Cold color

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White-light blue ice floes look cold

The main cold colors include white, light blue, blue and blue-green. Cold colors trigger a feeling of cold in the viewer . We register temperatures through the skin's temperature sense. And we register colors visually with our eyes. So it is strange that a color can appear cold at the same time. In all cultures, people perceive a blue as cold. In some countries, such as Northern Europe, white can be added, in others, such as China, it is black. However, blue is always represented. It is therefore a common synesthesia , a coupling between the sense of sight and temperature.

The colors white, blue, green and purple make an ice sculpture appear icy.

evolution

The cold effect of blue probably lies in human evolution . In addition to the sky, water is part of the human environment. Water is generally regarded as a cold element, but with differences in moral evaluation. For people in warm countries, the idea of ​​refreshment prevails. In cold countries, however, people tend to perceive water as a threatening element, especially in the form of cold, ice and snow. It used to be difficult to find food in winter. Physical resources had to be used sparingly. The lowering of the pulse rate and blood pressure also explains the calming effect of the color. The reactions make sense in the course of evolution and represent a better chance of survival.

physiology

From a physiological perspective, colors can trigger measurable physical reactions in people. Harry Wohlfarth (1921–1996) from the University of Alberta in Canada found a significant increase in the pulse and breathing frequency of test subjects in red and yellow body colors, but a decrease in blue colors. There is also an influence whether a room is painted blue or red. Test subjects perceive a blue room at least 4 ° C colder than a red one.

physics

There is no physical evidence of any influence of the colors blue and red. Whether a room or a canvas is painted blue or red has no influence on the measurable temperature. Only a black object, which absorbs all frequencies, heats up more than a white object - provided that it is exposed to intense sunlight. This is why a light blue room is colder than a dark red one, but a dark blue room is also warmer than a pink one.

Color psychology

The cold effect of blue can be transferred to the emotions . In this way a connection between blue and cold feeling can be established. Then blue can appear repellent, boring, indifferent, impersonal or insensitive. On the other hand, you can make the best decisions when there are no emotions involved. This creates the connection to seriousness, calm, security, loyalty and reliability.

A typical American bathroom

Many industrial sectors use the knowledge of color psychology and have dedicated themselves to cool color tones. Soft candies and the logos of frozen products are usually designed in blue to convey coolness and freshness. Law firms, banks and insurance companies prefer blue logos and designs to show seriousness , trust and consistency. Craftsmen in blue overalls , parking lot signs, police and technical devices want to give us a feeling of security and exude reliability. Since 1980, athletes in particular have been sticking colored, elastic adhesive tapes (kinesiological tapes) to their skin in the event of injuries and complaints. If these colorful plasters are blue, they are supposed to lower the tissue temperature. They are therefore used for inflammation, bruises and swellings. However, it should be mentioned here that scientific evidence is still pending. Blue has a cooling and calming effect in rooms. The color is ideal for bathrooms, relaxation rooms, bedrooms and wellness areas. A living room in blue, on the other hand, would look uncomfortable.

Color range

The same red-violet (left) appears relatively warm next to blue and relatively cold next to red

White, light blue, cyan, blue and teal are clearly cold. In general, gray, silver and blue-violet can also be counted among the cold colors. Opinions differ as to whether green, yellow-green, violet or red-violet should be classified as cold, neutral or even warm. Some colors that are close to the cold ones on the color wheel can sometimes appear warm and sometimes cold, depending on their surrounding colors. For example, the same red-violet appears relatively warm next to a blue and relatively cold next to red.

Use in art

It is understandable that artists paint glacier pictures, ice, snow or winter landscapes in largely cold colors. Morning mist, night pieces and seascapes make them cool in different light or dark shades of blue. But portraits are also sometimes designed in blue in order to portray cold and cold feelings or a depressing life situation.

literature

  • Monika Krüger: The temperature effect of colors in the fine arts. A search for the origins and the functionality of the warm-cold contrast . The other publishing house, Osnabrück 2003, ISBN 3-89959-141-0 .
  • Hans Gekeler : DuMont's handbook of colors. DuMont, Cologne 1988, ISBN 3-7701-2111-2 , pp. 130 ff.
  • Bridget Bodoano: Living with color. Callwey Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-7667-1744-8 .
  • Johannes Itten: Art of Color. Subjective experience and objective recognition as ways to art , 3rd edition, Otto Maier Verlag, Ravensburg 1967.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harald Mante: Color Design in Photography. A theory of colors . 2nd Edition. Otto Maier Verlag, Ravensburg 1977, ISBN 3-473-60145-4 , p. 56 .
  2. ↑ Monika Krüger: The temperature effect of colors in the fine arts. A search for the origins and the functionality of the warm-cold contrast . 1st edition. Der Other Verlag, Osnabrück 2003, ISBN 3-89959-141-0 , p. 102 .
  3. ↑ Monika Krüger: The temperature effect of colors in the fine arts. A search for the origins and the functionality of the warm-cold contrast . 1st edition. Der Other Verlag, Osnabrück 2003, ISBN 3-89959-141-0 , p. 101-102 .
  4. ↑ Monika Krüger: The temperature effect of colors in the fine arts. A search for the origins and the functionality of the warm-cold contrast . 1st edition. Der Other Verlag, Osnabrück 2003, ISBN 3-89959-141-0 , p. 52 and 56 .
  5. ^ In: Max Lüscher : Lüscher Test . Testverlag, Basel undated
  6. ^ Heinrich Frieling, Else Lieselotte Browers, Sigrid Lechner-Knecht: Vibrant Color. About the use of colors and their power . Musterschmidt KG, Göttingen 1974, ISBN 978-3-7881-4033-5 , p. 18 .
  7. ↑ Monika Krüger: The temperature effect of colors in the fine arts. A search for the origins and the functionality of the warm-cold contrast . 1st edition. Der Other Verlag, Osnabrück 2003, ISBN 3-89959-141-0 , p. 20 and 28 .
  8. ↑ Monika Krüger: The temperature effect of colors in the fine arts. A search for the origins and the functionality of the warm-cold contrast . 1st edition. Der Other Verlag, Osnabrück 2003, ISBN 3-89959-141-0 , p. 121 .
  9. ↑ Advertising - associations with individual colors with examples. Colors and Life - Online, accessed on March 22, 2020 (German).
  10. ↑ Influence and effect of the color of kinesiology tape. Academy for Sport and Health, accessed on March 21, 2020 (German).
  11. ↑ Johannes Itten: Art of Color. Subjective experience and objective recognition as ways to art . 3. Edition. Otto Maier Verlag, Ravensburg 1967, p. 65 .