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Other colors or “shades” of color

Part 10 — The Colors of “Secondary” Interpretations

In terms of “psychological” perceptions, we have already covered the primary colors represented by blue, yellow, red, and green, and a secondary color represented by purple.

These colors are also “found” in various extrasensory perceptions, along with orange and indigo, colors that are not “completely” found in the set of eight colors of psychological tests.

There would also be, as “secondary” colors, brown, gray, and black. But the “logic” of this material forces us to approach the “shades” of color, leaving behind the black, which... You will see.

So, a large material will follow, with a very “short” review of the “shades” of color.

Let’s start with silver, but also metallic gray, plus other perceptual “variant” names.

Silver

From the point of view of psychological descriptions, the main characteristics of the color "silver," a "metallic," apparently cold, impersonal, and distant, are represented by:

Elegance, luxury, and festivity: Silver is a color associated with luxury, elegance, refinement, exclusivity, and sophistication, which is why it is often associated with festivity, celebration, and joy, and is often used to create a sense of elegance, and sophistication, along with the association with jewelry and luxury. The logos of many electronics companies, luxury automobiles, fashion brands, and advertising agencies use silver.
Modernity, progress, and technology: It can evoke feelings of modernity, innovation, technology, futurism, and progress, being a color often used to evoke, even create, and stimulate, a modern and futuristic atmosphere, the perception of this color as “metallic gray“ supports the association with “machinery” and mechanization, with electronic products and advanced technology. That is why it is often a “color” used to promote modern, innovative, and advanced products and services, “addressing” the modern and tech-oriented audience.
Purity and calmness: It is a color associated with purity, cleanliness, innocence, and simplicity, having a subtle ability to evoke feelings of calmness, tranquility, and “selenar” peace, either by using this color to create an atmosphere, a bright space, and “airy” or by using it to highlight other colors.
Light and mystery: can be associated with light, clarity, and brilliance, but, in an antithetical complement, can evoke mystery, magic, and illusion, be it through the value of an imaginary instrument of the final destruction of "evil," without any connection to the ability of this “color” to create a significant visual impact.

This is why the logos of many electronics companies, luxury cars, fashion brands, and advertising agencies use silver, with silver being frequently used in marketing campaigns to evoke feelings of modernity, luxury, and exclusivity. Moreover, electronic and home appliance stores often use silver to create a modern and futuristic atmosphere.

But remember, too much silver can be perceived as impersonal and distant!

It is a “species” of white, but distinct from it, due to its multiple occurrences in the precious metal “silver," and the word “silver” itself derives from a Sanskrit word meaning “white and shining”.

It is associated with the moon, femininity, water, the feminine principle, feminine spirituality, protection, and reflection.

White and bright, silver is like a symbol of any form of purity.

It is pure light, as it is received and rendered by the transparency of the crystal, the clarity of the water, the reflections of the mirror, and the brilliance of the diamond, it resembles the clarity of consciousness, the sincerity, and the loyalty of action, it calls forth the fidelity that flows from this.

Silver, in Christian symbolism, represents divine wisdom, which is sacred and is associated with God and the rituals related to him, the fulfillment of divine desire, the fulfillment of human desires or fate, and many icons being “clothed” or made of silver.

It is the symbol of the purifying waters (God brings together the two purifying elements: fire and water, gold, and silver) and of the gesture of baptism, including having the power to cure diseases (the antiseptic effect on drinking water of silver vessels is well known, as is the fact that it is a metal used in orthopedics, etc.).

But, in terms of ethics, it also symbolizes the object of greed and the misfortunes it causes, as well as the degradation of consciousness, which is its negative effect, the perversion of its value (the silver of Judas).

Golden

For gold, the main characteristics are represented by:

Wealth and power: Gold is a color associated with wealth, luxury, and opulence, but also power, authority, and royalty. For this reason, it is a color often used to create feelings of wealth and luxury, alongside “emphasizing” elegance and sophistication, or to inspire confidence and respect. Gold is often “used” to convey an image of quality, luxury, sophistication, and exclusivity, often also being used to draw attention to or differentiate a product, logo, or brand from “competition” (even on the packaging of the goods, thus “highlighted”).

Prosperity: It can evoke feelings of prosperity, abundance, and success, often being used to create a feeling of opulence and exclusivity and, “secondarily” to highlight other colors.

