Significance of Color in Culture

Colors evoke strong physiological and emotional responses from both positive and negative. And different colors have different meanings to different people. If we are unfamiliar with the cultural significance of a certain color of product, brand, or identity we might end up failing before it has a chance to take off! Let’s take a closer look at the cultural significance of color! :P

Red , for instance is a very stimulating color and has been shown to produce increased heart and respiratory rates. Thus, red works as an excellent attention grabber and accent but could easily overstimulate when used as a background color. Perhaps it is also the most significant color in China. Why? No where is this color more prominent than on the Chinese flag. Representing good fortune and joy, red is also one of the most used colors during Chinese holidays and family gatherings. It is also the color the Chinese associate with fire, one of the five elements its people believe create everything that exists in nature.

However, in India, the color red represents something quite different: Purity.Indian brides traditionally wear red gowns and once married their foreheads are adorned with a red dot or tikka, the symbol of commitment. Because the wedding represents the beginning of a union of two individuals, the color red also symbolizes fertility and prosperity.

Now, let's look at the color green.In North American cultures, green means go.It is also associated with environmental awareness.It is a symbolic of nature, and is often linked to fiscal matters. But,i n India green is the color used to honor Islam. As popular as green is, don’t use it if you plan on doing business with Indonesian people. That’s because in Indonesia, green is a forbidden color. In countries with dense jungles like those in South America, green represents death. But in the Middle East, green is the color of luck.Green is also a sacred color to the Egyptians because it represents the hope and joy of Spring.

What about the colour white?White represents mourning in Chinese cultures. However, the western culture symbolize white as color of purity and innocence. It also signify life. Besides that it also represents cleanliness, truth, peace, coldness and sterility.

Black is often used to symbolize death in the western culture. Besides representing death, it also represents power, sophistication, contemporary style, morbidity, evil and also rebellion. But in China, t is a color for young boys.

But the color purple is a color of mourning in Thailand. It is a color for the widows. In the western culture, purple is often associated with royalty,wealth and opulence. It is also a color for mystery,creativity, royalty, mysticism, rarity.

In Iran, blue symbolizes immortality. It is a color of heaven and spirituality. But for the Cherokees it means defeat or trouble.l In western cultures, blue is associated with depression,sadness,conservative,corperate.It also symbolize loyalty, security, conservatism, tranquility and coldness.

Yellow represents reliability and strength in Saudi Arabia.Chinese associate yellow with another of the five elements, the Earth, and as such, this color represents royalty and it also means nourishing.In Japan, it is the color for courage but in Eygpt its the color for mourning. Yellow is associated with cowardice, hope, hazards.

We can emphasize certain meanings over others by using variations of value and saturation, or by using colors that combine two hues. Therefore, it is important for us to learn about the different significance of colors in different culture. Not only will it broaden our knowledge but it'll also prevent us from offending the different races and cultures in the world.