Color perception in human beings is largely influenced by familiars in the visual environment as well as cultural-based factors. Research has also discovered that the ways by which human beings perceive and classify colors are largely dependent on the visual contexts of the associated colors such as its shape and brightness (Langley & Langley, 2010). Even more so than context, defining and classifying colors has become symbolic and heavily culturally influenced and dependent in human society. Color recognition and classification is highly subjective and varies across different societies. Restrictions placed on colors as defined by languages shape how humans respond to what they see. Likewise, making colors synonymous with emotions or objects influence how we respond to our visual cues (Langley & Langley, 2010).
In general, color perception is highly subjective; however, there are some universal meanings. Think about how people often describe colors as being “warm” or being “cold.” Colors that fall in the red spectrum (such as orange and yellow hues) are often described as having warm attributes whereas colors falling more in the blue spectrum (such as purples and green hues) are considered “cold” colors. Based on their temperature descriptions, colors have been tied to emotions. Colors that are described as “warm” can be linked to emotions ranging from passion and love to hostility and anger (Cherry, n.d.). “Cold” colors’ meanings range from calmness to sadness (Cherry, n.d.). Like assigning a temperature to colors, many cultures have associated symbolism and meaning with colors. See Figure 6 below for a chart of colors based on their being “warm” or “cold”:
In general, color perception is highly subjective; however, there are some universal meanings. Think about how people often describe colors as being “warm” or being “cold.” Colors that fall in the red spectrum (such as orange and yellow hues) are often described as having warm attributes whereas colors falling more in the blue spectrum (such as purples and green hues) are considered “cold” colors. Based on their temperature descriptions, colors have been tied to emotions. Colors that are described as “warm” can be linked to emotions ranging from passion and love to hostility and anger (Cherry, n.d.). “Cold” colors’ meanings range from calmness to sadness (Cherry, n.d.). Like assigning a temperature to colors, many cultures have associated symbolism and meaning with colors. See Figure 6 below for a chart of colors based on their being “warm” or “cold”: