lightness and darkness, coolness and warmth and saturation. She knows where to start a line and where to stop it. She knows how to move the colors through the space.

A professional color consultant qualifies each and every job through profiling the customer’s needs. How do they want to feel in the space? What image do they want to convey? How will the space be used?

She has received thorough training in all aspects of color through an organization such as the International Association of Color Consultants, North America (iaccna.org), an organization that merges the art and science of color. Design schools prepare architects and interior designers to design, but little attention is given to the study of color and its effect on the end user.

A great consultant loves color and finds inspiration everywhere. Beautiful and useful color palettes can be derived from observing nature’s subtleties. A clam shell or an alder twig, for instance, yield beautiful color combinations all displayed in proper proportion. Perhaps a work by Picasso, Rothco or any other master could be a point of departure.

Just as you would look for a certified accountant to do your taxes or a licensed contractor to build your deck, take some time to find a qualified color consultant that is the right fit for you.

Red Sky At Night, Sailor's Delight

And then, of course, they go on to say “red sky in the morning, sailors take warning!” Shakespeare mentioned it in “Venus and Adonis”. Even Jesus said it. “When in evening ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering.”

But why? And is this a true weather predictor? Now that I live on the shore and am witness to such colorful spectacles, I have become all the more curious.

So, ready for a little physics lesson? We see the sky as red in the morning and evening because the sun is low in the sky and the atmosphere is at its thickest, filled with water vapor and particles. The sun’s electromagnetic light rays pass through and are immediately ordered into their spectral divisions. They don’t even “Pass Go”! Red, being the longest wavelength makes it through, while the blues are broken up and scattered in smithereens.
Usually, weather moves from west to east, blown by westerly trade winds. This means storm systems generally move in from the west.

When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

A red sunrise reflects the dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.

This colorful post is based on an article from “Everyday Mysteries” from the Library of Congress. And if it’s information from our government, it HAS to be true.