Why you like certain colors.
- Sep 2, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 19
Color Psychology: Part 1 in the Color Series
Color and You — Why Certain Colors Speak to You
Why are you drawn to certain colors — and repelled by others?
Color psychology explores how hues influence mood, perception, and even behavior.
One glance at a color can lift your energy, stir a memory, or quietly calm your nervous system. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re choosing color — it quietly chooses us first.
Some people gravitate toward bold contrasts — reds, yellows, vibrant blues that feel alive and expressive.
Others lean toward softer palettes — layered greens, muted blues, and neutrals that create a sense of balance.
Most of us live somewhere in between.
(Shown below: examples from my original oil paintings—each expressing a different emotional frequency through color.)
A Personal Story — Where My Color Curiosity Began
My fascination with color began in 1989 at Bismarck State College.
I had returned to school as an adult after years working as a registered nurse, eager to understand art more deeply.
Perhaps it was my medical background that drew me toward the science of color. But it was my art professor, Randal Simon, who revealed its emotional depth.
He didn’t just lecture — he shared powerful personal stories about how color had been used as a psychological tool during his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Through his experiences, I began to understand that color isn’t simply visual.
It’s visceral.
Color reaches us on a deeply human level — shaped by memory, biology, and personal experience.
Back then, I thought I was learning about paint. I didn’t realize I was really learning how people feel inside color.
How Color Works — A Brief Science Refresher
Here’s the simple science behind what we see.
Color happens when reflected light reaches the retina at the back of your eye:
Cones detect color.
Rods respond to light and dark.
Like fingerprints, everyone’s eyes are slightly different.
Two people can look at the same painting and experience the hues differently — which is why some individuals are colorblind or sensitive to certain tones.
Professor Simon believed this variation helps explain why color responses feel so personal.
For example:
Red may raise heart rate and energy for one viewer.
Blue may feel calming to some but distant to others.
Even your life experiences shape how color feels.
A joyful memory tied to a color may make it comforting.A stressful association may make another hue feel heavy.
Some early researchers even used polygraph-style tools to measure physiological responses to color — identifying what they called a person’s “base color,” or strongest emotional trigger.
Fascinating, right?
Which might explain why two people can stand in front of the same painting and walk away feeling completely different things.
How Color Shapes First Impressions
Did you know that up to 90% of first impressions are influenced by color?
The tones you wear, paint on your walls, or hang as art communicate emotion before a single word is spoken.
If a friend’s home instantly makes you feel relaxed, look around.
Their palette may quietly mirror colors you already gravitate toward — in your wardrobe, your car, even your favorite coffee mug.
Color creates atmosphere long before we consciously notice it.
It doesn’t ask us to be experts — only to notice what feels like home.
✨ What’s Your Color Story?
So tell me — what colors do you respond to?
Do soft blues calm you?
Does sunny yellow lift your energy?
Does vibrant red feel bold and expressive?
(Shown below: two abstract paintings exploring different emotional frequencies through color.)
Color Isn’t Just Science — It’s Personal
Color psychology gives us insight, but your response to color is uniquely yours.
Memory, environment, personality, and even the season of life you’re in can influence what feels right in your home.
Instead of chasing trends, begin noticing what steadies you.
Color becomes most powerful when it reflects your lived experience.
A Gentle Closing Thought
Color is more than decoration.
It’s atmosphere.
It’s memory.
It’s the quiet language of how a space feels when you walk into it.
Choose what resonates — and let your color story evolve over time.
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