Since time immemorial, colours have been used for various reasons – as warning signs, to communicate information, to establish an identity as with teams and companies or even to show emotions.
We see colours everywhere we go and these colours have a general interpretation that people give to them depending on the context in which they are used. Red, for example, is used in signposts to symbolize that there is danger ahead. Red can also be used to represent love. Red is also known to be one of the colours of Christmas and if you know your traffic lights, you should know that red is used to mean stop.
Information sourced from reviews sites like UK CollectedReviews have it that the colours that websites use on their page can influence the decisions of site users in the favour of the site owner from statistics about online shopping reviews. Yellow and Red are used by fast food companies like Chicken Republic because these colours are known to stimulate people’s appetite. Blue signifies calmness and serenity and that is why Facebook and Linkedin use the colour to make their users comfortable while using the service.
What Does the Colour You Wear Say About You?
We have seen what people use colours around us to represent, now what does the colour us symbolize. Some people just jump into any wear while others put on a certain colour for a specific reason. Here are some reasons;
- Association: The association we belong can require us to be in a particular colour at any time. Take football or basketball teams, for instance, the team members wear the same colour of jersey throughout a game so that they can easily identify themselves and also differentiate themselves from their opponents. Members of confraternity also ‘fly colour’ to show the cult group that they belong to.
- Mood: People’s mood can be read from the colour of the clothes they are putting. In Western Africa, black is worn when people are mourning, so most times when you see someone in all black; it most likely means that the individual is grieving.
- Culture: Some cultures link colours to certain beliefs and these beliefs are passed down from generation to generation. An example is the colour white; white is used to symbolize the purity of the bride during weddings. So, when a lady wears any colour other than white during her wedding, it means that the lady has been deflowered or has even conceived at a particular time in the past. It is a shame to the bride and the family of the bride when she can not wear a white dress at her wedding.
- Fashion: Although this is open to debate sometimes, the colour of cloth a person wears can suggest what gender the person is tilted to. People who wear colours like pink, peach or rose, they are said to be more feminine than masculine irrespective of their sex. Meanwhile, those who wear black, brown or orange are believed to be more masculine.
Colours are of very much importance to society and can signify different things. Some people even take these colours very seriously especially dress colours and tend to harass or abuse those who deliberately or unintentionally disrespect the colours. So before you leave your house next time, make sure to take a second look at the colour of the dress you are wearing.