Warmth and happiness: It is a warm color that can evoke feelings of comfort, hospitality, and optimism, being often used to create a warm, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere, also having the “ability” to evoke feelings of happiness, optimism, and joy.

Sun and sacredness: can be associated with the sun, energy, and vitality, and has “strong” associations with sacredness, spirituality, and divinity.

Intelligence and creativity: can be associated with intelligence, wisdom, and knowledge, along with “collateral” perceptions of creativity, inspiration, and imagination.

Note: Although gold is often considered an ostentatious and opulent color, it can also have negative connotations, such as prosperity and intelligence, which have no psychological "compatibility”.

So, golden is a species of yellow that is defined due to associations with the precious metal “Gold”.

It is associated with divine wisdom, divine love for people, God, gifts from God, masculinity, the sun, rational knowledge, alchemy, discovering the soul's true desires, and spiritual knowledge.

It has the radiance of light, in India, gold is said to be the mineral light, being a product of divine, solar, and royal fire, Brahms asserts that it is also immortality.

For these reasons, in China, the symbolic color of gold is white (and not the yellow that corresponds to the land from which the gold originates). It is the light gold, a symbol of knowledge, and the essential yang.

In Greece, gold evokes the sun and all its symbolism related to fecundity, wealth, dominance, center of heat, love, giving, abode of light, knowledge, brilliance, etc.

We should not forget the multiple interpretations related to the birth of gold from the mixture of yellow and red (gold metal being the quintessence of red copper), which induces considerations related to the collaboration of the two in the person who likes gold and, of course, the negative side of this color, which becomes a symbol of the perversion and impure exaltation of desires, the materialization of the spiritual and aesthetic, a degradation of the immortal into the mortal, of human desires into the desires of the barbarian (no matter how noble or erudite he may be).

And, why not, gold can also be the symbol, of course, "superstitious," of a curse, bad luck, the need for temperance, and anything that can be deduced by association.

One of the most famous cases is that of King Midas of Phrygia, about the one who wanted everything he touched to turn into gold. His wish came true, but he soon regretted it, as he could no longer eat or drink, and even his daughter turned into a golden statue. The god Dionysus gave him a solution to escape the curse, but Midas was left with a donkey’s ear as a reminder of his greed.

Then let’s remember the alchemists’ search for the “philosopher’s stone” (which has nothing to do with the Harry Potter stories), which is the process based on the belief that base metals can be turned into gold.

I may mention here Nicolas Flamel, a French alchemist of the 14th century who is said to have discovered the secret of the philosopher’s stone and succeeded in turning mercury into gold. Legend has it that Flamel lived to an old age and possessed enormous wealth.

Like the former is Edward Kelley, a 16th-century English alchemist who collaborated with John Dee, an English astrologer and mathematician. It is said that Kelley was able to convince the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II that he had discovered the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone and obtained a considerable fortune.

Or Paracelsus, a 16th-century Swiss alchemist, physician, and astrologer who contributed significantly to the development of modern chemistry. Although he failed to obtain gold, Paracelsus made important discoveries in the field of medicine and pharmacy.

Similar is the case of Johann van Helmont, a 17th-century Belgian alchemist, chemist, and physician who was one of the first scholars to use the term “chemistry”. Van Helmont conducted numerous experiments and made important discoveries in the field of gases.

Pink

It is a warm color, a “shade” of red, but due to the multiple color associations (to red) that can lead to pink, it stands out as a distinct color like gold and silver.

The main “psychological” characteristics of pink are represented by:

Love and passion: pink is a color associated with love, affection, and romance and is frequently used in this sense, having a clear “ability” to evoke feelings of passion, excitement, and energy.

Tenderness and innocence: it is a color associated with tenderness, care, and gentleness, being used in this sense, often in association with innocence, purity, and naivety.

Joy and Hope: It can evoke feelings of joy, happiness, hope, confidence, and optimism.

Femininity and creativity: it is a color associated with femininity, delicacy, and sensitivity that has a specific “support” for the “ability” of this color to stimulate creativity, imagination, and inspiration.

Note: Although pink is often considered a feminine color, which often attracts misogynistic considerations, it can have different connotations in certain cultures. For example, in some cultures, pink is associated with luck and prosperity.

Pink is the color of health and is also associated with femininity, freshness, spring, games of love, affection, and gentleness.

It is also considered to drive away negative moods and calm, with those who like pink becoming like her, pleasant people, ready to do everything possible for peace, grace, and bliss.

