I remember sitting in kindergarten class and thinking, everyone else has a favorite color. What's mine? I thought about it and decided on violet, which is still my favorite color today.
Although there's a lack of scientific research regarding color psychology, there's plenty of evidence (just ask a marketer or designer) to suggest that color can affect our moods, actions, and behaviors. And since choosing a favorite color is a such a personal thing, colors can also tell us a little something about ourselves.
Here's a guide to get you started.
REd
The positive:
- Extroverted, optimistic, and confident
- Action-oriented and strive on success
- Love to explore and discover new ways of doing things
- When you want something, you go out and get it and are passionate in everything you do
- Impatient and impulsive, always in a hurry
- Your passion and high energy can lead to aggression and anger if not checked
- Confident in nature, you can also come off as a know-it-all and easily trip up on your own ego
- Get energized
- Take action
- Excite the emotions and awaken physical passion
- Stimulate confidence
- Capture attention
- Energy
- Action
- Desire
- Passion
blue
The positive:
- You're all about inner peace, discovering truths, and forging your own path
- You're reliable, trustworthy, and a loyal friend
- Sincere, genuine
- Prefer balance and harmony
- Love organization and clean work spaces (messy bed, messy head)
- You're stubborn when it comes to doing things someone else's way, even if it's easier
- Can become moody and over emotional, self pity
- Manipulative if provoked
- Cautious and tend to worry over petty things
- Make sound decisions during difficult times
- Create order and organization
- Slow the metabolism and relax the mind
- Communicate your needs and wants
- Build strong relationships
- Communication
- Peace
- Honesty
- Devotion
- Wisdom
Purple/violet
The positive:
- Free spirited, supportive, compassionate
- Introverted with a peaceful demeanor
- Creative and love the unconventional
- Highly imaginative and ambitious
- Intuitive with an affinity towards the spiritual
- Often impractical in your idealistic pursuits
- Have difficulty dealing with day-to-day problems
- A bit scatter-brained, especially when handling too many projects
- Can appear arrogant and conceited
- Get in touch with deeper thoughts
- Enhance psychic ability and spiritual enlightenment
- Promote harmony and mental stability
- Daydream
- Create and inspire
- Inspiration
- Imagination
- Individuality
- Spirituality
green
The positive:
- Practical, down-to-earth
- Love to learn and quick to understand new concepts
- Comfortable in social situations and well received
- Great listener
- Love to get involved in community projects
- In your need to strive for balance, you can become unsettled and anxious
- Tendency to gossip
- Can become envious/jealous
- Easily put in a martyr role and can be taken advantage of
- Restore depleted energy
- Love and nurture yourself and others
- Balance the head and the heart
- Persist and cope with adversity
- Create prosperity and abundance
- Harmony and balance
- Hope
- Growth
yellow
The positive:
- Cheerful disposition
- Creative and able to come up with new ideas easily
- Spontaneous - able to think quickly and make instant decisions
- Loves using the mind over the body
- Tend to be critical of yourself and others
- Over-analyze situations
- Apt to hide emotions during adversity
- Can be deceitful and stubborn
- Strengthen your mental ability and perception
- Inspire original thought and practical ways of doing things
- Awaken confidence and optimism
- Analyze, focus, and make wise decisions
- Intellect
- Happiness
- Communication
orange
The positive:
- Warm and optimistic
- Thrive on social contact and are able to bring people together
- An adventurer, free spirit, loves the outdoors
- Easily move on from life's setbacks
- Enjoy being physically active
- Have a tendency to try and "keep up with the Jones'"
- Can become restless and impatient with those who can't keep up
- Impatient
- Unpredictable
- Bounce back from disappointments
- Uplift and rejuvenate the spirit
- Keep motivated and look on the bright side
- Free the mind's limitations and spawn new ideas
- Adventure and risk taking
- Social communication and interaction
- Friendship
- Enthusiasm
pink
The positive:
- Friendly and approachable
- Nurturer of the world
- Romantic, sensual, sensitive
- Optimistic and have a positive outlook on life
- See the good in others
- Tend to neglect yourself
- Can become flippant and immature
- May rely too much on others and become vulnerable in the process
- Strengthen compassion and empathy
- Calm your emotional energies and alleviate anger and aggression
- Get in touch with your nurturing side
- Radiate comfort and kindness
- Unconditional love
- Compassion
- Nurturing
- Hope
black
The positive:
- Independent, strong-willed, and determined
- Like to create an aura of mystery and intrigue
- Methodical in your work
- May find it hard to lighten up
- Guard your emotions and tend to put up walls
- Suppress your desires and aspirations
- Protect external emotional stress
- Radiate authority
- Strengthen discipline and willpower
- Absorb negative energy
- Mystery
- Power
- Control
What's your favorite color? Do its traits ring true? And if your color isn't on this list, check out the color psychology website for more.