The document discusses various colors and their meanings and associations. It provides information on primary colors like red, yellow and blue. It then discusses secondary colors like green, orange and purple. It also covers tertiary colors. For each color, it outlines their significance, mood or effect, and global meanings. It discusses how colors affect vision and how to design with different colors.

1. LIFE IN COLOUR
WINARCH
NATA COACHING CENTRE
RAMAVARAM-CHENNAI 89

2. 02/24/17 2
How we see color
• Daylight (white light)
• The color white: If all light waves are reflected from a surface
the surface will appear to be white.
• The color black: Similarly, when all light waves are absorbed
by a surface the surface will appear to be black.

3. COLOUR WHEEL
WINARCH 3
All the live forms are made up of colours.The representation of these colours
can be explained by modern colour wheel.

4. WINARCH 4
Primary colours: ( RED-YELLOW-BLUE) can not be mixed or formed by
the combination of other colours.Other colours are derived from these colours.
Secondary colours ;GREEN(YELLOW+BLUE)
ORANGE(YELLOW+RED)
PURPLE (RED+BLUE)
Tertiary colours :YELLOWORANGE-YELLOWGREEN-BLUEGREEN
-BLUEPURPLE-REDPURPLE-REDORANGE

5. ANALOGOUS COLOURS
WINARCH 5
Analogous colours are any three colours which are side by side on
a 12 part colour wheel such as yellowgreen-yellow-yelloworange

6. COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS
WINARCH 6
Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly
opposite each other, such as red and green and red-purple
and yellow-green. In the illustration above, there are several
variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several
variations of red-purple in the orchid. These opposing colors
create maximum contrast and maximum stability.

7. COLOUR SCHEME BASED ON
NATURE
WINARCH 7
Nature provides a perfect departure point for colour
harmony. In the illustration above, red yellow and green
create a harmonious design, regardless of whether this
combination fits into a technical formula for colour harmony.

8. COLOUR CONTEXT
WINARCH 8
Red appears more brilliant against a black background and somewhat
duller against the white background. In contrast with orange, the red
appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, it exhibits brilliance.
Notice that the red square appears larger on black than on other
background colors.
How color behaves in relation to other colors and shapes is a
complex area of color theory. Compare the contrast effects of
different color backgrounds for the same red square.

9. RED
SIGNIFICANCE
PASSION – SEX – AGGRESSION - VIGOUR
MOOD& EFFECT
ENERGETIC ,PASSIONATE AND VIBRANT
9WINARCH

10. MEANINGS OF RED
WINARCH 10
Red is the color of extremes. It’s the color of passionate love,
seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure. Our prehistoric
ancestors saw red as the color of fire and blood – energy and primal
life forces – and most of red’s symbolism today arises from its powerful
associations in the past.
Red is also a magical and religious color. It symbolized super-human
heroism to the Greeks and is the color of the Christian crucifixion. Red
was almost as rare and as expensive as purple in ancient days – a fact
that may explain its magic and power.

11. GLOBAL MEANINGS OF RED
WINARCH 11
Red is the color of good luck in Asia and is the most popular color
in China.
Most Japanese children draw the sun as a big red circle.
In East Asian stock markets, red is used to denote a rise in stock
prices. (Note: In North American stock markets, red is used to
denote a drop in stock prices.)
Red is an auspicious color for marriage. Brides in India and Nepal
wear red saris; in Japan, a red kimono symbolizes happiness and
good luck.
Red is one of the top two favorite colors of all people.
Red is the most popular color used on flags in the world.
Approximately 77% of all flags include red.
Red is the international color for stop.
Red districts sell sex and pornography in every European culture.
The history of languages reveals that red is the first color after black
and white.

12. DESIGNING WITH RED
WINARCH 12
All reds are not created equal. Aside from light and dark
shades of red, there are two kinds of red:
Yellow-based reds are “tomato” reds. Blue-based reds
are “berry reds.” Some say that males are more attracted
to the tomato reds: females to the berry reds.

13. RED AFFECTS VISION
WINARCH
13
Red captures attention. It is one of the most visible colors, second only to yellow -
which explains why it is used on fire engines and stop signs to trigger alertness.
Red focuses behind the retina which forces the lens grows more convex to pull it
forward. Therefore, we perceive that red areas are moving forward. This may
explain why red captures attention.
Eight percent of the male population has a red-green color vision deficiency and
cannot see red at all
“They” claim that red raises your blood pressure and quickens your heartbeat.
Yes, red is a strong color but its immediate effects are only temporary and do not
apply to everyone.
In Russia, the word for "red" means beautiful.