In addition, I always find the necessary resources to see the world in a positive light or, at least, to at least smile in order not to bore those around me, especially those who do not know me (their humor is often used as a weapon pacifying and not as a tool to display his indifference or strength).

For this reason, it can be said that their optimism and presence are ageless, the years having only the function of a landmark for their body or for estimating their evolution.

Interesting is the tendency of these individuals to constantly fight to bring out the best in those around them and the ability to truly esteem and love even their enemies, on the grounds that there is no perfect evil just as there is no imperfect good (the hidden forces of expression, positioning, etc. being those that stop the perfection of the good).

These people are intelligent and contemplative. For this reason, they will act only after studying and analyzing the best way to act. This is the reason they are often interpreted as being slow to react, although unusual endurance and exceptional methodism are recognized.

A person likes the pinker, the more it means that she is interested in the opinion of others about her and wants to suppress any gesture or action that can bring harm in this regard, and the less she likes, we are dealing with a cynical individuality, often broken from the reality acceptable to those around.

From a neuromarketing perspective, pink has the following emotions, associations, or psychological effects:

Love: It evokes and stimulates feelings of love, affection, and romance, along with ‘favoring’ perceptions of a warm and welcoming atmosphere. For this reason, it is a color often used in marketing to promote services related to love, romance, and beauty.
Femininity and innocence: it symbolizes femininity, delicacy, and tenderness, often also representing innocence, purity, and naivety, being a color that addresses the female audience, adults, or children.
Joy: it is associated with joy, optimism, and happiness, having the ability to stimulate the manifestation of these feelings.
Tenderness: can be associated with tenderness, care, and compassion, having the “ability” to reduce stress and anxiety, favoring the creation of a sense of calm and relaxation, including creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

For these "reasons," the logos of many cosmetics, toys, children’s clothing, and women’s fashion brands use pink.

Pink is frequently used in marketing campaigns to evoke feelings of love, romance, and happiness, and women’s clothing and accessories stores often use pink to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Pink can be considered childish, so it’s important to use it sparingly, too much pink can be perceived as shallow.

Reddish

I discussed this color “in passing” when I “briefly” analyzed the color red. But, since there are some "completions," let’s see now what the main “psychological” characteristics of this color are:

Energy: reddish is a color associated with energy, vitality, and dynamism, being a color used in stimulating these perceptions.

Passion and ambition: it can evoke feelings of passion, enthusiasm, and intensity, red is also associated with ambition, determination, and perseverance, demarcating itself from the passion and ambition of red, which is more about carnal, egocentric manifestations. For this reason, redheads can be associated with aggression, anger, and hostility.

Strength and Nonconformity: it is a color associated with strength, power, and courage, it is often associated with rebellion, nonconformity, and independence, it is often used to promote strength and courage.

Excitement and Danger: Can cause feelings of excitement, stimulation, and alertness, often associated with danger, warning, and urgency, color obviously used to attract attention and create a ‘visible’ impact.

Note: Although reddish is often considered a vibrant and energetic color, it can also have negative connotations such as aggression and danger.

Reddish is a color that lies between red and ochre, often called red-like dust, like fertile soil. At the same time, red reminds of flame, of fire, hence the expression bright red attributed to the color of the face of the person “on fire” (from effort, illness, etc.).

When it comes to fire, it can be said that this color takes on “reverse” connotations, instead of representing the clear fire of heavenly love (symbolized by the color red), it characterizes the impure fire, which burns underground, the impure fire, the fire of hell or punishment, devastating fire, the symbol and power of delirium and debauchery, of the passion of desire, the heat coming from below that consumes the physical and spiritual being (tradition says that Judas Iscariot had red hair or… among the Egyptians, Seth — Typhoon, god of sensuality, destructive, devastating, he was depicted as red).

From a neuromarketing perspective, the color reddish, a vibrant color, is often associated with:

Energy: evokes feelings of energy, vitality, and enthusiasm, stimulating energy and excitement.

Passion: symbolizes passion, love, and romance, inducing an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

Alertness: is associated with alertness, danger, and urgency, inducing increased attention and concentration, and fostering or inspiring feelings of confidence and courage.

Heat: can be associated with heat, fire, and the sun, favoring the creation of an energetic and vibrant atmosphere.

Creativity: represents creativity, innovation, and non-conformity.

