We all notice colour at some point in our lives whether choosing the colour of a new car or the unflattering colour of yet another bride’s maid dress. No matter what, colour can make a difference.
Blue hour on Newfoundland coastline. Photo: Jay Kerr.
Here is some interesting and useful colour information about the colour blue!
Dark blue has been linked to authority and conservatism in North America
Likely this has to do with Blue’s heart-rate reducing powers and its subsequent use as the colour to clothe police officers in most large cities. Dark Blue has been used greatly in logo development of conservative or traditional companies. Consider IBM (even called Big Blue), Nestle, Royal Bank, Bell Telephone, etc. Even the term ‘blue-chip’ relates to stocks of high quality or value.
The colour blue has a long and regal history
Blue is rarely seen in natural foods
There are very few truly blue foods aside from a few berries and maybe the odd fish. In fact, during an experiment conducted a while back, (the data escapes me currently by whom this was originally done) shortbread cookies were tinted in each of the colours of the rainbow using food dye. When the cookies were laid out for people to freely chose from one of the six colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, the least chosen colour was blue. Green was a close second.
Perhaps we won’t eat what does not have a positive colour association for us already? Blue has very weak colour associations with food and flavour, unlike red or yellow.
Blue eyes
Blue eyesEven the chance of blue eyes is rare among humans. Both parents need to have blues eyes or both have to carry the recessive blue gene for their child to have blue eyes. Brown eyes are the more dominate colour worldwide.
Blue sky
But then there is a blue sky – a universal connection of colour between all people on this planet. The sky is not really blue, rather it is made from blue light simply bouncing off dust and water particles in the air.
As the light is scattered in all directions we appear to see blue sky. But when we use the term ‘blue sky’ to describe higher thinking, we are relating it to this endless colour above us.
Blue is rarely seen in nature
Although blue may be rare in nature there is one thing where it is abundant, and that is in choice! World wide, it is the most chosen favorite colour no matter where asked. And let’s not forget blue jeans, the most ubiquitous fabric in the world created by San Francisco’s Levi Strauss back in the 1850s.
Blue is calming
The colour of relaxation, lowered blood pressure and reduced appetite, blue is a colour that has both history and popularity. It has really never been unpopular but more recently, indigo and robin’s egg blue have made trendy comebacks in home decor and fashion. Even Louis XIV knew the beauty of pale blue, using it as the main colour of court at Versailles in the mid-1700s.
If you want to invest in a stable colour, that much of the world loves and continues to have value, think blue…I don’t think it will make you feel blue, just calm, and confident!
Lastly, everyone looks great in turquoise blue!