14. 02/24/17 14
RED
• Passion, strength, energy, fire, love, sex, excitement, speed, heat,
arrogance, ambition, leadership, masculinity, power, danger, gaudiness,
blood, war, anger, revolution, liberalism, radicalism, socialism,
communism, aggression, summer, autumn, stop, Mars (planet), respect,
Aries (star sign), December, the Roman Catholic Church, martyrs, the Holy
Spirit, conservatism (U.S. politics), wealth (China).

15. ORANGE
SIGNIFICANCE
CREATIVITY – PROSPERITY –
RELATIONSHIPS
MOOD&EFFECT
WARM AND STIMULATING
15WINARCH

16. MEANING OF ORANGE
WINARCH
16
Orange is vibrant. It’s hot, healthy, fruity and engaging – but it can be abrasive and
crass. It’s a polarizing color. People either love it or detest it.
Orange is the only color of the spectrum whose name was taken from an object, the
popular fruit - the orange. In nature it’s the color of vivid sunsets, fire, vegetables,
flowers, fish, and many citrus fruits. In our contemporary world, orange is the color
of marmalade, Halloween, traffic cones, life rafts, cheetos, and Halloween.
Orange symbolizes energy, vitality, cheer, excitement, adventure, warmth, and good
health. However, pure orange can be brass; however, it may suggest a lack of
serious intellectual values and bad taste.

17. GLOBAL MEANINGS OF ORANGE
WINARCH 17
Children all over the world are drawn to orange.
Orange is the color of life rafts, hazard cones, and high
visibility police vests.
Orange is both the name and emblematic color of the royal
family.
Orange is the color of prison uniforms in the U.S.
Orange (saffron) is a sacred and auspicious color in
Hinduism.
The middle traffic light is orange in France.
In the U.K., orange stands for the Northern Irish Protestants
and has very strong religious and political significance.

18. DESIGNING WITH ORANGE
WINARCH 18
Orange is an excellent example of this design rule: There are no bad colors;
only bad color combinations.
The complementary color scheme – orange and blue – is dynamic.
The triad color scheme – orange, green, and purple – is exceptional.

19. ORANGE AFFECTS VISION
WINARCH 19
Safety orange” is used to set objects apart from their surroundings,
particularly in complementary contrast to the azure color of the
sky.
It’s used for hunting and construction zone marking devices.
Orange is used to increase immunity, to increase sexual potency, to
help in all digestive ailments, chest and kidney diseases.
Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.

20. 02/24/17 20
ORANGE
• Hinduism, Buddhism, happiness energy, balance, heat, fire,
enthusiasm, flamboyance, playfulness, aggression, arrogance,
gaudiness, overemotion, warning, danger, autumn, desire,
Sagittarius (star sign), September.
Orange has less intensity or aggression than red and is calmed
by the cheerfulness of yellow.

21. YELLOW
SIGNIFICANCE
JOY – HAPPINESS – WARMTH –
OPTIMISM
MOOD&EFFECT
CHEERFUL AND WELCOMING
21WINARCH

22. MEANINGS OF YELLOW
WINARCH 22
Yellow is the most luminous of all the colors of the spectrum. It’s the color
that captures our attention more than any other color.
In the natural world, yellow is the color of sunflowers and daffodils, egg
yolks and lemons, canaries and bees. In our contemporary human-made
world, yellow is the color of Sponge Bob, the Tour de France winner’s
jersey, happy faces, post its, and signs that alert us to danger or caution.
It’s the color of happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity,
sunshine and spring.
Lurking in the background is the dark side of yellow: cowardice, betrayal,
egoism, and madness. Furthermore, yellow is the color of caution and
physical illness (jaundice, malaria, and pestilence). Perhaps it’s no
coincidence that the sources of yellow pigments are toxic metals -
cadmium, lead, and chrome - and urine.

23. GLOBAL MEANING OF YELLOW
WINARCH 23
In almost every culture yellow represents sunshine, happiness, and warmth.
Yellow is the color most often associated with the deity in many religions
(Hinduism and Ancient Egypt)
Yellow is the color of traffic lights and signs indicating caution all over the world.
In Japan, yellow often represents courage.
In China, adult movies are referred to as yellow movies.
In Russia, a colloquial expression for an insane asylum used to be "yellow
house."
Bright “marigold” yellow may be associated with death in some areas of Mexico.
Those condemned to die during the Inquisition wore yellow as a sign of treason.
A yellow patch was used to label Jews in the Middle Ages. European Jews were
forced to wear yellow or yellow “Stars of David” during the Nazi era of
prosecution.

24. DESIGNING WITH YELLOW
WINARCH 24
Although there are strong mustard yellows and deep yellow
ochres, there are no dark yellows.
Yellow is the only color that reacts badly to black: Add a
little black and it becomes a sickly yellow-green.

