How the color yellow impacts our decisions?
“Yellow is the color of the east, childhood, and morning.” -Jeffery D. Anderson
This quote by Jeffery D. Anderson is about the significance of the color yellow in one’s life. He says that yellow gives you hope, joy, happiness, and a new beginning. Let’s start by understanding the color yellow. Hinduism and Christianity both have different takes on the color yellow.
In Hinduism, yellow symbolizes peace, knowledge, and happiness. In the Holy Trinity of Hinduism; Lord Brahma (The Creator), Lord Vishnu (The Protector), Lord Mahesh (The Destroyer), all wear a yellow piece of clothing and a yellow circle around their head depicting knowledge.
In Christianity, yellow symbolizes deceit, cowardice, and it represents outsiders of faith. That is why during the Nazi rule in Germany, the Jews were marked with a yellow star.
Yellow ochre was the first pigment found in the cave painting in Lascaux, France. Then the Indian yellow pigment was derived and was used by artists to show outsiders or traitors. In the 1920s, they made the insult “Yellow-bellied” used for a cowardly person.
Over time artists have found yellow to be very useful and have chosen to make it the central feature of their work. They have used yellow to show the vibrancy and evoke light.[i] In India, the color yellow is of utmost importance.
During ancient times, yellow was in every rural house and king’s palaces in Rajasthan. Here the color was made using Turmeric. Why India values the color yellow? It symbolizes sanctity. For more than 100 years, India has seen turmeric as a spice that has at least 15 health benefits. It was used as antiseptic and anti-bacterial.[ii] That is why for India, yellow is a very important and holy color.
The color yellow has been a part of designs as well for a long time. Every field of design uses this color differently. They have one thing in common, that is, they all use it to draw attention.
Restaurants Yellow and red are used a lot in the fast-food arena because they evoke the appetite and the taste buds. Yellow can be overwhelming for the customers, so it is best used in places where they need the crowd to move fast for more turnover.[iii]
Logos:- Yellow is used in a lot of logos and it is usually paired with black or red. The businesses usually use yellow in their logos to attract customers. The customers feel a sense of happiness and an overwhelming impulse to buy that product.
Since our eyes are very receptive to this color, the color of signage’s is yellow. The warning signs usually have yellow backdrops with black ink.[iv]
Interior design:- the use of yellow is to highlight the main elements in a particular space like a yellow-colored sofa in a living room. If a room needs to brighten up, yellow is the color to go with. Yellow makes the place eye-catchy and emphasizes the objects.[v]
Web design:- Yellow is commonly used in web design to highlight buttons and backgrounds. Also to create contrast with the content and the background to make it look more appealing and pleasing. The yellow used in buttons grab the user’s attention at one glance and the user is compelled to click on it.
Industrial design:- The products which have black color backdrops often make the borders yellow which looks contrasting and gives an industrial and formal look. Yellow is mostly seen on kids’ products because it symbolizes warmth, joy, and happiness.
Character design:- the color yellow as often said represents happiness and joy, this concept is also used in character design as giving an example of the Simpsons and SpongeBob Square Pants. These characters are happy and playful all the time. It keeps the kids engaged throughout the show.
As we read earlier, people will have different reactions to colors. Some may find it energetic, and happy color, others may find it color for cowards. In recent times, the use of yellow color in homes and for clothing has decreased. People prefer simplistic colors and colors that do not distress the eyes. It used to be a color for royalty. However today, it is found that men and women do not prefer wearing yellow. In India, girls used to wear a yellow piece of cloth to attract men, however now they don’t find it attractive anymore. People have moved towards more subtle and soothing to the eye colors.[i]
Different shades of yellow have different uses.
The use of bright yellow makes the viewer feel cheerful and jovial. Light yellow is used for baby products as they are gender-neutral and do not hurt the eyes. Dark yellows and golden are used to antiquity and permanence.[ii]
There are 2 categories I can divide you in right now. Yellow hater or yellow lover. However, do not let that come between you and design. Colors are an integral part of the design. Yellow with all it’s uniqueness and characteristics, when used appropriately can turn out to be a useful weapon. Not just yellow, every color tells a story of its own. You just need to have an open mind to read it. Look around you and try to read the numerous stories written around you with color. I am sure you will find it fascinating just as I did.
