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Color Psychology and Color Therapy: A Factual Study of the Influence of Color on Human Life (1950) is a book of color theory by renowned color expert Faber Birren. The work explores the impact of color on human behavior and emotions.
Born in 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, Birren began studying color and art as a teen at the Art Institute of Chicago. While he originally intended to follow in his father's footsteps as a landscape painter, he determined that he didn't have the requisite talent.
He attended the University of Chicago as an education major instead, but found that his interest was still in the world of color. Since no formal program in color theory existed at the time, he left school to pursue a course of self-managed study, spending hours at the Chicago Public Library.
At age 24, Birren began a prolific writing career, publishing dozens of books and articles on color theory over the course of his life. Soon, he began consulting for businesses, claiming he could boost sales with the careful use of color.
One of Birren's early successes was a Chicago wholesale meat company. He suggested that the white walls of the meat coolers made the meat appear an unappetizing gray color. He proposed that the meat company paint the coolers in a blue-green color instead, to make the meat's red hue pop. Sales increased, and Birren had proven that paying attention to color theory could reap dividends.
Birren brought this expertise to many well-known corporations throughout the middle of the 20th century. He consulted with major manufacturers like Monsanto, General Electric, and DuPont, among others. His goals went beyond sales, aiming to improve employee mood and attentiveness as well. He even consulted with Disney on the color choices in the films Bambi, Fantasia, and Pinocchio.
Color Psychology and Color Therapy is written in four parts. In part one, Birren discusses color symbolism in varied mystic, occultist, and religious traditions. He also shares the views on color expressed by various ancient philosophers.
In part two, Birren takes a scientific approach to color. He explores the electromagnetic spectrum and the effects of certain wavelengths of light and color on plants, animals, and the human body.
In part three, Birren turns his attention to the psychological impacts of color on human behavior and emotions. Unsurprisingly, the impact of color on mood and behavior is far more complex than red makes us happy and gray makes us sad. It is a complex blend of context, personal associations, and subjective impressions, which Birren explores in depth.
Finally, part four focuses on the visual aspects of color, like the function of the eye and how it perceives different colors. Through a deliberate use of color, Birren argues that we can reduce eye strain and fatigue, and improve efficiency and safety. He also explores visual difficulties, like color blindness and night blindness, their causes, and their effects.
Birren's contributions to the field of color theory are still seen today. Colorful safety margins painted around factory equipment and purple-topped pool tables (instead of the traditional green) are both among his many legacies.
Color Psychology and Color Therapy: A Factual Study of the Influence of Color on Human Life (1950) is a book of color theory by renowned color expert Faber Birren. The work explores the impact of color on human behavior and emotions.
Born in 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, Birren began studying color and art as a teen at the Art Institute of Chicago. While he originally intended to follow in his father's footsteps as a landscape painter, he determined that he didn't have the requisite talent.
He attended the University of Chicago as an education major instead, but found that his interest was still in the world of color. Since no formal program in color theory existed at the time, he left school to pursue a course of self-managed study, spending hours at the Chicago Public Library.
At age 24, Birren began a prolific writing career, publishing dozens of books and articles on color theory over the course of his life. Soon, he began consulting for businesses, claiming he could boost sales with the careful use of color.
One of Birren's early successes was a Chicago wholesale meat company. He suggested that the white walls of the meat coolers made the meat appear an unappetizing gray color. He proposed that the meat company paint the coolers in a blue-green color instead, to make the meat's red hue pop. Sales increased, and Birren had proven that paying attention to color theory could reap dividends.
Birren brought this expertise to many well-known corporations throughout the middle of the 20th century. He consulted with major manufacturers like Monsanto, General Electric, and DuPont, among others. His goals went beyond sales, aiming to improve employee mood and attentiveness as well. He even consulted with Disney on the color choices in the films Bambi, Fantasia, and Pinocchio.
Color Psychology and Color Therapy is written in four parts. In part one, Birren discusses color symbolism in varied mystic, occultist, and religious traditions. He also shares the views on color expressed by various ancient philosophers.
In part two, Birren takes a scientific approach to color. He explores the electromagnetic spectrum and the effects of certain wavelengths of light and color on plants, animals, and the human body.
In part three, Birren turns his attention to the psychological impacts of color on human behavior and emotions. Unsurprisingly, the impact of color on mood and behavior is far more complex than red makes us happy and gray makes us sad. It is a complex blend of context, personal associations, and subjective impressions, which Birren explores in depth.
Finally, part four focuses on the visual aspects of color, like the function of the eye and how it perceives different colors. Through a deliberate use of color, Birren argues that we can reduce eye strain and fatigue, and improve efficiency and safety. He also explores visual difficulties, like color blindness and night blindness, their causes, and their effects.
Birren's contributions to the field of color theory are still seen today. Colorful safety margins painted around factory equipment and purple-topped pool tables (instead of the traditional green) are both among his many legacies.
American writer Faber Birren devoted his life to color and it's effects on human life. After writing around 25 texts on the topic, it would be safe to say his work is considered highly among color experts and psychologists around the world. Birren's work has a strong focus on linking how humans perceive colors to how it makes them react. He writes, Good smelling colors are pink, lilac, orchid, cool green, aqua blue. Birren explores the work of several physicians, scientists and doctors, mainly the German psychoanalyst and physician Felix Deutsch, whose findings throw important light not only on medical practice with references to color but on the whole psychology of color. Birren states that if a person prefers warmer colors such as hues of red and oranges, they are likely to me more aware of their social environment. He labels these as warm color dominant subjects. On the other hand, those preferring cooler colous such as blues and greens, are categorized generally as cold color dominant subjects and are recognized as finding it challenging to adapt themselves to new environments and situations. By splitting people into separate categories, based on their color preferences, Birren finds himself able to establish a greater understanding of their personalities and characteristics. One experiment Birren explores in his text, courtesy of Kurt Goldstein, involves a subject standing before a black wall with his eyes shut and arms outstretched to touch the wall in front. When the subject is influenced by a warm color such as the color red, his arms deviate away from each other, whereas when under the influence of a cooler colour such as green or blue, even though the reaction is a subtle one, the subject will move his arms closer together. I find this experiment, simple as it is, to be fascinating in highlighting the strong effects colors have on our minds and bodies. As well as distinguishing the differences in peoples' character through his use of color psychology, Birren also touches on the effects colors can have on the mentally ill. This section was the most interesting and involved a series of complex experiments such as discovering which neurological disorders were linked to which colors. Courtesy of the work by Hans Huber, it was proven that patients suffering manic tendencies preferred the color red, a symbol of blood and anger. Hysterical patients were more sensitive to green, perhaps as an escape, the color linked to paranoid subjects was found to be brown and schizophrenics are sensitive to yellow. Birren states that persons troubled with nervous (neurotic) and mental (psychotic) disturbances are greatly affected by color and are responsive to it. Therefore color becomes much more significant to them, and affects them in a completely different way than those without such neurological disturbances. Chapter 12 Neurotics and Psychotics is the most compelling in the text as it relates to my dissertation topic. After struggling to find texts specific to my research subject, this text and its contents came as a welcomed discovery and I will be referring to Birren's work throughout my further research.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.