COLOUR - green
the magic of colour: green
I have long been fascinated with the science, history and psychology of colour. It's something that plays a huge part in all our lives. So I thought it would be nice to share my fascination with you!
I hope you enjoy reading, and if you like what you see, please give it a share. :-)
green: "green is the prime colour of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises."
-pedro calderon de la barca
green: wavelength: 492–577 (nanometres)
Green has always had its obvious associations with all things natural, but it has also had its part to play in many not so savoury products and events.
A brief history of green
The colour green is most often one that reminds us of nature, the calmness of the forest, the serene summer meadows and the hazy summer days of picnics surrounded by all the joys that nature brings. It's around us in spades, in fact for most people, at least in the UK, we only have to look out of our window to appreciate the lush greenery we are accustomed to daily. But this colour of nature is one that has been, throughout history, notoriously hard to achieve, at least in a chemical sense.
People have been trying for thousands of years to make a pure green pigment. To the Ancient Egyptians, green was the colour of regeneration and rebirth. They tried to make a green pigment using the copper mineral malachite but found it turned black after a while of being exposed to the air. The Romans created Verdigris by soaking copper plates in wine. This pigment was used for a wide range of applications, from mosaics to stained glass windows and is what you will still see today on weathered old pennies and the green statues in the Louvre in Paris.
Green is often associated with finance and all things money-related. This probably comes from the fact that during the middle ages, your status in society was reflected in your clothing. Red and purple were reserved for the nobility, brown and grey were worn by the peasant class, and green was the colour of merchants, bankers and the gentry. Some brighter greens were created during this time period from natural plant dyes, but these were not very stable and faded quickly.
In 1775, a Swedish chemist named Carl Wilhelm Scheele invented a bright green pigment called "Scheele's Green" and it became hugely popular, particularly within the homes of the wealthy. This popularity came with a high price though, and not in terms of its monetary cost. The pigment was used to colour a wide range of items from ballgowns and fabrics to children's toys, wallpaper and even confectionary. The problem however was that it was made using high levels of arsenic, rendering the vapours given off by this lethal. There were staggering reports of children becoming deathly ill whilst playing in their green playrooms, and ladies dying in their green dresses.
So deadly was this pigment, that historians widely agree that Napoleon Bonaparte died from the effects of this deadly toxin in 1821, due to his bedroom walls being adorned in Scheele's green wallpaper!
There have been numerous attempts over the years to find a safe and stable green, but even now, one of the most common shades today is called Pigment Green 7. It's used in plastics and paper, it contains chlorine, which, when consumed, is known to lead to illness and even death. Another popular hue is Pigment Green 36, which also includes chlorine and potentially hazardous bromide atoms. The popular bright Pigment Green 50 is a toxic cocktail of cobalt, titanium, nickel, and zinc oxide. It seems that much sort after recreation of mother nature's paintbox is still as elusive as ever.
The psychology of green, and using it in business
Green has many associations in our modern world. It's used widely in the financial sector as well as in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. The colour green is a great colour to use for all things nature-related. Any environmentally friendly business would probably think of green first before all other colours, even the word itself is often used to describe these kinds of environmentally sound projects. But green can also have some negative associations toom think of being "green with envy" or the sickly connotations it holds.
Green is the colour that we find most easy on our eyes, it's a colour of comfort and of relaxation. Many yoga or meditation businesses use green in their branding. There's a huge association with being healthy in green branding, and so is adopted by natural food and drink companies, and those catering for the vegan or vegetarian market. It's true that green is the colour of healing and causes us to feel relaxed and at ease. It can be used as an anxiety reliever. It's also been found to help improve reading for many people, with green light being used instead of red or blue light.
The calming and healing effects of green may be due to our subconscious associations with the natural world. Spending time in nature, or even in a simulated natural environment, has the effect of relieving stress, helping with controlling our impulses and a greater focus on tasks.
Many scientists think that the natural associations we have of green are hard-wired into our brains from ancient times, as we think of the natural environment as being "home", as in a place of food, water and shelter.
Colour can be used to achieve some amazing results for your business. If you would like us to look at your brand, or see how we can use colour to create powerful branding for you, get in touch.
I hope you enjoyed reading. Please look out for our next post in the "Magic Of Colour" series. If you like what you've read here, please feel free to share on social media.
Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. :-)
Shaun Pritchard - Owntwo Creative
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