Colour Psychology
Colour psychology is the study of colours in relation to human behavior. Different colours evoke different emotions / emotional responses and can represent individual personality characteristics. Purple, a combination of the primary colours blue and red, represents a balance between those two colour psychologies. Red brings intensity and energy to the colour, whilst blue brings relaxation and stability. We can take this a step further by acknowledging the various shades of purple reflect different colour psychologies.
The Meaning of Purple
The colour purple relates to the imagination, spirituality and creativity. It contains the energy and strength of red with the spirituality and integrity of blue creating a balance between our physical and our spiritual energies. Its calming effect can be the trigger for creativity.
Lighter shades of purple are associated with more feminine qualities such as empathy, sensitivity, compassion and tolerance.
Bright purple is associated with wealth and royalty, whilst darker shades of purple can represent sadness and frustration.
The Psychology of Purple
Purple promotes harmony of the mind and the emotions, contributing to mental balance,stability and peace of mind. It is a link between the spiritual and the physical worlds, between thought and activity.
It is widely associated with the practice of meditation and other spiritual endeavors aimed at connecting our dreams, values and beliefs.
Purple encourages creative pursuits and, whilst sometimes unconventional, expresses individuality through inspiration and originality.
Purple is specifically associated with royalty, the nobility and power therefore creating an impression of luxury, wealth, confidence and self assurance.
Purple is also widely associated with mystery and fantasy appealing to those in need of escapism.
Personality Traits
The colour purple is often associated with some the following characteristics:
Positive
- individuality
- creativity
- intuitive
- selfless
- wisdom
- mysterious
Negative
- immaturity
- impractical
- cynical
- arrogant
- snobbery
- corrupt
Shades of Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue. Technically it is a secondary colour and is not a true colour. In color theory, the line of purples or purple boundary is the locus on the edge of the chromaticity diagram formed between extreme spectral red and violet.
- Eggplant
- Plum
- Magenta
- Orchid
- Lavender
- Lilac
- Purple
- Thistle
- Iris
- Amethsyt
- Violet
- Indigo
Marketing / Branding
Purple’s association with wealth, luxury and elegance make it a great branding choice especially for high end or premium goods and services. It is also popular with academic institutions and for search engines with its association with wisdom.
Purple is not used in branding as widely as the primary colours but as a result has a tendency to stand out more. Here are just a few of the high profile brands utilising purple…
Colour psychology is a well-known, yet less explored branch of the study of how our brain perceives what it visualizes. As far as scientific research goes, there is not much to work with. However, the impact that colors have on our brains is used to manipulate our decision making by multiple facets of society.
