Bringing colour to life

WE often take colours for granted. In fact, we rarely get the time or make the effort to appreciate that the sky is a deep blue and that the clouds are a dark grey. Or that the house next door has just been painted an eyesore pink. Colours are the single most important source of vibrancy and beauty in life, even if we tend to overlook this fact. After all, it takes a blind man to appreciate the true blessing of not just sight, but the beauty of the different shades of colours.

Despite the fact that colours are everywhere around us, we do not give them much attention, since what is obvious is rarely noticed. They do come under limelight when it comes to shopping or décor or buying accessories, but apart from that, have we ever looked at colours as an individual entity?

Now is the time. And to help us in this, there are a number of websites which not only delve into dufferent hues, but also explore into more than what meets the eye.

Colour Affects is one such website. Although it is the homepage of a company offering its .... services, it does carry a section on “Colour Psychology”. The section deals with different colours that have an impact on our lives, which makes it quite an interesting read.

Once you log onto the website, you can begin reading the article on “Psychological Properties of Colours” which delves into the details of how one is able to see and perceive different colours in the first place. It then goes on to specify certain interesting facts and figures. For instance, did you know that there are only eleven words for basic colours, but computers are able to generate as many as sixteen million colours? If this amazes you, check out the article for more such facts.

The same article then goes into the details of the eleven basic colours, namely red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, pink, grey, black and white. The detail specifies the psychological effects that these colours have on people. The effects for all these eleven colours are both positive and negative. For example, the positive properties of blue are listed to be as intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection and calm, while the negative ones are coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion and unfriendliness.

Some interesting and distinct characteristics of each colour are also stated. Red light, for instance, seems to one to be nearer than it really is, which is why it is used in traffic lights all over the world. A lighter shade of blue helps clear the mind and intensifies one’s concentration.

Fot those of you who are interested in learning the historical details of colours, there is an article on history as well. It traces all the research that has previously been done on colours, and you can read up on the summary of these researches conducted by renowned names like Isaac Newton and Hippocrates.

There is a lot more that one can learn about colours from this website. Overall, it is quite a comprehensive read and no doubt an informative one. And this will definitely make you appreciate the system of colours that exists around you in this world.

To learn more about how colours affect your life log onto

http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/