A question Georgea Kovanis attempts to answer in her article, Did purple apparel send a message at the State of the Union address? I was quoted in the article.

“Color sends a message,’” says Kate Smith, a color expert who works as a corporate color consultant. “There’s some message on our mind, whether it’s conscious or unconscious.”

So, what does purple mean when it comes to politics?

Because it is a combination of red and blue, it carries some meanings from both colors. “You’re communicating the trustworthiness from blue as well as some red, the power, the in-charge side of red,” says Smith, who owns Sensational Color, a company based in Washington, D.C. “They’re unifying.”

And unification was one of the points of Obama’s speech.

And a bit further into the article:

The fact that he wore a tie that leans more toward burgundy than a true red is significant, too, says Smith. “It still has the message of the red tie, but when you go to a deeper tone, it’s not in your face, it’s not quite as bold.”

In other words, he’s in charge but he’s willing to cooperate with others.

Read the entire article on the Detroit Free Press

I also wrote a follow up post on our Live In Full Color blog.

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Read the article on WebMD…

From the article: Red pen too aggressive, Queensland teachers told By Gabrielle Dunlevy, AAP, December 03, 2008

“TEACHERS have been told to stop marking schoolchildren’s work with red pen because it is an “aggressive” colour.

Queensland’s Deputy Opposition Leader Mark McArdle told parliament today that teachers were being advised to reconsider their pen choice because it may offend children.”

As of this morning 301 readers had commented on the article and left some very negative reactions that I enjoyed reading.  It is always so enlightening to have people express their understanding (and misunderstanding) of the effects of color.

Read the article: Red pen too aggressive, Queensland teachers told

The Courier Mail displayed their sense of humor over the issue.  The picture above is one of several they posed.  For a laugh see the entire Red Pen Rogues Photo Gallery

I couldn’t help but leave a comment of my own. Not sure if it will be published but here is what I wrote:

It does sound a bit far fetched but here is a link to a study that shows red can have a negative impact on academic achievement.  The problem is more in the association of red being almost universally used by teachers to mark errors or mistakes as “WRONG” than with the fact that the color is generally aggressive.

In the long run if would seem the only way to overcome this is if teachers were to consistently “mix it up” where color is concerned and use a variety of colors instead of just red.  If there was not a “standard color” it is likely that future generations wouldn’t have this association and if the study was conducted the results would be different.

For current students however I’m not sure that changing it would have an immediate positive impact.  Color associations are deeply rooted in our mind often without us even realizing it.  The associations formed in childhood seem to be particularly strong.

I was tempted to add my comment about the problems of having legislators get involved in anything even remotely linked to aesthetics but that’s a much longer conversation for another day.

Red: When a person sees red, the pituitary gland sends out signals that make the heart beat faster, the blood pressure increase and the muscles tense.

Yellow: Perceived as a happy color, yellow is processed rapidly by the brain and is an attention getter.

White and silver: These colors suggest reduced calories. A bottle of Diet Coke is mostly silver, while a bottle of regular Coke is predominantly red.

Orange: Perhaps because it isn’t considered a classy color, orange indicates affordability.

Brown: Often used as a background color for gravy and cake mixes, brown indicates roasted or baked. It also suggests rich flavor.

SOURCE: Eric Johnson, head of research studies for the Chicago- based Institute for Color Research and Brian Wansink, PhD., director of the University of Illinois Food & Brand Lab