COLOR PALLETES AND HOW TO USE THEM

Everyone gets excited when faced with a bucket of their favorite colors. There’s so much your mind can create or recreate just thinking about it. Painting can be done on any surface ranging from paper to canvas to walls. 

I get excited whenever I see movies with some painting scenes. Be it color spray, oil paints, water paints, emulsion, name it. I’m excited talking about this trust me.  And to be honest, painting can be stress relieving! No wonder grey days can easily get you worked out mentally. So, if you’re excited as I am, that’s a good thing cause, we’re going to learn how to choose  beautiful pallets and the ways to apply them.

Have you ever imagined a color pallet for your painting project and you were excited with the hue choices but then the outcome was not giving? It totally ruined your work and your excitement right? That’s why some people don’t paint.

Well, this piece is not to get you to start painting again or give your childhood dream a shot  (which is great by-the-way) but to get you to understand colors. Whatever you decide to do after that, I wish you luck.

There’s a thing called color psychology and this is simply understanding each colors and how it works. Studies have shown that colors tend to affect or determine people’s emotion either positively or negatively. Colors are important factors in interior designing due to its general effect on our mental health. Have you noticed that there are colors used for animations? The colors used for horror movies makes you get the goose bumps. Red is always used for danger signs, hospitals have the light greens or blues etc.

COLOURS AND THEIR MESSAGES

RED

Red color elicit motions in various ways. Red shows willpower, vigor, strength, boldness. It says you are the boss, driven and focused. This is why this color goes well with offices and banks. Red also kindles warmth, love and passion and this why some hotels opt for it during valentine. The color red sends different message depending on where it is applied.

Red can also provoke anger, blood pressure, fear and anxiety. Avoid using this color in a place with people who are hypertensive and people with anger issues.

The best way to use this color is to go with more bright neutrals like white to douse and balance its effect.

PINK

Pink says softness, tenderness, kindness. Pink stimulates compassion and creates an atmosphere of love. This hue is usually associated with children and feminism generally. Psychologically, this color has calming properties and with the variety of shades available, anyone can use this color with light blue or sage green to get its playfulness.

ORANGE

The color of vibrancy, nature and sunset. This color is associated with tropical environment, relaxation, happiness, vitality, love and appetite. Due to its symbolism, it is  best used in restaurants to stimulate hunger and the tropical feel at beaches. The best mix is mint greens, yellow and white.

Psychologist says that this color has a lot to do with wealth, success and prosperity but negatively, it triggers aggression, deceit and betrayal.

YELLOW

Yellow is associated with cheerfulness, joy, mental clarity, intellect and prosperity as well, mainly because of its close tone gold. Yellow is synonymous to sunshine. Usually used in restaurant and diners. Yellow makes an environment bright and lively.

Dull yellows can appear like rot, decay, destruction and sickness. The best way to apply this hue is by using the bright tones and sparingly too. When overdone, it can provoke hyperactivity, restlessness, uncontrollable jealousy, stress and anxiety.

GREEN

Green is associated with nature, birth, new beginnings, reproduction, freshness, harmony, relaxation, growth. Green is always soothing and heals that’s why it’s commonly used in waiting rooms and hospitals.

Heard of the cliché ‘’green with envy’’? green shows disgust, envy, cruelty, gross, greed and jealousy.

The easiest way to use green is via plants whether it is a live plant or a still plant, it creates a fresh and calm environment. Green can be used in every room but shouldn’t be overdone.

BLUE

This hue is calm, serene, peaceful, trust, loyal and intelligent. Just like green, blue slows down heart rate, hypertension and helps with metabolism. It also helps with mental health. Blue is highly associated with the aquatic world and it psychologically has mostly positivity to it.  Deep blues are colors of royalty and luxury.

Ash and blue is perfect gentleman mix.

PURPLE

Purple has a lot to do with royalty, spirituality, creativity, authencity, drama and elegance. This is mostly associated with design hence used in studios to inspire creativity. This color of mystery helps youngster find their footing in the creative world.

The light shades of purple can be playful and calming too hence mostly used interchangeably with pink.

BROWN

This is a color that easily blends. It says longevity, austerity, durable, outdoors, rugged and rustic. This earthen hue is vastly used in modern, classical, traditional and rustic designs. It has this tendency of evoking depression when overdone.

BLACK

Black is a color of dominance, sophistication, luxury, security, drama and glamour. This hue is very versatile and works perfectly in modern design and minimalist design. Black can be simple and easy to use in interior but when too much it can make one gloomy and depressed. Blacks absorbs lighting and makes spaces appear smaller than it originally is.

GREY

A neutral of elegance and sophistication. When you play with this color right, it makes your space appear airy.

Grey can make people depressed psychologically and that’s why grey days are gloomy days. This is also an easy pallet to mix with other palette because of how functional they can make a space be.

WHITE

White is purity, cleanliness, truth, power and simplicity. It’s the powerful universal neutralizer and easy to use in interior. whites have this peace, tranquility and hygiene that surrounds it hence its mostly used in spas and hotels. It is also associated with prosperity and wealth hence widely used in banks.

Color psychology is quite a versatile science but with the simple summarization, you can have your way around it and you can easily create your own palette.

Whatever color you choose has a story of its own that you can you can easily add to your personality.

Quite of recent like two years ago, I found out about my new affinity towards the brown hue. It generally makes me think of caramel and the color of honey (which is the only thing I like about honey). I like how earthen it is and it naturally makes me think about the beach so I guess I can say it speaks to me. What palette speaks to you personally? Let me know in the comment section.