Color Psychology for the International Writer
Ben Rubinstein
Overview
For professional writers, color psychology and symbolism is one aspect of design that is frequently glossed over. Design for the Non Designer by Robin Williams is a prime example. The author briefly discusses color, but the subject seems rushed and glossed over. Good overviews of color psychology in design can be found at Color for Coders and Color Matters.
Even more confusing and less documented is how a writer may need to think about color when writing for an international or culturally unfamiliar audience. Websites such as Color Symbolism by Culture can serve as starting points.
In our rapidly changing global economy, the Indian, Chinese, and Japanese cultures might be the most important to understand. Their economies are the most rapidly growing in the world. It makes sense that as a professional writer, we may be asked to create/edit a product designed for one of these two cultures.
Color Psychology in India
- Red: Purity
- Yellow: Merchants
- Green: Islam
- Saffron (light orange, fire): Primal, Power
- White: Mourning
It’s important to note that some of this information is specific to the Hindu culture/religion, but some is not.
The first thing of note is the color yellow. It’s used very often in America because it’s associated with cowardice. It is, however, the color of merchants in India and thus would be wise to use in any sort of marketing or advertising documents. Red also might have more use. In America it is a contest color, divided between love and blood/fury. To Indians, however, it has a very strong association with purity. Be wary of using white as a background color as is commonly done with American audiences; the connotation with mourning might have unintended consequences.
Color Psychology in China
- Red: Good Luck, Celebration
- Yellow: Nourishing
- Green: infidelity or shame, exorcism, mourning
- Black: A color for young boys
- Blue: purity, healing
The Chinese market is one in which a large amount of work might be done as well. Red, like in India, might be of more use in China than America. It would probably be wise to use green with care. Unlike its fertility and growth associations in America, green has many negative connotations in China. Black might be wise to use when dealing with a young audience. Yellow’s association with nourishment might make it a very suitable color for muted backgrounds, along with blue for purity and healing. A more in depth study of Buddhist color symbolism can be found at Buddhist Color Symbolism.
Color Psychology of Japan
- Red: Anger/ Danger
- Blue: Villainy
- Green: Future/Youth/ Energy
- Yellow: Grace/ Nobility
- White: Death
The Japanese, like the Indians and Chinese, are another people for whom professional writers might write. Yellow has many positive associations, as does green. As in the Indian culture, white should probably be used with trepidation. Blue, unlike with a Chinese audience, should be used sparingly.
Applications of Color Psychology
When one thinks of applications for color psychology one usually thinks of design and layout, be it web, flyer, or brochure based. Another medium in which color psychology is very important is logo design. Color Psycology – Logo Design provides a thorough overview of this topic.
Other Aspects of Cross Cultural Writing
In addition to color psychology, general cultural attitudes should be taken into account when evaluating foreign audiences. Criteria for Optimal Web Design’s analysis of Hofstede’s (1991) cultural research is very applicable. Hofstede divided cultural differences into categories including wealth distribution, individualism, gender roles, and uncertainty avoidance.
© 2006 Ben Rubinstein