Okay, so the other day I was messing around with some design ideas, and I really wanted to nail the color schemes. I mean, color can totally make or break a project, right? So, I figured I’d dive into the psychology of colors and see what’s what.
First thing I did was hit up Google, just typed in “psychology of colours pdf”. Loads of stuff popped up, but I was looking for something that wasn’t too academic, you know? Something I could actually use without having to wade through a ton of jargon.
I ended up finding a few decent articles, but they were all scattered. One talked about how blue makes people feel calm, another was all about how red can pump up the energy. I wanted something more comprehensive. That’s when I decided to try and find a good PDF.
After a bit more digging, I stumbled upon a PDF that seemed promising. It had a nice overview of different colors and their common associations. I scanned through it, and it seemed pretty solid – not too fluffy, but also not super dense. Perfect!
My process was pretty simple:
- Read it through: I started by reading the whole thing from start to finish. Just to get a feel for the overall concepts.
- Took notes: Next, I went back and made notes on the key points for each color. What feelings does it evoke? What kind of message does it send?
- Made a colour wheel guide: This was the most fun part. I created my own color wheel guide. Then I took all the key words for each colour from my notes and I pasted them into each color.
For example, for blue, I jotted down things like “trust,” “security,” “calm,” and “stability.” For red, it was “energy,” “passion,” “excitement,” but also “danger” and “aggression.” See what I mean? It’s not just about liking a color; it’s about understanding what it communicates.
Then, I put it into practice. I was working on a website mock-up for a financial company. So, naturally, I leaned heavily on blues and greens to create that sense of trustworthiness and security. I avoided reds and oranges, which might come across as too aggressive or risky.
I also used the color psychology to influence the logo design for a friend’s yoga studio. Light blues, light greens, maybe a touch of lavender. Calming, peaceful, zen vibes all around.
Honestly, just having that PDF and my notes handy made a huge difference. I felt way more confident in my color choices, and the end results were much better. It’s not like I’m suddenly a color expert or anything, but it’s definitely a tool I’ll be using from now on.
So yeah, that’s my little color psychology experiment. Definitely worth checking out if you’re into design or just curious about how colors affect us. There are some good PDF’s out there. Happy designing!
