Color Perspectives | Outside The Lines

Psychology of Color - Segmation Digital Art Game You probably have a favorite color, but chances are you rarely stop to think about why you are drawn to this particular hue.

For years, psychologists have been claiming that people are drawn to choice shades for particular reasons. This means that, whether you know it or not, there is good reason why your favorite color is your favorite color.

What is Your Favorite Color?

It is likely that your preference stems from personal tastes and the culture that surrounds you. After all, we develop color affinities at young ages. For instance, to make conversation with a child, it is common to ask, “What is your favorite color?” Therefore, it makes sense to think that these hues have an influence on our personalities as we age too. According to some psychologists and color experts, our favorite colors reflect parts of our personalities, but how?

One artist who correlates colors with personality traits is Oliver Munday. His color maps recently made their way into a highly anticipated book on color, ROY G. BIV: An Exceedingly Surprising Book About Color (Bloomsbury 2013).

Color Maps of Your Favorite Colors

The color maps explore long held truths about colors as well as historical events and phenomenon related to specific colors. Like, did you know the yellow pencil can be traced back to Ch’ing dynasty in China? At the time, yellow was the “exclusive imperial color for the country” (Huffingtonpost.com).

Take a look at Munday’s color map of black. “Miserable Ecstasy” and “The Vast and The Minute” it says in bold. Nobody needs to ask why these sayings are associated with the shade because they make perfect sense. As the color map enfolds them into historical events and phenomenon, like “The curious science of ink” and “Glossy vs. matte blacks,” readers begin to learn facts about their favorite color and become enlightened as to why they prefer certain shades.

Emotional Connections to Color

To some, it is fascinating to learn that the reason our favorite colors are our favorite colors are rooted in history. However, most of us understand that there are emotional reasons why we connect with certain shades. Empower-Yourself-With-Color-Psychology.com lays out what your favorite color says about you on an emotional level. Click on the link to find out what your favorite hue reveals.

If you’ve never stopped to think about why your favorite color is your favorite color, take time to explore this thought today. Use the resources and links provided in this post to identify the historical significance and emotional ties you have to your choice hue.

We live in a colorful world. Learning about your favorite color may enlighten you.

Read more Segmation blog posts about color psychology:

The Psychology of Color

Colors Change What is Beautiful

Art Therapy Treats more than the Heart

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Do Men and Women See Colors Differently

Have you ever wondered if men and women have visual differences? After all, we don’t always see eye to eye.

Now you can put curiosity to rest; one study shows people of opposing genders disagree on hues. This means men and women experience different color perspectives.

Nevertheless, with new information comes new questions like, why? What causes this inconsistency?

How do Men and Women See Colors Differently?

Men and women rarely see the same color hues. It is common for males to require a longer wavelength than females in order to experience similar shades of certain colors.

Warmer colors have longer wavelengths than cooler colors. This means that reds and oranges are likely to appear bolder and stronger to men. Women, on the other hand, tend to see vibrant green hues with clarity and precision.

Males are also known to be better at identifying colorful detail from a distance, while women excel at this when colors are closer. In general, men are more sensitive to colors too. Yet, women have the ability to easily differentiate between slight changes in color.

What Causes Visual Differences in Men and Women?

Realizing men and women have different visual perspectives is interesting, but learning why opposite genders experience colors in unique ways is enlightening. To uncover this mystery, it is necessary to consult evolutionary theories. Let’s return to a time when men and women were known as “hunters and gathers.”

In addition to identifying details from a distance, males have keen senses for detecting fast moving objects and flashing lights. Ultimately, requiring longer wavelengths that exist in warmer colors also increases man’s attention to “fine detail and rapidly moving stimuli.” All the while, females excel at distinguishing colors close at hand. This implies men are naturally good at hunting, and women are purposed for gathering objects like nuts and berries.

This research does not prove that one gender sees color better than the other. Rather, men and women have different visual strengths that were, at one time, used in tandem to provide sustenance for themselves and their communities.