Colours are characterised by their hue, saturation, and brightness.
Hue is the actual colour itself (red, blue, green, etc.)
Saturation refers to the purity or intensity of the colour. A highly saturated colour is vivid and strong, while a less saturated colour is muted and dull.
Colour brightness describes how light or dark a colour appears
3. Colour meaning and perception by different cultures
Colour perception and symbolism vary greatly across different cultures.
Red
Western cultures: Represents love, passion, energy, and danger (e.g., red hearts or warning signs).
China: symbolises luck, happiness, and prosperity, often used in weddings and celebrations.
India: associated with purity, fertility, and marriage; brides traditionally wear red.
South Africa: represents mourning and is often used at funerals.
Middle East: can symbolise danger, protection, or caution.
Blue
Western Cultures: represents calm, trust, and stability; also associated with sadness ("feeling blue").
Middle East: seen as a protective colour against the "evil eye."
China and Korea: represents immortality and healing.
India: associated with Krishna, a deity symbolising divine love and compassion.
Latin America: often linked to religious devotion, particularly to the Virgin Mary.
Yellow
Western Cultures: symbolises happiness, optimism, and energy, but also caution (e.g., yellow traffic lights).
China: represents royalty, power, and prosperity; historically reserved for emperors.
India: associated with learning, knowledge, and spring festivals like Holi.
Japan: represents courage and wealth.
Middle East: Can symbolize mourning or loss in some regions.
Green
Western cultures: symbolises nature, growth, and luck (e.g., four-leaf clovers), but can also mean envy or inexperience.
Islamic cultures: A sacred colour representing paradise and spirituality.
China: represents health and growth but can also have negative connotations (e.g., "wearing a green hat" implies infidelity).
Ireland: strongly linked to St. Patrick’s Day and Irish identity.
India: symbolises fertility and new beginnings.
White
Western cultures: represents purity, innocence, and peace, often worn at weddings.
China and Japan: associated with mourning and funerals.
India: worn by widows, symbolizing renunciation and spirituality.
Middle East: represents cleanliness and purity.
Africa: can symbolise purity and spirituality, depending on the region.
Black
Western cultures: symbolises elegance and formality but also death, mourning, and mystery.
China: associated with water, darkness, and neutrality.
India: used to ward off evil spirits and bad luck.
Middle East: represents rebirth and mourning, often worn at funerals.
Africa: in some cultures, it can symbolise maturity and wisdom.
Purple
Western cultures: historically linked to royalty, luxury, and power due to the rarity of purple dyes.
China: associated with divinity and immortality.
Japan: represents wealth and nobility.
Brazil and Thailand: associated with mourning and funerals.
India: represents creativity and spirituality.
Orange
Western Cultures: represents energy, warmth, and enthusiasm.
India: a sacred colour symbolising purity and spirituality, often associated with Hindu monks.
The Netherlands: linked to the Dutch royal family and national pride.
Buddhist cultures: worn by monks, symbolising enlightenment and simplicity.
Pink
Western cultures: associated with love, femininity, and romance.
Japan: represents spring, cherry blossoms, and youthfulness.
India: symbolizes optimism and positive energy.
Korea: seen as a modern colour, symbolising trust and love.
Gray
Western cultures: symbolises neutrality, balance, and formality.
China: often linked to modesty or mourning.
Japan: represents stability and maturity.
4. The science of colours
Light is made up of different wavelengths, and when light hits an object, some wavelengths are absorbed, and others are reflected. The reflected wavelengths are what our eyes detect and our brains perceive as colours.
4.1 What is a colour?
Colour is the way our eyes perceive different wavelengths of light. The visible spectrum, which ranges from red to violet, contains all the colours that humans can see. Objects appear coloured because they reflect certain wavelengths of light and absorb others.
4.2 How do we see colour?
The human eye detects colour through specialised cells called cones located in the retina. The human eyes have three types of cones that are sensitive to different types of wavelengths: red-sensitive, green-sensitive, and blue-sensitive. The brain processes signals from these cones to create the wide range of colours that we see.
4.3 Colour blindness?
Colour blindness, or colour vision deficiency, is a condition where a person sees colours differently than most people. It occurs when the cones in the retina (the cells responsible for detecting colour) do not work properly or are missing. This can make it difficult to distinguish between certain colours.
4.4 Types of colour blindness
There are several types of colour blindness. The
red-green colour blindness is the most common type. People with this type have difficulty distinguishing between reds and greens.
Blue-yellow colour blindness is a rarer form that makes it hard to differentiate blues and yellows.
Total colour blindness is known as monochromacy. This is extremely rare and causes a person to see only shades of grey.
4.5 What causes colour blindness?
Colour blindness is often inherited and is caused by genetic differences affecting the cones in the retina. It is more common in males because the genes responsible for red and green colour detection are located on the X chromosome. In rare cases, colour blindness can also result from eye diseases, damage to the retina, or even ageing.
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