Do Happy Colors Make You Feel Happy?

Do Happy Colors Make You Feel Happy?

Are you looking to add a bit of pep to your step? Using happy colors might just be the way to do it. Learn what colors can make you feel happier.

Does wearing a black outfit make you look thinner? Does a grocery market painted yellow make you feel hungry? Does wearing a white wedding dress make you look more innocent?

All these questions have to do with the effect that different colors have on our brain and our emotions. They fall under the area of color psychology. This powerful and controversial concept is often used when creating logos and developing branding.

The idea behind color psychology is that there are happy colors and there are colors that can make you feel sad. Knowing which is which is key to product design, advertising, and other aspects of marketing.

So what color are happy colors? Keep reading to learn how these colors affect your mind and body.

What Are Happy Colours?

Warm colors come from the red side of the color spectrum. They include red, orange, and yellow.

Warm colors are the colors most associated with happy feelings. Because they can evoke warmth, optimism, and energy they can be thought of us happy colors.

In fact, it's believed that the simple act of looking at colors such as red or pink causes our brain to release dopamine. Dopamine is the brain's happy chemical. It improves our mood, increases our attention, and boosts our sex drive.

Red

Red is the strongest and most dominant of the warm colors. It's also dynamic in that it can trigger a wide range of emotions. Even opposing ones.

Red is considered a happy color because it can cause feelings of passion, love, comfort, and warmth. But red can have the opposite effect. For some, red is associated with anger and danger.

The color red can cause heart rates to increase. This can cause feelings of excitement and intensity.

Yellow

Yellow is a cheery and energetic color. It's actually considered the most energetic of the warm colors.

Yellow is the color of sunshine. That association inspires optimism, hope, and comfort.

Using yellow as an accent provides feelings of optimism. It can also increase your metabolism.

However, yellow can be overwhelming. This is because it reflects a high amount of light.

It can both irritate and fatigue the human eye. If you're designing a business card or a logo, try not to use a yellow font.

Orange

Orange combines both yellow and red for a well-balanced happy color. It's not as aggressive as red, and it's not as hard on the eyes as yellow.

Orange is a color that inspires energy. It can cause feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth. It's also thought to be a happy color that's associated with enhanced feelings of vitality.

However, in the US, orange is also closely related to Halloween. That can evoke dark and/or cartoonish associations.

Pink

Pink is a lighter and less aggressive shade of red. It reflects feelings of love and romance.

Unlike the other warm colors, it's believed that pink can have a calming effect. This is usually a trait of cool colors. However, researchers also note that this effect isn't long-lasting and fades as exposure to the color increases.

Highly associated with femininity, pink can be associated with feminine qualities. These include softness, nurturance, kindness, and compassion.

What Aren't Happy Colours?

On the opposite side of the color spectrum are the blue colors. These colors include blue, purple, and green.

These colors are thought to have a calming effect. On the flip side, they can also make people feel sad or indifferent.

Know Your Colors

Although much of the research is anecdotal, color psychology is often used in marketing to subconsciously effects people's moods and behavior. Using happy colors like red, yellow, orange, and pink may have an effect on how people react to different products and advertisements. But they have to be used in the right way or they risk having the opposite effects.

If you're starting to think of your brand design, consider how colors can affect the tone and feeling of your brand. And if you need help creating your logos and business cards, get a quote from us.