The Psychology of Color

ColumnsEducation

Mar 15

sharon-pittaway-98257-unsplash No matter what styles of weddings you design, you can’t underestimate the role that color plays in planning. Everything from overall theme to the minute details—flowers, linens, cake design, dresses, accessories, printed goods—all of it is intricately linked to the colors a couple selects. At first, finding the perfect palette may seem as arbitrary as picking a swatch that “looks nice” to your couple, however, there is actually a lot more that goes into the choice.

Color Psychology 101

Often, couples don't know what colors to choose. They need help to tease out their personal color style. Understanding the psychology behind color can give you, as their planner, the insight you need to guide them to their perfect palette.“The psychology of color is a fascinating, seemingly endless, navigation for how color affects us,” says Mark Woodman, past president of the Color Marketing Group. “Some things seem obvious—the warmth from the yellow sun, the coolness of a blue lake. Some conjure a time, event or person—the soft lilac that a beloved aunt wore or your college team colors. So a visceral reaction can occur when individuals supply personal meanings to colors.”“Part of our psychic development, color is tied to our emotions as well as our intellect,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, and someone who, quite literally, wrote the book on color—The Complete Color Harmony: Pantone Edition. According to Eiseman, either inherently, or through association and conditioning, color comes to have meaning to us, and that meaning is evoked as emotions. Clearly, some emotions and visceral reactions are highly desirable on a wedding day and others are not, so determining your couples’ color associations is of vital importance.This is especially true, because color inspires multiple moods and reactions, and we each have our own internal palette that dictates our responses. Eiseman uses the colors in nature as an example. Consider the sky. We have different names for the color that we see as “sky blue.” Pantone’s “True Blue” stems from the understanding that, “even on cloudy days, we know that the clouds will eventually clear, revealing a beautiful, beckoning blue tone” says Eiseman. “Blue is also considered the color of water, so it is thought of as cooling and cleansing,” she adds.

The Impact of Color on Events

One of the major trends in the event industry is the focus on the guest experience. If color triggers strong emotional responses, then it stands to reason that it is one of the most important factors in wedding design.“Color pretty much dictates the entire feel of an event, because it communicates style,” says Leah Weinberg, owner and creative director of Color Pop Events in New York. “Color also sets the tone and sets it quickly. As soon as someone opens up an invitation, the colors are going to tell that person a lot about what they can expect from the wedding,” she adds.The color scheme of a wedding often communicates the season, theme, and level of formality. “You can’t achieve an autumn feel for a wedding with hot pink and turquoise,” says Weinberg. “Couples need to view color as a tool to make a statement and convey what they want their wedding to say about them.”Help your clients choose colors that they not only enjoy, but that others recognize as romantic, or fun-loving or classic and formal—whatever feelings they are trying to evoke. Encourage them to make this choice early in the planning process, when they have a venue and theme or concept in mind, and when it’s not yet too late to help make sure all elements of their design are cohesive.

Best Practices for Pairing Colors

If you acknowledge the influence psychology has on our reactions to color, it follows that psychology will play a large role in selecting perfect color pairings. While it would be easier if there were hard and fast rules to follow, Eiseman warns against trying to follow traditional color rules when helping couples with their design.“I don’t believe in color rules,” says Eiseman. “I think they are too restrictive and not very imaginative. I prefer to use the word ‘guidelines,’ as that allows entering into a project with a more open mind, yet still provides parameters.” When she works with a client, Eiseman tries to determine what will work within the context of their goals and the image they want to portray. “Come up with your mood or theme first,” suggests Eiseman. In her new book, there are 30 different moods along with the best colors to use to depict those moods.Woodman agrees, saying, “Personally, I don’t have rules for color. I do try to be appropriate to an occasion. For instance, for some, bright yellow may be inappropriate at a funeral, so I’d stay away from that.”Weinberg also takes a more holistic approach to selecting colors. She looks at inspiration images that her clients bring to the table. “If they have started a Pinterest board or saved images on their Instagram account, I’ll take a look at those images and see if there is a recurring color theme within them,” she says. She uses this insight to suggest colors that will appeal.When Perkins Morgan, co-owner of Paisley and Jade in Richmond, Va., has clients come to her with a strong idea of their colors, she has a plan. “We have them look at our inventory and pick out one statement piece—really the first piece that their eye is drawn to,” says Morgan. “We then make this piece the inspiration or staple to complete the collection. We find it’s really helpful to communicate color families to clients rather than a particular color.”

2018 Color Trends Unveiled

So, what can we expect in 2018 color trends? Both Weinberg and Morgan agree that the Pantone Color of the Year will be prominent. “I was incredibly excited to hear (Ultra Violet) announced,” says Weinberg. Morgan anticipates that various shades of Ultra Violet will be paired with soft grays and light greens.Weinberg also thinks millennial pink is going to be a popular color. “I happen to think it works really well for wedding décor and attire, she says. She suggests using it as a pop of color and an accent rather than a major color, to avoid “the Barbie look.”The “Return to Nature” look is also supposed to be popular, which means we can expect to see a variety of greens with white accents and palettes drawn from the outdoors.Personalization remains popular, and with all that we’ve learned about the psychology of color, that leaves a world of hues ready to take center stage at weddings in 2018.