25. YELLOW AFFECTS VISION
WINARCH 25
Yellow is the most visible color of the spectrum.
The human eye processes yellow first. This explains why it is used for
cautionary signs and emergency rescue vehicles.
Peripheral vision is 2.5 times higher for yellow than for red.
Yellow has a high light reflectance value and therefore it acts as a secondary
light source. Excessive use of bright yellow (such as on interior walls) can
irritate the eyes.
It is not true that babies cry more in yellow rooms, or that yellow causes
diarrhea, or that husbands and wives fight more in yellow kitchens.
U.S. law prohibits coloring margarine to look like butter.

26. 02/24/17 26
YELLOW
• Sunlight, joy, happiness, earth, optimism, intelligence, idealism, wealth
(gold), summer, hope, air, liberalism, cowardice, illness (quarantine),
hazards, dishonesty, avarice, weakness, greed, femininity, gladness,
sociability, summer, friendship, Gemini, Taurus, Leo (golden yellow, star
signs), April, September, deceit, hazard signs, death (Middle Ages),
mourning (Egypt), courage (Japan), God (gold).

27. GREEN
SIGNIFICANCE
LIFE – YOUTH – EFFICIENCY – BALANCE
– HARMONY
MOOD&EFFECT
COOL , EFFICIENT AND RELAXING
27WINARCH

28. 02/24/17 28
GREEN
• Great intelligence, life, nature, bad spirits, spring, fertility, youth,
environment, wealth, money (US), good luck, vigor, generosity, go,
grass, aggression, inexperience, envy, misfortune, coldness, jealousy,
disgrace (China), illness, greed, Marijuana and drug culture, corruption
(North Africa), life eternal, air, earth (classical element), sincerity, hope,
Cancer (bright green, star sign), renewal, natural abundance, growth,
health, August, balance, harmony, stability, calming, creative
intelligence, Islam, the ordinary.

29. BLUE
SIGNIFICANCE
INTELLECT – ORDER – COMMUNICATION
MOOD&EFFECT
COOL – BUSINESS LIKE AND FOCUSSED
29WINARCH

30. 02/24/17 30
BLUE
• Seas, men, productive (interior) skies, peace, unity, harmony,
tranquility, calmness, trust, coolness, confidence, conservatism, water,
ice, loyalty, dependability, cleanliness, technology, winter, depression,
coldness, idealism, obscenity, tackiness, air, wisdom, royalty, nobility,
Earth (planet), Virgo (light blue), Pisces (pale blue) and Aquarius (dark
blue) (star sign), strength, steadfastness, light, friendliness, July (sky
blue), February (deep blue), peace, mourning (Iran)

31. PURPLE
SIGNIFICANCE
PERFECTION- ROYALTY – FORTUNE
MOOD&EFFECT
ESTORIC AND CLASSY
31WINARCH

32. 02/24/17 32
PINK
• Spring, gratitude, appreciation, admiration,
sympathy, femininity, health, love, June, marriage,
joy.

33. PINK
SIGNIFICANCE
ROMANCE – AFFECTION – TENDERNESS-
FACT
MOOD&EFFECT
WARM AND LOVING
33WINARCH

34. BROWN
SIGNIFICANCE
EARTHY-STABILITY-PROSPERITY
MOOD&EFFECT
LAIDBACK AND STAID
34WINARCH

35. BLACK
SIGNIFICANCE
POWER-MYSTICISM-SECRACY-FORMAL-
ELEGANCE
MOOD& EFFECT
FORMAL AND SOPHISTICATED
35WINARCH

36. 02/24/17 36
BLACK
• Absence, modernity, power, sophistication, formality,
elegance, wealth, mystery, style, evil, death (Western
cultures), fear, anonymity, anger, sadness, remorse,
mourning, unhappiness, sex, seriousness, conventionality,
rebellion, anarchism, unity, sorrow, life, rebirth (ancient
Egypt), slimming quality (fashion), January (Northern
Hemisphere only).

37. 02/24/17 37
GRAY
• Elegance, humility, respect, reverence, stability, subtlety,
wisdom, old age, anachronism, boredom, decay,
decrepitude, dullness, dust, entanglement, pollution, urban
sprawl, strong emotions, balance, neutrality, mourning,
formality, March.

38. WHITE
SIGNIFICANCE
PURITY-PEACE-SPIRITUALITY-
INNOCENCE
MOOD&EFFECT
COOL AND HEALING
38WINARCH

39. 02/24/17 39
WHITE
• Light, reverence, purity, snow, peace, innocence,
cleanliness, simplicity, security, humility, sterility, winter,
coldness, criticism, surrender, cowardice, fearfulness,
unimaginative, air, fire, death (Eastern cultures), hope,
Aries, Pisces (star signs), bland, empty and unfriendly
(interior), January, celebration.