The Colour Affects System

Colour Affects presents a radically different approach to the psychology of colour: a clear, logical system developed in the early 1980s by colour psychologist Angela Wright. In commercial design it applies to interiors, product design, web design, uniforms, packaging and branding.

The system has almost twenty years of successful application behind it and major corporations attest to its effectiveness, most notably in sales of their products and reduction of expensive design time. Individuals claim that it has "changed their lives."

The concept that colour affects mood and influences behaviour has long been recognised, but little understood. It is a common misconception that colour psychology is purely subjective, with no objective criteria for predicting response, possibly because everyone responds instinctively and each of us has our own favourite colour. In commercial design, no matter how much time, money and effort are invested in the finest expertise and technology, when it comes to colour the decisions are largely made on the basis of rank.

Colour is light, and spectral hues are its components, as Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated when he shone white light through a triangular prism and the different wavelengths refracted at different angles, enabling us to see them separately. Scientifically, colour is the principal cue to composition - i.e. the first thing we register when assessing anything -and a powerful communication tool; therefore it is arguably the most critical element of design. Throughout millions of years of evolution, innately understanding the language of colour has helped humanity to survive - to recognise poisonous foods, threatening predators and danger signals of all kinds. In modern times this primitive instinct is often quite unconscious, but this does not diminish its power. When light strikes the eye, the different wavelengths do so in different ways; the eye constantly adjusts and long wave colours require the most adjustment. In the retina, they are converted to electrical impulses that pass to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that governs our hormones and endocrine system. Thus colour sets up complex physiological reactions, which in turn evoke a psychological response. Every living creature on earth responds to the messages implicit in the play of light and colour. In Europe, when the world about us turns grey we recognise the onset of winter and instinctively draw in; large amounts of green in any landscape indicate plenty of water and therefore little danger of famine, so we are reassured; we recognise that a creature coloured black and yellow is unlikely to be friendly.

It is important to recognise that colour symbolism, deriving as it does from our conscious associations, is a conditioned response - an entirely different process from colour psychology, which is what happens on an unconscious level. It is essential to take account of cultural conditioning, and often the two coincide - but if they do not, the unconscious response will prevail.

Although the science of psychology is relatively young - little more than one hundred years old - the study of colour is as old as time. In the twentieth century, great strides were made in our understanding of human behaviour, and latterly the links with patterns of colour have become clear, largely through the work of Angela Wright when developing the Colour Affects System for the application of colour psychology. Until this breakthrough, the importance of specific tones was not recognised. It is not usually part of a psychologist's remit to study the finer points of colour, and since there are only eleven basic colour terms in the English language, (the most of any language) but millions of variations, one vital element was overlooked. It is not enough to refer to 'blue' or 'red'; these terms are relatively meaningless in the context of close study. The precise variation of each colour and the harmonic relationships are of paramount importance. Why, for example, do two versions of the same spectral hue - say, royal blue and powder blue - have such different effects? Why do people respond differently to the same colour? Crucially for the design industry, are there colours that have universal appeal? Ms Wright's work went a long way towards answering these questions and form the basis of the system. (The answer to the last question is no - but there are universally attractive colour combinations).

It is now a scientific reality that response to colour can be objectively anticipated.

The Colour Affects system works on two levels - the psychological properties of each of the basic hues - red, blue, etc. - and the difference that tonal variations, and combinations of specific shades, tones and tints will make in achieving visual harmony and the desired psychological effect.

Science recognises four psychological primary colours, based on the way that colour is processed in the eye and the brain - red, blue, yellow and green. These four colours relate respectively to the physical, the mental, the emotional and the essential balance between these three. Beyond that, each of the seven spectral hues has distinct psychological properties of its own. These simple principles have long been accepted. However, more recent work demonstrates that colour perception and colour preference are not a matter of response to one colour in isolation, but to all the colours presented.

The essence of successful use of colour derives, not from the choice of any particular hue, but from tonal relationships, and that is universal. No matter how attractive a particular colour may be (the world's favourite colour, time and again in research, is blue), if the tone of it relates inaccurately either to the other tones present or to the basic message one is trying to convey, its negative perceptions will emerge, so it must be adjusted. There is no such thing as a good colour or a bad colour - red, for example, can be perceived as stimulating and exciting, or as stressful and demanding - there are only appropriate and inappropriate colour schemes. Disharmony negates. Colour works in a similar way to music and, as jazz pianist Thelonius Monk said, "There are no wrong notes".

One of the most important needs for humanity is balance. One example of the natural restoration of balance occurs in the phenomenon of after images,when the eye is focused for thirty seconds or so on a particular colour, and then closed or redirected, the image will continue in the eye for a few moments in the complementary colour. The practical value of this is demonstrated in the traditional use of green in operating theatres - when the surgical team look up from the inevitable focus on blood red, their eyes will immediately be rested by the green. The most effective colour schemes are those that contain a balance of wavelengths.

Aristotle, in linking colours to the four elements - earth, air, fire and water - also observed the primary importance of blue and yellow. These two colours represent polarity, the sky and the sun, night and day, introvert and extrovert, cool and warm, contraction and expansion. Newton's discovery of the spectrum appeared to replace Aristotle's theory, which had formed the basis of all colour work for two thousand years, but in fact it was an extension of it.