For these reasons, reddish is a color commonly used in marketing for:

To attract attention and create a strong visual impact, the logos of many companies in the field of food, energy drinks, sports cars, and fashion brands use red.
To promote products and services related to energy, sports, and adventure, red is frequently used in marketing campaigns to evoke feelings of energy, excitement, and passion.
Evoking feelings of passion, love, and romance, youth clothing and accessories stores often use red to create an energetic and vibrant atmosphere.
To reach audiences who value creativity and innovation.

Caution: reddish can be a tiring color on the eyes, so it’s important to use it sparingly, too much red can be perceived as aggressive and overpowering.

Brown

Brown is a “mix” color resulting from the colors red + green, blue + orange, yellow + purple, or black + diverse colors (adding black to any other color will make it darker and browner, for example, black + yellow can produce a reddish brown, while black + blue can produce a greyish brown).

But in the end, it is a distinct secondary color (even if it seems neutral, mixed, and banal) from the point of view of psychological "expressions," associated with safety, practicality, stability, and tradition, for people who prefer brown, reliable, responsible, and family oriented.

Brown is the color of rich earth, fertile nature, and solid tree trunks. In many cultures, it is seen as a stable and solid color that represents the basis of life.

Color that “describes” a practical, reliable, solid, stable, sensual person, inclined to comfort, pleasure, and safety, in the environment in which they work.

It is also an indicator of the perception related to one’s own state of health, the more pleasant it is, the more the person in question tends to take care/protect himself, even if there is or is no support for organic “disorders” (disease or future condition), determining perceptions of anxiety and insecurity.

Thus, we are dealing with a comfortable person, who tends to order his life according to his own schedule, understood or not by those around him, based on considerations related to the state of health (the repercussions that a certain kind of life will have in the future).

The “proof” is the subliminal preference for coffee, chocolate, or the “carnal” presence in most kitchens of the human ensemble.

The opposite represented by “rejecting” brown represents disinterest in one’s own body, and often that person may not be as healthy as they seem.

Due to the fact that it signals the need for safety and comfort, it is a color that tends to be towards the end of an individual’s choices, being in the first position, signaling the need to avoid/eliminate a rather pressing and serious situation due to feelings of insecurity, discomfort, physical and/or mental (the famous case of those who went through the Second World War and who, after the “great slaughter," generally preferred the color brown).

A choice in the first position signals readiness for effort, and capacity for commitment, regardless of the situations that will arise due to the action of the individual in question.

In addition, we must not forget that many people consider brown to be chestnut (brown—reddish) and, for these reasons, one can “stick” to brown and interpret one of the two colors, the predominant “reflex” (the first quote) being the defining one.

So, people who prefer brown have a psychological compatibility with what would be:

Safety and stability: People who choose brown want safety, security, and stability in their lives. They value tradition, family, and friendship.
Practicality and responsibility: Brown can indicate a practical, goal-oriented, and responsible personality. These people tend to be efficient and reliable.
Need for control: A preference for brown can sometimes suggest a desire for control and order. People who choose brown want to feel in control of their environment.

And, on the "counterbalance," people who dislike brown have “inclinations” of manifestation represented by:

Aversion to routine: Rejection of brown can indicate a desire for novelty and change. These people may be bored with routine and want new and stimulating experiences.
Insecurity: Choosing another color instead of brown can sometimes suggest a lack of security or an increased need for comfort and familiarity.
Attention-seeking: Rejecting brown in favor of a more vivid color can indicate a desire to stand out and attract attention.

The main characteristics of brown, according to "psychologists," are:

Relaxation and neutrality: brown is a color associated with relaxation, tranquility, and peace, and is also easily associated with neutrality, objectivity, and impartiality.
Comfort and warmth: It can evoke feelings of comfort, safety, hospitality, and familiarity, being a favorite color to attract feelings of relaxation and tranquility, evoking a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and being easy to use to create elegant and sophisticated spaces.
Simplicity and modesty: It is a simple, natural, and unpretentious color that is easily associated with modesty, humility, and discretion.
Nature and durability: It can be associated with nature, the earth, and the natural world, thus becoming an asset in supporting perceptions of durability, robustness, and resistance, being often used suggestively and subliminally to highlight other colors.

This color is a “compromise” between red and black colors, its shades ranging from ocher to dark earth (although the most obvious “interpretations” refer to the dark tones of “red-black”).

