Color Psychology: Yellow

Understanding how color affects our world.

by Kate Smith

Yellow promotes optimism, enlightenment and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors, instill optimism and energy and spark creative thoughts.

Feeling Yellow

The color yellow affects us physically by:

• Stimulating the nervous system
• Exciting mental processes
• Activating memory
• Encouraging communication

Yellow in the Garden

Considered a warm color in landscape design, yellow adds a stimulating element to any garden. Yellow flowers appear to come forward in the landscape, making a large garden feel cozy. The complementary color of yellow is purple.

Unique Facts about Yellow

• In terms of psychological effects, yellow is the happiest color in the spectrum.
• The comic book character Green Lantern was afraid of the color yellow.
• Three quarters of the pencils sold in the United States are painted yellow.
• The color yellow is used by U.S. intelligence agencies to denote an elevated threat level when dealing with terrorist activities.
• Medical establishments use a yellow flag to denote quarantine.
• Yellow represents greed in Christianity.
• In auto racing, a yellow flag is used to signal caution. In football, it represents a penalty.
• Driving a yellow vehicle suggests you are young at heart and have a sunny disposition; however, a yellow-gold vehicle will paint you as intelligent and warm.

Seeing Yellow

Yellow is the signature color of a number of products, companies and organizations:

• Midas
• Stanley Tools
• McDonald’s

Speaking Yellow

Popular phrases and quotes that include yellow are:

• Yellowbellied: a cowardly manner
• Yellow fever: a disease involving high fever and jaundice
• Yellow jack: a flag flown on a vessel to show it’s under quarantine
• Yellow dog contract: a contract which denies a person the right to join a worker’s union
• Yellow journalism: newspaper articles thought to be sensationalized in order to increase sales

Singing Yellow

Songs with yellow in the title:

• “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell
• “Black, Red, Yellow” by Pearl Jam
• “Blue and Yellow” by The Used
• “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” by Frank Zappa
• “Double Yellow Line” by The Music Machine
• “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John
• “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss
• “Mellow Yellow” by Donovan
• “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” by Tony Orlando and Dawn
• “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles

Yellow Around the World

Throughout history, cultures around the world have associated yellow with sadness, jealousy and celebration.

• In China, yellow is a predominant color and has a very significant history. Yellow is the color most often associated with both the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
• The French painted the front doors of traitors and criminals yellow in the 10^th century.
• In India, yellow is the color of the Vaisya caste (farmers), and is the color Hindus wear to celebrate the Festival of Spring.
• In the United States, most taxi cabs and school buses are painted yellow.
• In Greece, the color yellow represents sadness.
• In Aztec culture, yellow was used to symbolize food as it was the color of corn, their primary food staple.
• In France, yellow often represents jealousy.
• Japanese warriors wore yellow chrysanthemums as a pledge of courage during the 1357 War of Dynasty.