Blue color in psychology: discover its meaning

If you could describe your life in colors, which ones would you use to draw it? Each color has a special and unique significance in our environment, from giving it that vital energy that excites us, to that peaceful tranquility that invites us to relax.

All colors are related to the different emotions we can feel, so our brain associates a hue with a specific state of mind, both in its expression in the environment, and in our subjective representation .

Now, if you could find a color that makes you feel calm, what would it be? Surely, you will have chosen blue, because it reminds us of the peacefulness of the sea and the sky. Although this meaning goes unnoticed, since we are not aware of it, the impact it produces on our emotional sphere is still present and is what causes us all those sensations.

But… Why the meaning of tranquility of the color blue? where does it come from? If you want to find out, then don't miss the following article where we will talk about the color blue in psychology and its meaning.

The psychology of color and its influence on our psyche

Color psychology is that discipline of psychology that studies the influence of color on human emotions. But where does this study come from? The answer is, from the visual perception that we have of the colors that are around us and the symbolic interpretation that our mind assigns to it.So, the use of colors on a day-to-day basis is conditioned by one's state of mind.

So that there are colors that make us happy, irritate us, make us sad, angry or can relax us Reason why it can be use art techniques in psychological interventions because, sometimes people are not able to describe their emotions or their problematic situations, but they can give color to their conditions, as well as use them to perform catharsis and to express emotions in everyday life.

Blue color in psychology: discover its meaning

Let's remember the question at the beginning of this article, if you thought of a color that transmits calm to you, would it be blue? This color is one of the most transmitting tranquility and relaxation. Right, as we mentioned before, because it reminds us of the peacefulness of the sky or the clear and undisturbed ocean.But it is also associated with intellectuality and intelligence, due to the fact that its tonality is in the range of cold gradients, which is why it is easily related to logic.

However, did you know that the color blue has 110 different shades? And even more impressive, that these shades have different meanings according to psychology. Among the emotions that the color blue awakens in us are serenity and confidence, and it is also associated with a taste for technology. Which we will see in more depth below.

one. The visual impact of blue

All humans have within our eye cavities, some photosensitive cells that are responsible for perceiving the light waves refracted in objects or as we commonly know, colors. So that later the brain gives it its own interpretation.However, we only have 3 cones, one for each primary color (yellow, blue, and red).

Therefore, it is one of the few colors to which we are most sensitive and can perceive how it is reflected in nature. Although we must clarify that natural blue objects are not of this color as such, but rather it is what we interpret in our brain. As is the case with the sea, which is actually colorless, but the reflection of light makes it appear a beautiful bright blue of different shades.

2. Blue in different cultures

Just as it has many different shades, it also has different meanings in the cultures of the world. Many cultures converge on a very similar concept in reference to blue, which is spirituality, serenity and harmony, since it has a direct association with both the sky and the sea.

For example, for the ancient Chinese culture, the lightest shades of blue are associated with healing, harmony and good fortune for a peaceful and prosperous life, since it is linked to the wood element .While in the Muslim and Christian religion it is taken as a protective cloak from heaven. Similarly, Egyptian and Hindu cultures took it as a sacred color used only by the gods.

However, not everything is so pure and serene. Well, in the same Chinese tradition, the strongest and most striking blue color is usually linked to perversions and evil. Just like in the Korean religion, where blue is the color of mourning.

4. The disappearance of blue in antiquity

We may have the idea that this color has been present since the beginning of our history, after all it is the characteristic color of the sky and the sea. But you will surely be surprised to learn that blue did not really exist in ancient times. Since the Greeks, the Romans and the ancient Asian civilization, this color went completely unnoticed.

Couldn't people see the color blue? According to historian and color expert Michel Pastoureau, this was not the case, they simply did not associate that color with anything.Since in Greek times, the most representative and used colors were white, black and red, only occasionally did they also use green and brown tones. In the same way it happened in ancient Rome, where white, red and gold predominated. As well as in oriental cultures.

Only the ancient Egyptians had a slight knowledge of blue and its use can be appreciated in their hieroglyphics and some paintings on sarcophagi or statues. Also the barbarian, Celtic and Germanic cultures, so the use of this color was almost prohibited in ancient Rome, since they considered them as a lower class. Such was their revulsion for this color that they considered people with blue eyes an abomination.

It was not until approximately the 12th and 14th centuries that, according to Pastoureau, blue began to take on relevance, thanks to Christian influence and the new social order.

5. Blue as a color of tranquility

So how does blue manage to be considered a color of tranquility? This is because it is associated with cold weather and therefore with the serenity, passivity and calm that this climate brings. Where we tend to be calmer and sheltered from the cold.

In the same way, in the world of marketing, taking into account its synonym of tranquility, they have used this color to express the confidence, quality and freshness of the products, the same sensation that the sea produces in us.

6. Technology and communication

With the advent of technological evolution, blue has been used almost as a flag of distinction, as it alludes to intelligence and wisdom, as well as to the novelty and avant-garde. Everything that can be related to logic and creativity at mathematical levels.

In the same way it is used to represent communication, as a fun connection of the sea and the sky, which can connect people all over the world.That is why we can see it in communication applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Skype or Telegram.

7. Intellectuality of the color blue

Another part in which we can find blue represented is in diplomatic and intellectual affairs. So it is common to find it in the logos of the UN, UNICEF or even in the flag of the European Union. This is due to the nature of the knowledge that comes from the human mind and our ability to convert teachings into wisdom to benefit others.

8. The illusion behind blue

The meaning of illusion, impression and fantasy that blue represents for some people (especially for artistic or fashion creations) comes from the idea of ​​the crystalline sea, which creates an effect of mirage, just like the sky that transforms from a pure light blue to a dark and rich one. Therefore, it is also given the interpretation of immensity and eternity.

It is also a color that fuels creativity and achieve what is impossible. So we can take it as inspiration to create fantastic, fictional or futuristic works and paintings.

Another characteristic of blue is attributed to roy alty, where those people belonging to the nobility were classified as 'blue blood' since their skin was so white that the blue veins could be seen through of your skin.

9. The Dark Side of Blue

However, not all the meanings of blue are prosperity and calm, but it also has darker meanings in some Eastern and even Western cultures, especially in Europe. For example, characteristics of sadness and restlessness are attributed to it, because it is a cold color. Another factor that is attributed to it is that of perversions, prostitution, bad language, black humor and affective distance.

Blue is a clear representation that we all have both positive and negative characteristics. The important thing is that we can live with them and maintain a he althy balance.