Color Meaning, Affects, Significance, and Symbolism for Art and Literature

Red

• Excitement, intense, danger, aggresive, violent, war, intense, love, passion, energy, stop, hot, warm, fire, blood, ( Western)
• Brides (Eastern)
• Good luck, celebration, summoning (China)
• Purity (India)
• Communism (Russia)
• Mourning (South Africa)
• Success, triumph (Cherokee)

Orange

• Creativity, autumn, vibrant, warm, caution, attention, (Western)
• Protestants (Ireland)

Yellow

• Hope, sunshine, happiness, joy, warmth, hazards, coward, deceit (Western)
• Nourishing (China)
• Mourning (Egypt)
• Merchants (India)
• Courage (Japan)

Green

• Spring, new, birth, fertile, abundant, life, nature, jealousy, envy, sick, ill, inexperience, youthful, novice, go, environmentally friendly (Western)
• Green hat indicates a man's wife is cheating on him, exorcism (China)
• Islam (India)
• Ireland

Blue

• Peace, calm, cool, cold, strong, steadfast, friendly, trustworthy, depression, sadness, conservative, corporate (IBM-big blue), "something blue": - bride,ice, sky, water, (Western)
• Heaven, spirituality (Iran)
• Defeat, trouble (Cherokee)

Purple

• Royalty, noble, wise, mysterious, spiritual (Western)
• Mourning (Thailand)

White

• Brides, angels, "good guys" hospitals, clinical, sterile, doctors, peace - white dove, pure, innocent, stability, power, trustworthy, snow, winter, cold, all colors (FFF) (Western)
• Funerals (Eastern)
  
• White carnation - death (Japan)

Black

• Funerals, death, mourning, evil, "bad-guys" rebellion, power, formal, sophisticated, mysterious, serious, sexy, absence of color (000) (Western)
• Color for boys (China)

Brown

• natural, nature, earthy, woody, stony, warm, strong, long lasting, mature, simple (Western)

Grey

• neutral, cloudy, moody, conservative (Western)

Pink

• female, love, romance, female activism, breast cancer awareness (Western)

Gold

• money, success, high quaity

Dr. Robert Sweetland's Notes ©