Colors are subconsciously affecting you, and it’s time you confront them

I had no real reason to attach myself to the color pink at a young age. I associated it with princesses and butterflies and pretty things, and thus, it was my favorite color, but what started as a 6-year-old simply and joyfully saying pink was the best color turned into a 21-year-old aggressively making the color pink a personality trait.

Regardless of if I fully understood its effects or not, the color pink has always made me feel light, soft, happy. Color psychology suggests this isn’t unusual.

The color pink, often associated with femininity, romance and innocence, has a calming effect on people. Scientists have even painted prison walls pink to test its tranquilizing capabilities, and Swiss psychologist Daniela Späth found that certain shades of pink did lessen violent behavior and pacify inmates.

Pink isn’t the only powerful color, either. The social media sites we all know and love — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, if you’re weirdly professional all the time — they design their sites with color theory in mind.

The color blue can evoke many physiological responses, but the purpose of the blue we see most on social media sites is to promote productivity and communication. It symbolizes trust and intellect. It holds the attention of users, keeping people engaged and on the site for extended periods of time. For social media companies, engagement means success, and success means money.

Other businesses use color psychology to subtly manipulate consumers, too. Restaurants often build their menus with colors that will be appealing to their customers. For instance, many restaurants and food brands rely on the color green because green symbolizes health and freshness.

Along with green, the color red is also used with many food brands because it means passion, excitement, desire. Those are all words you want associated with your cheeseburgers, right? Red activates your appetite by increasing blood flow and speeding up your metabolism. Seeing red makes people hungry — among other things — and brands like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King know this all too well.

Not every color has a positive association. The color black is associated with depression and pessimism, and we see that in things like funerals and cartoon depictions of villains. Black is grief, contrasting with colors like yellow and orange, which represent optimism and adventure, and I’m just saying, if everyone wore orange to funerals, the vibe would be way different.

Colors are always subconsciously affecting us. Even if you don’t recognize it, your mood can significantly change based on your space and your surroundings. So paint your office blue to be productive, paint your bedroom red to be seductive, but probably don’t paint your nursery black. That just doesn’t feel like a good idea.