I’ve been looking into what different colours means to different cultures and so far I have found a site where it lists all the colours and how people from different places perceive them. However I have not found how they have come to their findings. The url is: http://webdesign.about.com/od/colorcharts/l/bl_colorculture.htm (more websites with colour - http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769383.html - This one is conveyed well in a chart - http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/)

Color Cultures and Meanings Red

• Australian Aboriginals: Land, earth
• Celtic: Death, afterlife
• China: Good luck, celebration, summoning
• Cherokees: Success, triumph. Represents the East.
• Hebrew: Sacrifice, sin
• India: Purity
• South Africa: Color of mourning
• Russia: Bolsheviks and Communism
• Eastern: Worn by brides, happiness and prosperity
• Western: Excitement, danger, love, passion, stop, Christmas (with green), Valentine’s Day
• Astrology: Gemini
• Feng Shui: Yang, fire, good luck, money, respect, recognition, vitality
• Psychology: Stimulates brain wave activity, increases heart rate, increases blood pressure
• Roses: Love, respect - red and yellow together means gaiety, joviality
• Stained Glass (Dante): Divine love, the Holy Spirit, courage, self-sacrifice, martyrdom. A warm, active color.

Pink

• Korea: Trust
• Eastern: Marriage
• Western: Love, babies, especially female babies, Valentine’s Day
• Feng Shui: Yin, love
• Psychology: Used in diet therapy as an appetite suppressant, relaxes muscles, soothing
• Roses: Gratitude and appreciation (deep pink) or admiration and sympathy (light pink)

Orange

• Ireland: Religious (Protestants)
• Netherlands: House of Orange
• Western: Halloween (with black), creativity, autumn
• Astrology: Sagittarius
• Feng Shui: Yang, earth, strengthens conversation, purpose, organization
• Psychology: Energizes, stimulates appetite
• Roses: Enthusiasm, desire

Gold

• Eastern: Wealth, strength
• Western: Wealth
• Astrology: Leo (Golden Yellow/Orange)
• Feng Shui: Yang, metal, God consciousness
• Stained Glass (Dante): The sun, the goodness of God, treasure in heaven, spiritual achievement, and the good life.

Yellow

• Apache: East - where the sun rises
• Cherokee: Trouble and strife.
• China: Nourishing, royalty
• Egypt: Mourning
• India: Merchants
• Japan: Courage
• Navajo: Doko’oosliid - Abalone Shell Mountain
• Eastern: Proof against evil, for the dead, sacred, imperial
• Western: Hope, hazards, coward, weakness, taxis
• Astrology: Taurus
• Feng Shui: Yang, earth, auspicious, sun beams, warmth, motion
• Psychology: Energizes, relieves depression, improves memory, stimulates appetite
• Roses: Sociability, friendship, joy, gladness - red and yellow together means gaiety, joviality
• Stained Glass (Dante): The sun, the goodness of God, treasure in heaven, spiritual achievement, and the good life.

Green

• Apache: South
• China: Green hats indicate a man’s wife is cheating on him, exorcism
• India: Islam
• Ireland: Symbol of the entire country, religious (Catholics)
• Islam: Perfect faith
• Japan: Life
• Eastern: Eternity, family, health, prosperity, peace
• Western: Spring, new birth, go, money, Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas (with red)
• Astrology: Cancer (bright green)
• Feng Shui: Yin, wood, growing energy, nurturing, balancing, healing, health, calming
• Psychology: Soothing, relaxing mentally and physically, helps with depression, anxiety and nervousness
• Stained Glass (Dante): Hope, victory over ignorance, happiness and gaiety, springtime, youth, good humor, and fun.

Blue

• Cherokees: Defeat, trouble. Represents the North.
• China: Immortality
• Iran: Color of heaven and spirituality, mourning
• Navajo: Tsoodzil - Turquoise Mountain
• Eastern: Wealth, self-cultivation
• Western: Depression, sadness, conservative, corporate, “something blue” bridal tradition
• Astrology: Capricorn and Aquarius (dark blue)
• Feng Shui: Yin, water, calm, love, healing, relaxing, peace, trust, adventure, exploration
• Psychology: Calming, lowers blood pressure, decreases respiration
• Stained Glass (Dante): Wisdom of God, the light of heaven, meditation, enduring loyalty, and eternity.