When we realise that all people can also be classified broadly into four categories, application of colour psychology becomes more manageable and more accurate. Galen defined the four types in terms of bodily fluids -Melancholic, Sanguine, Choleric and Phlegmatic. In the twentieth century, Jung defined us in terms of predominant function - Thought, Feeling, Intuition and Sensation. The essential polarities of life are also a major feature in Jung's psychology and the great Swiss doctor, together with other twentieth century neurologists and psychologists, defined us as being fundamentally extrovert or introvert, being externally or internally motivated.

The breakthrough in colour psychology came when the links were recognised between all the sixteen million shades, tones and tints available to us in a colour computer - classified into four categories - and the four personality types. Extroverts respond more strongly to colour in general and longer wavelengths in particular, whilst introverts prefer cooler, blander tones.There are four tonal families of colour - cool based and warm based, deriving from blue and yellow respectively, within which further classification comes from intensity. Each group contains variations of all spectral hues, so it is not necessary to draw from more than one group for any colour scheme. In fact, doing so will negate it. When all the colours used in any design project belong to the same group, they combine to create a relationship, which protects the positive perceptions of each individual hue. Therefore it is essential to establish which colour group, or psychological colour family, best represents the desired objectives of the brief. Thus a framework is created within which designers can work freely, secure in the knowledge that the colour scheme will fulfil its function.

In Colour Affects' experience, there is rarely a design brief that does not wish to combine the virtues of modern efficiency and caring friendliness. Virtually every colour mistake arises from failure to understand how to encompass both, without mixing the tonal families. We see cold grey mixed with warm red, warm yellow with black, 'pharmaceutical' blue (Pantone Blue 072) with light, friendly red (Pantone Red 032) in the mistaken belief that this will capture the best of both worlds. Instead, what happens is that the reds suddenly appear cheap or defiant, the blues convert from reliable and efficient to cold and hard and the grey depresses everyone. It is worth repeating that every colour - without exception - has potentially positive or negative properties inherent in it. Which of those are communicated depends entirely on how it is used.

The four colour groups, and the predominant characteristics of each, could loosely be described as follows:

GROUP 1

Clear, delicate warm colours containing no black. Descriptors such as scarlet, coral, peach, daffodil yellow, emerald green, sky blue, cobalt and lilac apply. Personal characteristics associated with this tonal family are light, warm, friendly, new, young, lively, fresh, clean, and optimistic.

Negatively, they may be perceived as insubstantial, frivolous and immature.

Famous people whose personalities appear to belong to this type are: The late Princess Diana, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.

Examples of this colour group are the corporate colours of British Petroleum, Virgin and Norwich Union 's new colours.

GROUP 2

These tones are cool, contain more grey and, whilst also delicate, are not necessarily light. They are soft and subtle and examples are maroon, rose pink, grapefruit, sage, viridian, dove grey, Air Force blue, delphinium, lavender. The characteristics are understated elegance, cool, calm poise, graceful, upmarket, timeless, expensive, soothing, aspirational.

Negatively they may be interpreted as draining, unfriendly, aloof, elitist, and 'wishy-washy'.

Famous Group 2 personalities are, or were: H.M. The Queen, Nelson Mandela and Grace Kelly.

Since these tones are inherently understated and recessive, there are no striking examples of Group 2 corporate colours in the market place. They are more effectively used in small boutiques, museums or government buildings.

GROUP 3

These tones are again warm, but much more intense and fiery. They contain black in their mixing (e.g. olive green is yellow mixed with black) but black itself does not belong in this group. Examples of the colours are described as tomato red, burnt orange, rust, butter yellow, leaf green, olive, teal blue, peacock, and aubergine. The characteristics are warm and friendly, traditional, solid, substantial, reliable, earthy, environmentally aware. They can also express iconoclasm and a certain flamboyance.

Misused, Group 3 tones can convey heavy, old-fashioned, boring predictability and bossiness.

Famous Group 3 personalities include: Germaine Greer, Sophia Loren and Sir David Frost.

Shell International Petroleum, The Body Shop and Mothercare corporate colours are mainly Group 3.

GROUP 4

These colours are very clear and strong, with no subtleties. The group includes black, white, crimson, magenta, lemon, jade green, ice blue, indigo, violet. They communicate characteristics of uncompromising excellence, material aspiration, efficiency, drama, sophistication, modernity, and 'high-tech'.

The other side of Group 4 is cold, uncaring, unfriendly, materialist, and expensive.

Famous Group 4 personalities include: Margaret Thatcher, Sean Connery and Gordon Brown.

Examples of Group 4 corporate identity are British Airways (apart from the unfortunate 'tail fin' re-design) National Westminster Bank and Texaco. It is interesting to note how often the advertising for these major corporations focuses on dispelling the negative possibilities of the corporate colours - hence "the world's favourite airline" and the homespun friendliness of NatWest's earlier successful 'staff introduction' TV campaign.

To summarise: every person, or entity - such as a piece of packaging, an interior environment, a corporation or a product - has a personality that is best expressed, and supported, by a specific palette of colours. The key to successful use of colour lies in following, rather than defying, the natural order.