The Colour Blue
MEANING
Blue is the colour of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It conjures feelings of trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith and truth.
The colour blue is felt to be beneficial to the mind and body as it is strongly associated with tranquillity and calmness.
Blue suppresses appetite so is rarely used for promoting food, probably due to the fact that there are not many ‘blue foods’.
It increases productivity; and so, it is often used in office spaces.
When used together with warm colours like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; think of blue, yellow, and red for our super-heroes.
HISTORY
Historians have concluded that the word "blue" did not even exist in Greek times. It seems this colour was barely distinguished from "neutral" shades like white, light and dark.
As the English language developed, blue took a distinct backseat to other colours. The first colour words to appear in English, and most other languages for that matter, were words for "white" and "black." Next, red, the colour of wine and blood appeared, followed by yellow and then green. Blue appeared last.
Did we really notice blue?
There is a theory that blue was not initially recognised as a colour as there is not a lot of blue in nature. Blue eyes are rare, blue flowers only occur with human intervention and blue animals are uncommon and live in isolated areas. We now describe the sky as blue but theories exist that before the word for blue existed, the sky was seen as a different colour – either colourless or white.
Scientists generally believe that blue emerged as a colour when humans began to develop blue pigments and colourants. Lapis, a semiprecious stone mined in Afghanistan, became highly prized among the Egyptians and the colour very popular. Chemistry was then used to combine the rare lapis with other ingredients to generate other saturated blue pigments. An Egyptian word for "blue" then emerged. The dyes were expensive and as such blue remained rare.
In more modern history blue became more mainstream when the Catholic Church colour-coded the saints and Mary was given a blue robe. Over time, the shade of blue that Mary wore became what is now known as "navy blue." Mary stood for innocence and trustworthiness and therefore the colour blue had positive associations. This same navy blue was adopted by militaries and police to convey a similar essence of trust. Today, as we touch on later it becomes a popular colour for corporate companies.
The history of blue as "the colour for boys" is an even newer notion (and arguably one that could be on its way out….) that primarily arose after the post World War II baby boom. It came about as a marketing scheme, as manufacturers could sell more clothes if some were distinctly for boys, and others were distinctly for girls.
BLUE AND BRANDING
Blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness and generates a sense of security and trust about a brand; hence its popularity for corporate branding, particularly financial institutions. Its links to consciousness and intellect suggests precision and it is therefore also popular for promoting high-tech products.
In addition, blue commonly promotes products and services related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water).