From the point of view of symbolism, first, it is the color of the clod of earth, of clay, of dust — a germinating color that “keeps” permanently reminding us of the “nourishing” power of excrement that is used in agriculture.

Although it is a “germinative” color, it is also associated with old leaves, with autumn, with sadness, being a degradation, and a kind of mesalliance of pure colors. This mixture “signals” that it is about the transition from the red or green of life to the impure shades, close to black, of death, giving birth to the idea of nature’s cyclicality from death to a new life or a new order.

The best-known interpretation appears among the Romans and Catholics, where the brown color is the symbol of humility and poverty, a fact that will lead some monks to wear clothing of this color to “signal” the intention of penance and an ascetic life.

In Celtic culture, brown was the color of the earth and nature, often associated with fairies and nature spirits that belonged to nature and everything that originally belonged to the earth.

In Ireland, brown (donn) acquires a particular symbolism by becoming an “active” substitute for black, to which it takes over all the infernal or military symbolism — starting from blood, pain, imminent death, reaching rotten and smelly, death after death.

The brown color is also “reminiscent” of the color of excrement, being easily associated with the anal complex (described by Freud), which can explain the predilection of sadists for this color.

In ancient Egypt, brown symbolism was often used as a color of earth and fertility, used to represent earth, sand, and the skin of people in Egyptian paintings and sculptures, including to color funerary vessels and objects associated with death and the world “of beyond”.

Or, in Egyptian burial rites, the mummy was often wrapped in brown linen bandages, the color symbolizing the earth in which the mummy was to be buried and the hope of rebirth in the afterlife.

Egyptian mythology associated the god Osiris, lord of the underworld but often “seen” as a god of death and rebirth, and with brown (green being the color associated with vegetation and rebirth) in associations with earth and death.

Association with the brown color “present” also in the case of other deities such as Geb, the god of the earth, often represented with brown skin, or with the goddess Hathor, the goddess of love and fertility, sometimes represented as having brown hair.

In Chinese philosophy, brown is associated with the element Earth, one of the five fundamental elements, with earth being associated with stability, security, and prosperity.

Hence all the “deductions” associated with brown becoming a symbol of prosperity, being associated with prosperity and wealth in China, and being often used to attract financial luck.

This color is considered a lucky color, especially for the elderly, in association with a long and healthy life, being associated with the earth, prosperity, and longevity.

Then brown is seen as a harmonious and balanced color in Chinese culture, often used to create a sense of calm and peace, present in clothing, worn especially by the elderly, solid wood furniture, a popular choice in Chinese homes, or decorations and art.

In India, brown is the sacred color of Hinduism, being associated with the god Shiva, one of the three “essential” deities in Hinduism, the destroyer and creator of the universe, brown symbolizes the earth, which he constantly destroys and creates.

Perhaps this is why Hindu temples are often decorated with brown, either as paint or natural stone, brown symbolizing the solid base of the temple and its connection to the earth, the idols of Hindu gods are often carved from brownstone or painted in this color, the brown color confers an aura of sacredness and power to the idol, brown is used in various Hindu rituals, for example, brown rice is often offered to the gods as a symbol of prosperity, Hindu saints and devoted followers often wear plain brown clothes as a symbol of their spiritual renunciation and dedication, and so on.

Brown, from the perspective of neuromarketing, is considered a natural color that can evoke:

Nature: Evokes feelings of calm, peace, and harmony, inducing feelings of calm and relaxation as a psychological effect.

Safety: symbolizes safety, security, and stability, reducing stress and anxiety, and inspiring confidence, and security.
Comfort: It is associated with comfort, warmth, and familiarity, improving mood, and reducing fatigue.

Earth: represents nature, the earth, and organic.

Authenticity: can be associated with authenticity, simplicity, and tradition, stimulating focus and attention.

The use of this color in marketing has as its objectives the “idea” of creating a calm and relaxing atmosphere, promoting products and services related to nature, organic, and sustainability, evoking feelings of safety, security, and stability, and addressing audiences who value authenticity and tradition.

So, the logos of many companies in the field of food, beverages, organic products, natural cosmetics, and environmental organizations use brown, often also used by health and organic stores, to create a relaxing and natural atmosphere.

But as a warning, it can be a boring and monotonous color, so it is important to use it sparingly, too much brown/brown can be perceived as lacking personality and depressing.

Turquoise

It is a vibrant, but cold and impersonal color, born from the combination of two colors considered to be the symbol of balance and equidistance, green and blue.

