Warm colors | Cool colors | Neutral colors
Cool colors are purples, blues, aquas, and greens. When they are used together, cool colors seems to move away from the viewer, and express coolness, detachment, stability and calmness. Cool colors appear smaller than warm colors and they visually recede on the page so red can visually overpower and stand out over blue even if used in equal amounts.
Green
Positive traits: adventurous, analytical, aspiring, clean, comfortable, faithful, frank, free, fresh, friendly, generous, lucky, harmonizing, healthy, lazy, mucous, naive, natural, neutral, prosperous, quiet, relaxed, renewed, safe, secure, sharing, sincere, steady, vigourous, young
Negative traits: bitter, corrupted, envious, evil, greedy, guilty, ignorant, ill, inexperienced, jealous, melancholic, poisoned, sick, unskilled
- In the Middle Ages, green represented evil or demonic beings (including dragons) and sometimes love. Nowadays, however, ideas associated with this color have shifted.
- In ancient Greece, green symbolized victory.
- In the highlands of Scotland, people wore green as a mark of honor.
- Green is the national color of Ireland.
- Green is a sacred color to Moslems.
- Green symbolizes go because of its use in traffic signals. It is also the color of informational and directional signs.
- A “greenback” is slang for a U.S. dollar bill.
- Green means “go.” When “all systems are green,” it means everything is in order.
- The green room of a concert hall or theater is where performers relax before going onstage.
- The “green-eyed monster” is jealousy.
- Green is youthful.
- Being “green around the gills” is looking pale and sickly.
- Because of its camouflage properties, green is typically used for the field uniforms for many military services. It is also used as the dress uniform for many land armies and marines.
Spring green
Positive traits: accomplishments, balance, caring, considerate, contemporary, harmony in nature, health, hope, new life, spring, truth, young
Negative traits: inexperienced
- Under construction.
Aqua, Cyan
Positive traits: analytical, cooling, refreshes, intelligent
Negative traits: cold
- This color represents water, thus the names aqua
- It is cold and direct to the point, without any distractions. A very articulate color.
Azure
Positive traits: calm, clarity, harmony, honest, loyalty, peace, tranquility, truth
Negative traits: isolated, lonely, melancholic, nostalgic
- This color resembles the sky on a clear day.
- It is French in origin, and is often used in France to describe the Mediterranean Sea.
- It is one of the national colours of Italy.
Blue
Positive traits: accepting, authoritative, balanced, calming, caring, cautious, clean, cold, conservative, deep, faithful, flexible, free, fresh, good, hard, hopeful, icy, infinite, intelligent, logical, lonely, loyal, mature, peaceful, powerful, protective, quiet, rational, responsible, secure, sensitive, sincere, stable, tender, traditional, tranquil, uniting, wet
Negative traits: depressed, despaired, dull, isolated, lonely, melancholic, nostalgic, sad
- In ancient Rome, public servants wore blue. Today, police and other public servants wear blue.
- Blue is traditionally associated with boys, as pink is associated with girls.
- In China, blue is for little girls.
- In Iran, blue is the color of mourning.
- Blue was used as protection against witches, who supposedly dislike the color.
- If you are “true blue,” you are loyal and faithful.
- A room painted blue is said to be relaxing.
- “Feeling blue” is feeling sad. “Blue devils” are feelings of depression.
- Something “out of the blue” is from an unknown source at an unexpected time.
- A bluebook is a list of socially prominent people.
- The first prize gets a blue ribbon.
- In Russian, the word for light blue is slang for "gay".
- A blue blood is a person of noble descent. This is probably from the blue veins of the fair-complexioned aristocrats who first used this term.
- “Into the blue” means into the unknown.
- A “bluenose” is a strict, puritanical person.
Purple
Positive traits: ambitious, aristocratic, artistic, compassionate, cool, creative, dramatic, enigmatic, extravagant, fair, fantastic, feminine, frail, gracious, independent, inspiritual, intelligent, intuitive, leader, luxurious, magical, majestic, mystical, noble, nostalgic, precious, proud, responsible, rich, royal, sad, secret, sensual, serious, sophisticated, spiritual, splendid, stylish, true
Negative traits: arrogant, conflictive, cruel, decadent, lonely, melancholic, mourning, sad, somber, suffering
- The Egyptian queen Cleopatra loved purple. To obtain one ounce of Tyrian purple dye, she had her servants soak 20,000 Purpura snails for 10 days.
- In Thailand, purple is worn by a widow mourning her husband's death.
- A “purple heart” is a U.S. military decoration for soldiers wounded or killed in battle.
- Purple is a royal color.
- Purple robes are an emblem of authority and rank.
- Purple is also a symbol of womandom, feminism or lesbianism. It is often usen in women's spaces, e.g. as the colour of walls.
- Leonardo da Vinci believed that the power of meditation increases 10 times when done in a purple light, as in the purple light of stained glass.
- Purple in a child's room is said to help develop the imagination according to color theory.