Businessmen know that people choose products by color. Good businessmen know that young people prefer different colors from old people and men prefer different colors women.
Young children react to the color of an object before they react to the shape. They prefer warm colors-red, yellow, and orange. When people grow older, they begin to react to be the shape of an object rather than to its color. The favorite color of adults of all races and nationalities is blue. Their second favorite color is red, and their third is green. On the whole, women prefer brighter colors than men do. It is even possible that your favorite color tells a lot about you.
What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange, and red? If you do, you must be an optimist, a leader, or an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. Do you prefer grays and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be a pessimist. At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference, as well as the we don’t choose our favorite color as we grow up-we are born with our preference. If you happen to love brown, you did so as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
Colors do influence our moods, and there is no doubt about it. A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing. A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides than any other bridge in the area-until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply; perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.
Light and bright colors make people not only happier but more active. It is an established fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or dark grey.
Remember, then, that if you feel low, you can always brighten your day-or your life-with a new shirt or a few cans of paint. Remember also that you will know your friends and your enemies better when you find out what colors they like and dislike. And don’t forget that anyone can guess a lot about your personality when you choose a pair of socks or a lampshade.