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Use the psychological effects of the color pink to create a fresh, soft look for your home. The color pink is a ‘tint’ of the color red (also called a 'pastel' - a color that is desaturated by mixing it with white or light gray). For this reason, the color pink doesn't appear on the basic Color Wheel.
"Pink isn't always girly!"
The effects of the color pink are quite distinct from those of the color red.
But just like red, pink color comes in lots of hues. Ripe-peach pink, bubble gum pink, hot Caribbean pink – they each have their own appeal and psychological effects.
In most Western countries, the color pink is seen as a ‘female’ color, and heavily used for anything to do with baby girls.
But that’s a fairly recent development – refined, sophisticated (and non-sugary) versions of the color pink have been used in European interior design for centuries, by (and for) both men and women.
Generally, when used in interior design, the psychological effect of the color pink is described as soothing and comforting. In Rudolf Steiner schools and hospitals, interior walls are often colorwashed in warm, gentle hues of the color pink.
In not quite the same spirit, the effect of the color pink was utilized at Iowa State University in the 1970s. Football coach Hayden Fry had the visiting team’s locker room painted pink – a much-debated attempt to, erm, relax the players more than they would have liked (the color scheme has been in operation ever since, with varying success).
For another example of the power of pink, think of all the pink-colored candy you have eaten, or been tempted to eat, in your life. Some versions of the color pink have a sweetness and freshness about them that is very hard to resist.
If you’re a man, you probably prefer eating pink colored goodies to surrounding yourself with the color pink. I think this may have more to do with current gender stereotypes in society than with any psychological effects of the color pink as such.
So pink makes for interesting research! I’m sure color psychology will find out more about gender differences in color perception in the future, but meanwhile you might want to do some research of your own.
Here's my first experiment:
My husband, an upright Englishman, refused to sleep under bedlinen that I’d just bought. It had gorgeous flowers printed all over it. Yes ... they were pink.
For information on the psychological effects of other colors, please click any of the following links:
White,
Gray,
Black,
Brown
Yellow,
Orange,
Red
Purple,
Blue,
Green
Click here for some general information about Color Psychology.
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