Yellow is the happiest colour. It’s a bright sunshiny day. As the brightest and lightest colour in the visible colour spectrum it is fun, playful and uplifting.
Because it is so light and bright and noticeable from a distance, it’s used for taxi cabs in many places and traffic signs to grab our attention and alert us to possible danger. In nature, when combined with black (such as the bumble bee) it sends out a warning to predators to be wary.
As it reflects back so much light, it can become a fatiguing colour over time if you stare at it too long. Some say that babies cry more and people get angry more frequently in bright yellow rooms.
Yellow increases respiration rate – it stimulates and increases appetite, in the way that red does too – which is why you will see it in fast food restaurant logos.
Yellow is associated with gold and therefore success, which is why it is a popular tie colour for many men.
Pastel shades of yellow have been found to aid memory, which is why legal pads and post-it notes (and the Yellow Pages) are all a soft shade of yellow!
It’s negative aspect is associated with cowardice, think yellow bellied or yellow streak.
How does yellow make you feel?
Want to discover more about other colours and how they communicate?
Then read on:
Yellow is not a colour I wear. When I had my “colours done” years ago, yellow didn’t feature prominently in the spectrum of my “Winter” shading.
But in the last 6 months or so, all the clothing and accessories that have come out have completely caught my eye, and I’m beginning to think that I don’t really care about what’s “right” or not. So to that effect, I’ve put a top on layby that has quite a lot of yellow in it, and I’m eyeing off some Yellow Keds and yellow shorts for summer.
I enjoying your undertone series.
Thanks Barbara!