The main characteristics of the turquoise color are represented by:

Calm, Peace, and Coolness: Turquoise is a calm and soothing color that can induce a sense of peace and relaxation, being often associated with coolness, freshness, and invigoration, and is often used to evoke such ‘feelings’.
Sensitivity and Protection: It is a color associated with sensitivity, empathy, and compassion, often “signaling” the evocation of feelings of safety and protection.
Communication: can facilitate communication, self-expression, and connection with others, being “used” in this sense.
Creativity and Prosperity: can stimulate creativity, imagination, and inspiration, often being a color associated with prosperity, abundance, and success.
Therefore, we will have to deal with an individual who tends to be indecisive about the gestures he is going to make in conditions where he obviously knows what he must do.

This “pleasure” is born from an unusual ability to dissimulate, to engage in a “chameleon” game regarding his life and those around him.

Being in control of his own perceptions of the “requirements of life,” he is the type who always has time for “social” concerns inaccessible to others, based on a humorous individuality, a fine observer, and self-control of expression.

Interesting is the perception attributed to this color by the American populations (which differ from the rest of the other people) who attribute to turquoise the power of the sun and fire, with force and the divine. It all stems from the desire to win of those who like the color turquoise…

The Aztecs considered turquoise to be a sacred color, associated with the god Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, becoming a color of spiritual and royal power.

Consequently, it was a color used to decorate temples, palaces, and other important objects, and turquoise gemstones were powerful amulets that brought good luck and protection.

The Mayans associated turquoise with water, the sky, and the rain god Chac, using this color to decorate temples, tombs, and other ceremonial objects, and turquoise gemstones were used as currency and as offerings to the gods.

The Toltecs associated turquoise with fertility and abundance, the Olmecs associated it with water, and the Inca populations associated the color turquoise with the sky, mountain gods, and royal power, being a color used to decorate temples, palaces, and other important objects.

Similar is the case of other populations in the “space” of the Amerindians, such as Chibcha, Muisca, Caqueta, and Guarani, including Mapuche, who, in addition to the previous "considerations,” used turquoise “elements” to decorate clothes, weapons, and other objects.

In Ancient Egypt, turquoise was associated with the goddess Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty, and the sky, and was used to decorate temples, tombs, and other important objects. And like the peoples of the ancient Americas, turquoise gemstones were believed to be powerful amulets that brought good luck and protection.

In Persia, turquoise was associated with heaven, paradise, and royalty, being used to decorate palaces, mosques, and other important buildings, and turquoise gemstones were stones used to make jewelry for royalty.

In China, turquoise was associated with the elements of water, longevity, and good luck, being used to decorate temples, palaces, and other important objects, turquoise gemstones were powerful amulets that brought good luck and protection.

Finally, in Tibet, turquoise was associated with the sky, spiritual enlightenment, and healing, "considerations" were also found in India, Japan, Greece, and Rome, being a color associated with natural elements such as water, sky, and earth, as well as with spiritual and royal power.

The color turquoise, from a neuromarketing perspective, is often associated with:

Freshness: “vibrantly” evokes feelings of freshness, energy, invigoration, and vitality.
Calm: symbolizes (and creates) calm, peace, and relaxation, being a color that reduces stress and anxiety, and stimulates concentration and attention.
Creativity: It is associated with creativity, innovation, and inspiration.
Freedom: can be associated with freedom, independence, and the spirit of adventure, on the "background,” inspiring optimism and confidence.
Technology: represents modernity, progress, and innovation.

Turquoise is a color commonly used in marketing for:

To promote products and services related to health, wellness, and relaxation.
Evoking feelings of freshness, vitality, and optimism, turquoise is frequently used in marketing campaigns to evoke feelings of freshness, vitality, and optimism.
To address the modern and innovation-oriented audience, the logos of many companies in the fields of tech, telecommunications, airlines, and energy drink brands use turquoise.
To create an energetic and vibrant atmosphere, electronics and home appliance stores often use turquoise to create a modern and futuristic atmosphere.

As with the other 'shade’ ‘highlights’, turquoise is important to be used sparingly, as too much turquoise can be perceived as impersonal and distant.

Gray

The color of unquestionable neutrality and impartiality, even when perceived as cold and without personality, is created by mixing white and black in different proportions, representing the balance point between contrast and the motivation necessary for this, this color also has “psychological” characteristics, namely:

Neutrality and compromise: Gray is a neutral color associated with balance, neutrality, and impartiality, but also with compromise, balance, and reconciliation, being one of the colors often used to highlight other colors.

