“From the moment I first started studying joy, it was clear that the liveliest places and objects all have one thing in common: bright, vivid color. Whether it’s a row of houses painted in bold swaths of candy hues or a display of colored markers in a stationery shop, vibrant color invariably sparks a feeling of delight.”
― Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness
Have you ever noticed the powerful link between colour and our emotions? Colour can act as its own language, communicating different feelings that play off our cultural symbolism and past memories. In fact, it's hard to imagine a world without any colour (we tried). Try and think of a time when you saw a field blooming with flowers, or took a walk out in nature, or got lost in a dreamy sunset. Even just imagining it strikes an emotional connection.
The psychology of colour
Colour has been used to convey meaning for thousands of years across cultures. When we consider the fundamentals of colour theory, warm colours generally evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and energy, while cool colours are calming and soothing.
It's crazy to think that specific colours can even motivate us to spend more money, eat more food or improve our mood! And the benefits far extend psychology. More recently, colour LED light therapy has been introduced to treat chronic pain, depression and immune disorders.
Is colour going extinct?
It's shocking to think about it but colour may very well be disappearing from the world as we know it. Just look around- our cars are less colourful; our apartments and houses are predominantly white or grey because, well...they’re not ours. One could say that the rising cost of living has waned our taste for colour. Interiors are kept as plain as possible for the next renter or buyer, and instead of adding painted details or hanging up décor, tenants are opting to not add anything into the mix at all. What's more, Western culture has pivoted towards some sort of colour bias, viewing colours as overly emotional and nonsensical. In a world where #minimalism reigns and social media is plastered with heavily curated beige Insta-feeds, 'momfluencers' uniting to dress their babies in neutral hues (check out That Sad Beige Lady on TikTok, it's a thing), splashes of colours seem sadly less rejoiced.
Why colourful things actually bring us joy
On the bright (and colourful) side, there appears to be a Colour Renaissance happening in some niche industries, showing us that there's no need to dwindle into the colourless abyss. Some people are experimenting more with colourful fashion, adopting a maximalist mindset to remedy the post-pandemic blues. In fact, psychology has proven that wearing colourful clothing items can help us to feel more positive and happy. And it doesn't always have to be loud or flashy either - some studies suggest that wearing a single piece of brightly coloured clothing, like a scarf or some colourful undies (wink wink), may be enough to lift our spirits.
Surprise surprise - we love colour
Our take? There’s no reason we can’t rekindle or our love affair with colour or add fuel to the burning desire to embrace daily dosages of colour. We believe that colours are intuitive and inspiring, hence all our vibrant colour palettes and playful prints. We want to inspire people to dare to stand out, be bold and honour their creative individualism out loud in the open, or for themselves, secretly underneath.
“The power of the aesthetics of joy is that they speak directly to our unconscious minds, bringing out the best in us without our even being aware of it.”
― Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness (Book definitely recommended by the way!)
