 There is no avoiding it; color is everywhere. It fills in the form of our earth and our universe. When the sun shines, the sky is blue. The grass is seasonally green. The sun is classified as a yellow star. Mars is the "Red Planet." Space, devoid of color is black and black is a color. It has even been scientifically proven that people born without sight dream in color.
Pastels, brilliant hues, and every shade in between form an integral part of our lives. Often instinctively, color exerts a powerful effect on us. We take pleasure in a color or can not stand the sight of it. We are unable to sleep well in a brightly colored room and wake up feeling cranky. Other colors leave us feeling depressed. Besides these subjective experiences, all of us have color reactions in common.
Scientific studies have discovered some of these commonalities: red is a powerful energizer, blue calms the nerves, pink is nurturing, and yellow focuses mental clarity. Yet, no one is able to explain just how color stimulates or calms our endocrine systems. This is one of the areas where we excrete hormones that help produce our emotions. Over exposure to a very bright color may intensify emotional hormones. Far too much exposure to a very dark color may induce depression. An ideal color balance promotes emotional health and harmony.
In 1979, Dr. Alexander G. Schauss, PHD and Dr. John Otto proved that an innovative pink color produced a healthy emotional effect on in-mates at the US Naval Corrections Center in Seattle, Washington. For a whole month, Commander Miller and Warden Gene Baker recorded the reactions of aggressive men being held temporarily in a jail cell painted a revolutionary color of pink. Miller and Baker discovered aggressive men calmed down within 15 minutes and remained calm 30 minutes after being released from the pink cell. This success inspired Dr. Schauss to name his color, "Baker-Miller Pink." Baker-Miller pink is being used today in some temporary holding cells in jails all across the country.
Helly Duncan is expertly familiar with the impact of color on our emotions. Founder and owner of "Design Matters Home", a firm based in Louisville, Colorado, Helly and her consultants strive to help a home owner find colors, accents and color combination's that make a home truly comfortable for the whole family. Helly will be teaching a workshop, "Psychology and The Trends of Color" on March 16, 2010.
For more information contact Helly at www.designmattershome.com.
Other sources: Morton Walker, "The Power of Color"
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