Calm or sadness: can evoke feelings of calm, tranquility, and peace but is also very easily associated with sadness, melancholy, and apathy. The contradictory emotions and suggestions “suggested” by these “perceptions” make gray the color that is often used to create a feeling of calmness and tranquility.

Formality and intelligence: It is a color associated with formality, professionalism, and sophistication but with a “tinge” easily associated with intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom. Therefore, it is a color that can be used to evoke a formal and professional atmosphere.

Detachment and modesty: It can be associated with detachment, objectivity, and restraint, this color is often associated with modesty, humility, and discretion, being a color often used for “creating elegant and sophisticated spaces.

Thus, the more gray is liked by someone, the more it means that that person has a tendency not to get involved in anything (even if this is entirely related to appearances and/or responsibilities), to withdraw from responsibilities or gestures either to “accumulate” those necessary for his reaction or to be able to achieve the necessary exchange of opinions and emotions.

One gets to the point of avoiding gestures that are particularly useful for one’s own purposes only due to fears of consequences and involvement.

Also, such people tend to avoid human groups, preserving the pleasure of observing them and finding the right moment to intervene on the individuals that compose them (often this type of behavior is born from convenience tendencies but also from a kind of wanting the game where he wants the cat’s position in a mouse game).

The less pleasant it is, the more inclined/willing/enthusiastic that individual is to collaborate, to relate to any other individual being able to try anything in their efforts to achieve their goals.

Since ancient times, man has sought to materialize the perfect colors, he sees or imagines (consciously or in a dream).

That’s why he often ends up looking for his color (of “skin”) to delimit or show something related to him or his peers.

All this need for color was normal to give birth to the need for its opposite, the opposite that man identified in the gray color, the compromise of all the opposite colors (white and black, yellow and blue, red and green — in their absolute value), the transition from one to another, and between the countless complementary colors always having the middle gray at their center.

For this reason, the chromatic sphere was born, perfect and ideal, where real and unreal colors are in perfect balance, giving man the feeling that he is in a field of strong chromatic forces, in the center of another, living, pulsating space, which delimits man’s continuous attempt to escape from the monotonous and boring gray of the “media”.

Going further, we will remember the “classification” of colors into warm and cold.

In relation to gray, it can be noticed that each fundamental tonality dominates countless related colors that are warmer or colder than the fundamental color, chosen as a "marker," compared to gray, which does not “reveal” anything specific but can be unconsciously found in the warm (smoke, ash, intense heat) or in the cold (bad weather, dampness, ice, bitter cold).

It can be remembered that all colors that have a tendency towards yellow, red, and their intermediate, such as orange, show a tendency towards warm while all colors that have a tendency towards blue, green, and their intermediate, blue—greenish, show a tendency towards coldness.

Orange thus becomes the pole that attracts all warm tones, while blue — greens constitute the cold pole, the mixture of these two poles irrefutably giving rise to grey.

To clarify what was stated previously, it should be emphasized that the mixture of two complementary colors, of two complementary characters, has the color gray, any tone of gray is considered achromatic.

The psychological primary colors are the pair white and black, the pair yellow and purple, and the pair red and green. Gray is its own complement, having no opposite.

Based on these considerations, it is not difficult to identify a psychological discovery that states that gray is the color of neutrals.

Of course, there were also “compromise” tones here, such as purple for young people (which is regardless of whether they are warm or cold) or yellow—green for young women (being a complementary color to purple), with all the nuances of adaptation in the idea of “reverse attraction," the chromatic reverse being also in the gray of neutrality.

Thus, the attitude of the man in the gray center changes according to the conditions of his character and life, constantly “trying” to escape from the gray center or identifying with him so that the “chromatic” action indicates a placement in which to leave or to refuse it, complacent in neutrality.

It can be said, reading the above, that one arrives in an irrational and unpredictable way that any color is significant for man and even for humanity.

Sociologically, the color gray symbolizes mediocrity, the sound that pollutes society, the background noise of society, the state of waiting for change, or the element that can outclass the overwhelming black, either to come back or in danger of total extermination against the accepted death of the black.

As mentioned, the color gray is composed of equal proportions of white and black. For this reason, its main interpretation is given by Christians who associate the gray color with the resurrection of the dead (the gray garments of Jesus shown at the Last Judgment).

