I’m not opposed to colours at all. In fact, I love colour. And I think colours play a huge deal in how we feel and express ourselves. I noticed that after my positively horrendous 2019, I wore a lot of blue and navy and was drawn to those colours a lot. And this is where I turn to colour psychology to help deciphering what that is supposed to mean.
According to a list on verywellmind.com (https://www.verywellmind.com/the-color-psychology-of-blue-2795815), the psychology of blue can be understood as follows:
- Blue is described as a favorite color by many people and is the color most preferred by men.
- Because blue is favored by so many people, it is often viewed as a non-threatening color that can seem conservative and traditional.
- Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity. It is often described as peaceful, tranquil, secure, and orderly.
- Blue is often seen as a sign of stability and reliability. Businesses that want to project an image of security often utilize blue in their advertising and marketing efforts.
- Blue can also create feelings of sadness or aloofness. Consider how a painting that heavily features blue, such as those produced by Picasso during his "blue period," can seem so lonely, sad, or forlorn.
- Blue is often used to decorate offices because research has shown that people are more productive in blue rooms.
- Blue is one of the most popular colors, but it is one of the least appetizing. Some weight loss plans even recommend eating your food off of a blue plate. Blue rarely occurs naturally in food aside from blueberries and some plums. Also, humans are geared to avoid foods that are poisonous and blue coloring in food is often a sign of spoilage or poison.
- Blue can also lower the pulse rate and body temperature.
- Consider how blue is used in language: blue moon, blue Monday, blue blood, the blues, and blue ribbon.
So when you think of something like colour psychology and an artisan soap, it is important when developing the product that you consider how colour will impact someone’s connection with it.
Also, depending on the process you use to make your soap, colour will disperse throughout the batter and the final product in different ways. Using embeds of MP in CP soaps is fabulous when introducing shapes and colour vibrancy, as MP soaps tend to hold vibrant colours better over time than CP soaps. And CP soaps in general tend to fade both scent and colour past about 6 months due to the lack of preservative used in CP soaps.
When I choose colours and scents for my soaps, I tend to do some mind mapping first to determine what I want that bar to achieve. I have a pinterest board of colours that I review after writing down keywords for my soap. So for example, if I wanted to design a special soap for Halloween, I would look at traditional Halloween colours which are orange and black, and then look at my actual environment at that time. Is it summer, is it winter, is there rain? All of these thoughts and ideas are jotted down, such as spring, October, wet season, pumpkins, trick or treat, etc. Using these I then determine which colours keep popping up and which remind me of that period in time. And that’s how I introduce and include colour in my soaps.
As I mentioned before, I love using colour and I am not opposed to it. I have a particular idea for launching soaps and I would like to do some fun soaps throughout the year that are a lot more vibrant and colourful. But for now, my identity is based on simple, traditional and natural and so the first lot of soap product launches will be focused on that.
To keep up to date on whats happening at Homestead, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.