To read this content please select one of the options below:

The meanings of colour: preferences among hues

W. Ray Crozier (Reader in Psychology of Education, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK)

Pigment & Resin Technology

ISSN: 0369-9420

Article publication date: 1 February 1999

5940

Abstract

Colour preferences have both scientific significance and relevance to manufacturers. Despite claims that these preferences are unsystematic and that saturation and brightness exert more influence on judgements than hue, a substantial body of research suggests that the rank order of preference for hues ‐ blue, red, green, violet, orange, yellow ‐ emerges with some degree of consistency and, in particular, blue is regularly preferred to other hues. Five explanations of this trend are considered: preferences are simply conventional; blue is more neutral and less susceptible to extremes of judgement than other hues; preference for blue is a by‐product of more general principles; blue has largely positive associations; blue has an evolutionary significance. It is proposed that further investigation of the connotations of hues will provide insight into the pattern of colour preferences.

Keywords

Citation

Crozier, W.R. (1999), "The meanings of colour: preferences among hues", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 6-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/03699429910252315

Publisher

:

MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited

Related articles