Furthermore, gray is the color of gray and fog. In ancient times, when someone died, it was customary to pour ashes on the head of the living to express the great pain of loss — for this reason, over time, gray clothes became the expression of a kind of semi-mourning, with white or black being the main “signal” in this direction.

With a bit of analytical extension, one comes to the assimilation of the color gray with regret and repentance. The fog or dark aspect of the weather, the grayness of the atmosphere, gives a feeling of pressure, sadness, and melancholy, but especially boredom, a fact that easily leads to associations related to the weather and the symbolism described previously.

In a moral sense, the color gray describes disregard for situations that have no moral value and that require the so-called “it’s white or it’s black” clarification. This element also emphasizes the fear of those around you towards gray people who cannot be counted on, who wait expectantly, and often do not get involved regardless of the self-protective reason invoked.

From here, the considerations related to the “gray life,” which means existence without meaning, involvement, or objective, are only a step. A gray person signifies a sad person, difficult to notice, and is easily associated with the pressing of autumn when everything is gray and lifeless.

Popularly, most cultures attribute the color gray to unconscious forces, easily manipulated by evil masters who are very receptive to them due to their evil inclinations/dispositions. So, gray is the color of the other realm, of the desolate and scorched land, of the haunted land where only servants of evil such as trolls, gnomes, and orcs are accepted.

Through a strange acceptance, the popular spirit also sends among them gray characters such as elves or good wizards, completing the general idea that all these characters were created especially for a gray, pessimistic, dull, and gloomy world.

The correlation can go even further because, parapsychologically, the color gray is associated with the mentally ill and especially the depressed.

Now let’s “collect” some perceptions about gray, from the perspective of neuromarketing! The associations that appear from this point of view are represented by:

Neutrality: It evokes feelings of neutrality, balance, and impartiality, stimulating focus and attention, and being a color “used” to evoke feelings of neutrality, balance, and impartiality.
Formality: symbolizes formality, professionalism, trust, and seriousness, being often used to promote products and services related to business, technology, and finance.
Sophistication: it is associated with refinement, elegance, and modernity, having the “gift” to “fuel” an elegant and sophisticated atmosphere, and being one of the “indicated” colors to address the public that appreciates refinement and modernity.
Calm: can be associated with calmness, relaxation, peace, and tranquility, reducing stress and anxiety. For these reasons, gray is frequently used in marketing to create a calm and professional atmosphere.
Melancholy (perhaps I used the term “sadness” incorrectly earlier): In some contexts, gray can be associated with melancholy, sadness, and boredom.

For these reasons, the logos of many financial, consulting, IT, and luxury brand companies use grey, which is frequently used in marketing campaigns to evoke feelings of professionalism, trust, and modernity.

Then, luxury clothing and accessories stores often use gray to create an elegant and sophisticated atmosphere.

Other “shades” of color

Colors are fundamental elements of and in our lives, delighting our eyes, arousing our emotions, and influencing our perception of the world.

But let’s not forget that primary and secondary colors play and transform into a multitude of hues, each with its own story to tell, evoking unique emotions and meanings.

From the most delicate pastels to the most intense colors, shades offer us an infinite palette of possibilities, full of imperceptible, even hidden meanings, to express our creativity and decorate our lives, to expose our personal connection to those around us, individual, to a world of beauty, emotions, and self-expression.

And here, the “shades” can be:

Fluorescent: a dash of neon ignites the imagination, teleporting us into sci-fi fantasy worlds full of energy and vibrancy.
Pastels: a nuanced breeze of tenderness and delicacy. Pastel shades, soft and diaphanous, enveloping us in a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
Metallics: a mesmerizing shine that catches our eye, adding a touch of elegance and sophistication to any space.
Surprising shades (why not): an explosion of creativity and originality that gives us the courage to break out of the mold and express our unique personality, challenging us to explore new horizons and discover our creative side.

And we have nothing else to do but to:

We observe nature: an inexhaustible source of inspiration to discover amazing shades, looking carefully at flowers, the sky, sunsets, and other natural elements to observe the diversity of shades.
We visit museums and art galleries: artists and designers use color nuances in creative and inspiring ways.

Merticaru Dorin Nicolae

Note: Images are created by me, Merticaru Dorin Nicolae, using Microsoft Bing Image Creator.

Dorin, Merticaru (04.21, 2002 - 2024)