Picture this: You are driving around lunchtime, and you think to yourself, “You know what? I could eat,” You are starting to look around at the vibrant signs bordering the road, trying to pick the most appealing one. You are deciding between McDonald’s and Taco Bell. You are statistically more likely to go for McDonald’s. Wonder why? Color theory. It’s not just because of the killer 2 for $5 deals-- although those are pretty great. It’s the colors of the massive logos-- Burger King’s yellow buns and red lettering, Lay’s red text laid on a yellow background, Pizza Hut’s red hat with a subtle yellow swipe-- that you see on the way there. The shades of yellow and red are powerhouses when it comes to stimulating hunger, hence why there are so many popular logos with yellow and red iconography. According to Tufts Universal Health and Nutrition Letter, the color combination is “an appetite stimulate [that also] releases serotonin.” It isn’t the brands that interest the consumers, it’s the consumers being interested in the colors of the brand.
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So we’ve established that color theory is something that everyone has fallen victim to unknowingly because we all get hungry, but it goes much farther than silly marketing tricks. What if I told you that this was just dipping our toes into this theory? The theory of color psychology dates all the way back to ancient Egypt. The Egyptians were the first to consider and examine color in the sense that it is a physical aspect of life that affects a person psychologically. The article “Colour History” elaborates on how the Egyptians perception of color was that it had “healing [powers] and [they]used gems through which the sunlight shone,” illuminating the room with color (“Colour History”). It was also believed to be optimizing life. Shockingly, they were not too far off.
Since then the science behind color has been more thoroughly researched specifically in the Holistic Medicine field. In the most simple terms possible, both organs and color have unique vibration patterns. As reported by Nan Kathryn Fuchs, a co-founder of one of the first holistic health centers in the United States, “electromagnetic particles with our different organs vibrating at various rates,” so when the light from a color bounces onto your skin, it causes your cells to vibrate at the same frequency of the color. Colors around you can literally affect your cell motion (Fuchs).
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Places where this knowledge is used in full force are kindergarten classes in China. Researchers Xiaoxan and Wan Meicheng immediately eliminated the usage of vivid colors in classrooms because it is a big misconception that bright hues are better for the beginning stages of life. The scholars discovered that certain tones are more fruitful when trying to create an atmosphere for growth. They say that the incorporation of warm tones is the most effective since a child’s visual sensitivity is high. Psychologist Jean Piaget places a large emphasis on assimilation caused by the world around us, specifically, the way that children organize their thoughts since it is entirely different than adults. Because of this theory, the impact of stimulants heightens, but at the same time, it ensures the opportunity of improving the learning environment. By removing distractions within the classroom, productivity is increased-- there’s no drawback from this.
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Now knowing this, will you be susceptible to these ploys and distractions? The effect of color is inevitable. However, in aspects such as painting your child’s bedroom, knowing color theory and the effect on the brain can guarantee a subliminal method to benefit their development.
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