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.

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

Red – The Color of Romance!
Scarlet, Crimson, Torch Red, Lipstick Red, Red Rose, Paint the Town Red, Red Hot, Red Handed, Candy Apple Red, Fire Engine Red, Blood Red, Red Letter Day, Red Bull. Red is not passive or fluffy. Red is attention-getting. Red is assertive. Red is action and energy. Red is powerful.

I think you’ll be surprised at what this is a picture of. Would you believe mice brains in 90 colors! See all of the pictures here…

So I decided to see if all colors received equal recognition in the phobia world but only came up with two other specific color fears…

Melanophobia – Fear of the color black

Leukophobia – Fear of the color white.

Of course there is the all encompassing chromophobia – Fear of colors.

Thank goodness the Dr. is IN! No need to fear any color. Have a seat and let’s talk…

Make effective, unique and credible color choices

Based on research and filled with hundreds of color combinations and illustrations, Color: Messages & Meanings presents color expert, Leatrice Eiseman’s insights on color and emotion, and addresses how best to integrate these qualities into your work, insuring your intended message is communicated.

This is one of the many interesting aspects of red that they noted:

Given red’s pushy reputation, design experts long thought people felt uncomfortable and worked poorly when confined to red rooms.

But when Dr. Nancy Kwallek, a professor of interior design at the University of Texas at Austin, recently compared the performance of clerical workers randomly assigned for a week to rooms with red, blue-green or white color schemes, she found that red’s story, like the devil, is in the details.

Workers who were identified as poor screeners, who have trouble blocking out noise and other distractions during the workday, did indeed prove less productive and more error prone in the red rooms than did their similarly thin-skinned colleagues in the turquoise rooms.

For those employees who were rated as good screeners, however, able to focus on their job regardless of any ruckus around them, the results were flipped. Screeners were more productive in the red room than the blue. “The color red stimulated them,” she said, “and they thrived under its effects.”

And the subjects assigned to the plain-vanilla settings, of a style familiar to the vast majority of the corporate labor force? Deprived of any color, any splash of Matisse, they were disgruntled and brokenhearted and did the poorest of all.

Read the complete article…

Councillor Gary Green said pink is known to have a calming affect on people and said it is hoped the pink lighting will prove “unsympathetic towards hoons”.

Rockdale is the council that recruited Barry Manilow to fight crime. Mayor Bill Saravinovski said the council may even consider giving crooner Barry Manilow the flick in favour of Pink Floyd. Maybe the council should keep Barry and supplement the pink lights with piped in “Manilow music”.