Life is a blank canvas that uses many colors to show the beauty of human beings, animals, and nature. Let’s explore what colors symbolize in cultures around the world.
Colors play a pivotal role in our lives, business, and just about everything. They are of great importance in our society, and essential in clothing, art, flags, and much more. Regardless if you’re choosing a product or enjoying nature, the importance of colors is seen everywhere.
Have you ever been so angry that you saw red? Or so blue because you felt so sad? Then you have an idea of the powerful ways in which color can describe emotions and intangible ideas. In anthropology and art, color symbolism refers to color’s ability to indicate meaning to a viewer.
However, colors symbolize different things in different cultures. Although, there are some universal associations people have with different colors.
According to geographic areas, there is a short list of colors with their symbolisms. In fact, the meanings of colors are not universal.
Red is the color of blood and thus connected to life itself. It is also the hue of danger, war, and excitement. In India and other Asian countries, brides use red for their wedding dresses. But in South Africa, red represents mourning.
Yellow expresses hope and happiness, no matter the country. Japan uses yellow as a color of aristocracy and beauty. But in Western countries it has some negative connotations like sadness and jealousy.
Blue represents corporatism in the Western world. It also represents calmness, truth, and peace here. For Eastern cultures, blue is the color of immortality, but Japan uses it to represent everyday life. It is the color for virtue in Egypt. It’s also is a spiritual color for Christians as it’s linked to Christ and the Virgin Mary. Jews believe that blue is the most sacred tone and Hindus think it’s the color of Khrisna.
Green in China means shame. This is odd since green stands for nature, fertility, luck, and hope in the Western civilization.
Orange is the color that represents the royal family in the Netherlands. From a more spiritual point of view, orange is the most important hue for Buddhists and Hindus.
>b>Black means grieving in the West. However, in India it’s used as a protection against evil. Likewise, it’s the hue of mystery and death for the Japanese.
White used in the East or ancient Egypt signifies ghosts or death. In the West, white is the color of purity and virginity.
Purple represents royalty in the West. This is because the pigment to obtain this color was extremely difficult to find and very expensive. Also the East had problems obtaining this pigment, so purple stands for wealth.
You may also enjoy reading: 6 Golden Rules Of Logo Design
