January 2007

COLOR: The Unspoken Language
By Sheri Miller AIFD

What would our world be like with no color? Take a moment to look up and imagine if you perceived your world without color; everything is black, grey, and white. Looking at the world through black and white eyes brings a new awareness to the impact of color.

We can approach color in many ways; through Color Theory, Color Psychology, Color Therapy, Emotion and Color, Color Harmony, Healing with Color, and using color to increase sales. In this article, each month we will explore color from many different angles to provide a more in-depth understanding of how to use color as a tool.

And what a powerful tool it is!
Used with knowledge, color can help you get through your day when you are tired by knowing what color to wear. Color can increase you sales by having a deeper understanding of when to use certain colors and when not to use other colors. Color can increase your chances of getting a speeding ticket. Color can create a living environment that soothes and relaxes you while opening up your creativity. Or, choosing the wrong color for your home can create an underlying tension that never goes away.

Relating to color psychology, Faber Birren (a colorist who closely studied the effects of color primarily in the l900’s) experimented with color during one of his dinner parties. He invited a group of friends and colleagues for dinner. In this particular dinner, he changed the natural color of all his menu items. The milk was red, the roast was green and so on. Faber Birren wanted to observe the reactions of his guests to these color alterations. Some of his guests refused to eat, simply refused. Some that did eat the food became violently physically ill. Others ate the meal and were fine. How fascinating! All the food color was changed naturally so the only reason for illness was due to a mental reaction: color psychology.

If people can have such an reaction from altering the color of foods, what about our choices as florists to send flowers to our clients? Are we making the best choices? If we made better choices, would our profits increase?

If you want a quick study in color and money, take a walk down the laundry detergent aisle in your local grocery store. What you are seeing, all those “screaming” colors, represents an industry that has spent billions on researching consumer reactions to color. They have done their homework and clearly know what specific colors cause us, the customer, to reach for their product.

Hi, I’m Sheri Miller, AIFD and I have studied color for at least 35 years. I enrolled in Color Theory in college to understand how to make sense of something so immense. I quickly became intrigued with color psychology, color therapy and anything to do with color. I have always had a high awareness of color around me and it’s effects. If you have ever wondered about color and wanted to know more, I have good news. Join me each month to learn more about color. I will explore it in many directions, not just the common color wheel we all are aware of. You can gain a better understanding of how to use color as a valuable tool to increase your enjoyment of life, and possibly your profits.