One might think “Hey, what do color psychology and schemes have to do with scale models and funky little plastic robots?”. Well, quite a bit as we were in contact in a brief intro to color theory.

Colors play a role in conveying emotions without spoken words, they can even influence what a person does or how they feel. Diverse cultures assign different meanings to colors. Purple in many African cultures can symbolize femininity and red can often represent death. Black in many European cultures represents mourning or death.

Colors can also be associated with memories. For example, I was once forced to wear a hideous blue outfit as a youth when kids made several comparisons to Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate factory. It took me a good bit to stop associating blue with those memories.

We can apply this to hobbies when we choose what colors to paint a build or a figure.

Some meanings of colors can differ from person to person. They all have some based, universal meaning.

Color Psychology and Meaning

Red

Red is a strong color. It is eye-catching. It is often associated with strong emotions such as:

• Love
• Passion
• Excitement

It also invokes other, often negative emotions and traits:

• Anger
• Aggression
• Danger

It can be used to stimulate a response. For example, we often can see it in things such as red lights, stop signs, Valentine’s day, and even in nature with the black widow whose red marking often flashes “DANGER“. Red in some African cultures can be used to symbolize death or violence. In Western cultures we symbolize it with love.

Popular reds include crimson, scarlet, and maroon.

Orange

Orange is a color of upbeat emotions. It radiates warmth. It is often associated with:

• Courage
• Vitality
• Optimism

It also invokes other, often negative emotions and traits:

• Pessimism
• Superficiality
• Unkindness

It is a highly active color that feeds us energy but also can stimulate things like appetites. In several European cultures, it is represented by harvests and changing seasons. In several Middle Eastern cultures, it is a color of mourning.

Popular shades of orange are honey, amber, and rust.

Yellow

Yellow is a color that is associated with intelligence and logic. It is the lightest hue on the spectrum.

It is often associated with:

• Confidence
• Optimism
• happiness

It also invokes other, often negative emotions/traits such as:

• Criticism
• Agitation
• deceitful

It helps to create a flow of logical, creative thinking. Too much yellow can often lead to anxiety. Yellows in many cultures are linked to wealth and riches. In Ethiopia, it is the color of mourning.

Popular shades include lemon, banana, and gold.

Green

Green is a color of nature. It can often help to relax and calm

It is often associated with:

• Harmony
• Tranquility
• Peace

It also invokes other, often negative emotions and traits such as:

• Envy
• Jealousy
• Greed

Green is a dominant color in nature and is often associated with illness or rot. Mold often goes together with green, as does money. In many Eastern culturess, it is seen as erotic, or backed by infidelity. Green is held in high regard in Mexico, as it is associated with patriotism.

Popular shades include hunter green, sage, or lime.

Blue

Blue is often a color of nonaggression. It often helps to soothe people.

It is often associated with:

• Serenity
• Trust
• Quiet

It also invokes other, often negative emotions such as:

• Stubbornness
• Cold
• Unfriendly

Blue is a color that is often seen as trustworthy, and many companies use it for uniforms. Blue is often associated with the virgin mother Mary in religious cultures. It often has ties to spirituality in Eastern cultures as well.

Popular shades are navy, sky, and indigo

Purple

Purple is often seen as a color of dignity.

It is often associated with:

• Compassion
• Quality
• Mysticism

It also invokes other, often negative emotions such as:

• Pompous
• Entitlement
• Moodiness

Purple is often seen as a color of Royals. Tyrian purple was a shade gained from several varied species of sea snail. The snails were boiled for several days at a time. It was one of the most sought-after shades in the ancient world.

Pink

Pink is often seen as a masculine and feminine color. Tender filled and soft but also seen as a vain tone.

It is often associated with:

• Love
• Innocence
• Hope

It also invokes other, often negative emotions such as:

• Weak
• Silly
• Shallowness

Pink can be both masculine and feminine shades. It is considered feminine in Western cultures but also masculine in several Eastern cultures.

Popular shades include salmon, coral, and peach.

Brown

Brown is filled with wonderful earthy tones. It is a color that usually blends in with the colors around it.

It is often associated with:

• Earthy
• Confidence
• Loyal

It also invokes other negative emotions and traits such as:

• Arrogance
• Rigidness
• Numbness

Brown is often a shade that evokes feelings of home and hearth. In some Middle Eastern countries, brown is seen as a comforting color. Several Eastern countries see brown as a color of mourning.

Popular shades include mocha, coffee, and cedar.

Black

Black has many symbolic meanings in cultures. It has immensely powerful effects on evoking emotions.

It is often associated with:

• Sophistication
• Formality
• Strength

It also invokes other, often negative emotions/feelings such as:

• Secretive
• aloofness
• Withholding

Black is often a color of mourning and grieving in many cultures. In others, such as South American cultures, black can be seen as masculine.

Popular shades include coal, onyx, and ebony.

White

White is the lightest and purest out of all the colors

It is often associated with:

• Purity
• Impartialness
• Marriage

It also invokes other, often negative emotions such as:

• Isolation
• Sterileness
• Ignorance

White has a large cultural impact. In western countries, it can be seen in marriages and purity rituals for many religions. In many Asian cultures, it is a color of mourning.

Popular shades include ivory, eggshell, and cotton.

Colors

Color psychology is an important tool for artists and scale models to have. It’s important to note some of this is up to personal debate as what colors mean to others.

An example would be…

Foods dyed green can decrease hunger because our brain can often associate it with decay and mold.

School buses are colored yellow because it catches the eye more than other colors.

Red is believed to increase sports performance.

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What do you feel about color psychology? Drop an opinion and comment below.