Powder Blue or Baby Blue

• Western: babies, especially male babies
• Astrology: Virgo

Purple

• Thailand: Mourning, widows
• Eastern: Wealth
• Western: Royalty
• Astrology: Gemini, Sagittarius, and Pisces
• Feng Shui: Yin, spiritual awareness, physical and mental healing
• Stained Glass (Dante): Justice, royalty, suffering and mystery. With white it stands for humility and purity.

Violet

• Astrology: Virgo and Libra
• Psychology: Suppresses appetite, peaceful environment, good for migraines

White

• Apache: North - source of snow.
• Cherokee: Peace and happiness. Represents the South.
• China: Death, mourning
• India: unhappiness
• Japan: White carnation symbolizes death
• Navajo: Tsisnaasjini’ - Dawn or White Shell Mountain
• Eastern: Funerals, helpful people, children, marriage, mourning, peace, travel
• Western: Brides, angels, good guys, hospitals, doctors, peace (white dove)
• Astrology: Aries and Pisces
• Feng Shui: Yang, metal, death, mourning, spirits, ghosts, poise, confidence
• Roses: Reverence, humility
• Stained Glass (Dante): Serenity, peace, purity, joy, faith, and innocence.

Black

• Apache: West - where the sun sets
• Australian Aboriginals: Color of the people
• Cherokee: Problems and death. Represents the West.
• China: Color for young boys
• Navajo: Dibé Nitsaa - Obsidian Mountain
• Thailand: Bad luck, unhappiness, evil
• Eastern: Career, evil, knowledge, mourning, pennance
• Western: Funerals, death, Halloween (with orange), bad guys, rebellion
• Feng Shui: Yin, water, money, income, career success, emotional protection, power, stability, bruises, evil
• Psychology: self-confidence, strength, power

Gray

• Eastern: Helpers, travel
• Western: Boring, dull, plain, sad
• Feng Shui: Yin, metal, dead, dull, indefinite

Silver

• Western: stylish, money
• Feng Shui: Yin, metal, trust, romance

Brown

• Australian Aboriginals: Color of the land
• Cherokee: Good.
• Western: Wholesome, earthy, dependable, steadfast, health
• Astrology: Capricorn and Scorpio (reddish brown)
• Feng Shui: Yang, earth, industry, grounded

Ok so the past two weeks have not been the most productive weeks! On top of dragging my feet, “life got in the way” but things have improved and after completing my learning contract and starting my dissertation contents page my motivation appears to have come back and I can now focus clearly! This weekend I intend to have the house modelled and i’ll post pictures of the progress :D Only 6 weeks left to complete the animation and a further week to get the dissertation done but as I always say I work better under pressure!

While my project is based on mood I have never defined what I MEAN by mood. What I am trying to do is create an animation with strong senses of emotion both in the environment and with the viewer. The moods I wish to create in the animation are happiness, sadness etc. The story of the animation is about a house that has just been built and then as the years go by the house decays due to lack of attention by the owner and the animation ends up sad and falling apart.

I have been researching colour and mood today and so far I have found that:

• Colour does have an influence on people

“the psychology of color for interior design could change the productivity of their workers.” - http://www.xzcution.com/make-your-interior-design-with-different-colors/

Psychology of interior design is also dependent on the person’s knowledge of the colour’s historical use. For example, dark greens were traditionally used for banking, dark purple is historically equated to kings and royalty.

• Red - increases blood pressure and appetite
• Terra Cotta - evokes muted feelings of desire
• Blue, Brown and Green (earth tones) - offer a feeling of tranquility, browns can offer a feeling of security while greens offer neutrality
• Light purple - has a calming effect
• Grey - works well for productivity (used in many offices)
• Black - hints at being submissive
• Yellow - Can either evoke happiness or anger. This colour is like marmite, you either love it or you hate it. People who like yellow like it immensely and those who dislike it, dislike it completely.