How to Make the Color Blue Win the Day for You

This is a re-post of a recent guest article I wrote for the spirituality and wellness website, Faeshan.com.
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Much Ado About the Color Blue

 

 

“Kristen. I have an important Skype interview tomorrow. What colors should I wear so I make the best impression?”

My friend’s question yesterday may seem a bit unusual to you, but it’s the kind of thing I get asked nearly every day. You see, I’m something of a color connoisseur.

A color chef…
A color advisor…

My marketing books would say, “Just call yourself a color EXPERT already!” OK. That too…

As an artist and educator, I can easily serve up a variety of color combinations to get my audience to feel exactly how I want them to. I use color strategically in my paintings, my animations, my online courses, in any presentations I make, and I even make deliberate color decisions when picking out what to wear to help influence my day both at home and at work. (On laundry day however, all bets are off.)

Today I feel particularly drawn to writing about the color blue. It’s hand down the #1 answer worldwide when you ask people what their favorite color is. (Fun fact: yellow, my sunny youngest son’s favorite, is the least popular answer.)

 

 

Blue was also my answer to my friend’s question about their job interview. It’s the color most often associated with trust, loyalty, and accountability. Research shows that in fact, when one wears navy or dark blue to a job interview they will have a slight psychological edge over their competition, assuming all other factors are equal.

I advised this particular interviewee, a male, to wear a light blue dress shirt (which shows friendliness and a hard-working, yet approachable nature) paired with a dark blue tie. You’ll almost always see this particular color combination worn by politicians when they are out campaigning. (Watch them roll up their sleeves to try and better connect with the 99% and non-billionaire voters.)

Blue also produces chemicals in our brains that aid with concentration, which is why it’s the best-colored room to study in. Studies show that people who write their notes using blue ink will better remember the information.

Blue is a color associated with service, perhaps because even as far back as ancient Greece, public servants would wear blue togas. This tradition continues in modern times as you can often spot medical professionals and law enforcement officers sporting this celebrated hue.

When it comes to food however, blue is about the WORST color to have around, unless you are on a diet and want to control your food intake by placing it on a blue plate. This is because blue is the least appetizing color to the typical human being. When we see blue on our food naturally occurring, it usually means it has gone bad or is spoiled. Blueberries and artificial coloring aside, our brains are wired to have us automatically repulsed by blue-colored food. So if you own a restaurant and your walls are the color blue, you might want to invest in painting your walls red instead. (Studies show people order more food on a menu and have a greater appetite in red-colored rooms or when tables have red tablecloths.)

Blue, a cool color like green and purple can also influence our physical body temperatures. Some cost-savvy business owners in hot climates will paint their offices and storefronts blue so they can turn the air conditioners down a few degrees. (And painting a room yellow, orange, or red can help people feel warmer as well.)

In the spiritual realm, blue is most often associated with the throat chakra. According to theuniverseofsymbolism.com, this color “holds the symbolic meaning of peace and tranquility. Blue is the color of cool water, it is soothing and symbolically represents trust and harmony, and it also holds the energy and meaning of calm. To improve communication, meditate with sky blue.”

Lately I’ve been enviously reading accounts by mediums and other intuitives who report that supposedly the colors of the spiritual realm are more intense than what we have here on Earth and cannot even be described with human words. To try to wrap my mind around that, I think of many types of bats and rodents who only are able to see in shades of black and white. Just because they can’t see the colors that we can doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And so it must be for the colors that we can’t see with our physical eyes as well.

Well, back on Earth, I’m happy enough using the colors I have on hand. Now that you know more about blue and what it can do, how will you dress for your next job interview? Go get ‘em tiger!

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If you liked these color tips, you might also like my top-rated Udemy course, Life Hack With Color Psychology. View the free preview lessons and enroll today.