Process Book

The Process Book: The Psychology of Color Designed by Nicole L. Miller

Colophon This book was designed by Nicole L. Miller. The text is set in Century Gothic Pro: regular, italic and book. Intented for the research and documentation of DES 4999: Senior Thesis in Graphic Design at Oakland University. Only one copy of this book exists. This book was printed through blurb.com.

“I am a believer that color affects people’s moods.” - Lilly Pulitzer

About Me

Acknowledgement

From a young age I have always had a passion for art. Since childhood, one thing that I continuously do is draw. From the time I began scribbling on my parent’s walls at the age of four, my passion to be creative continued to fuel my desire to design. This led me to my love for graphic design. Growing up I was surrounded by very supportive family and friends who encouraged me to pursue my love for art.

Thank you to all those who helped me thoughout my education and life journey this far. Through hard time or easy, you helped me become who I am today. I especially want to thank my family and friends for their endless support and advice. Lastly, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my dreams without my parents. Thank you for always pushing me to my full potential along with your endless love and support. I am beyond thankful for all the experiences and support that has led me to this new chapter. I am very grateful for this incredible opportunity and cannot wait to begin working in the field!

Throughout my time at Oakland University, I balanced being a part-time graphic designers while being a full-time student. This is my last semester at Oakland University where I will graduate with a Bachelors in Arts before stepping foot into the real world. I am excited to continue to develop, inspire, and excel in the graphic design industry working for Smart Links Solutions as their Marketing Content Coordinator.

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Introduction 09 Mad Lib 11 Project Introduction 12 Free Writing 13 Questions 14 Project Motivations 15

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The Process 17 Design Brief 18 Research Introduction 20 Mind Map 21 Initial Sketches 22 Deliverable Sketches 24 Inspirations 25 Word List 26 Goals 27 Liteture Review 28 Research 30 Challenges 34 Explanation 35

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Final Work 37 Color Palette 38 Final Typography 40 Deliverables 42

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Conclusion 53 Self Critique 55 Self Critique Evaluation 56 Final Notes 57 Conclusion 59 Bibliography 61

Introduction 08

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Mad Lib This semester, I will investigate how design communicates through the psychology of color and its influences on emotional response and decisions. This project will impact anyone who can see color as those people are all affected by how color is conveyed through design. This project is important because Graphic Design is about delivering a message and invoking an emotional reaction through colors leading to appealing and fascinating outcomes.

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Project Introduction

Free Writing

Throughout my time at Oakland University, I was working part-time as an intern and attending school full time. After working in the field for two years, I realized that color plays a big factor in everyday lives; personal and professional. On a personal level we are more drawn to colors that we think are attractive, while in a professional side they often have a specific company color and guidelines. Color is often used to express a feeling or emotion to connect the viewer with their message. I wanted the chance to dive deeper into the psychology of color and the mean and emotions they make us feel because colors play such a big role in our everyday lives. The purpose of my project, The Psychology of Color, is to gain a better understand of color and the meaning and affect it has on us.

A five minute free writing to get the creative mind going about Psychology of color... What is color psychology? Why is it important to our everyday life? Do we all see different colors? There are many questions when it comes to colors and color psychology. After working in Marketing for almost two years now, it has come to my attention that all colors are important. Whether you dislike the color or not, it has an important role. Colors relay a message that we don’t always see. We see colors all day long and that has an effect on us. Why do colors make us feel and think a certain way? My mission for this thesis process it to find out why. Why do some people have favorite colors? Why do some people dislike colors? There are so many questions about colors, which is why I am digging deeper. There is obviously a deeper meaning to colors than what we see and know. It’s crazy to think that color has such a big influence on our daily life.

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My Questions There are a million questions that first come to mind when I think of color(s). Below are the initial questions that I came up with before begining my reseach. • What is color psychology? • What is color? • What is a “true” color? • What if colors didn’t exist? • What is the real meaning behind color? • When / Where did colors come from? • Do we all see the same colors / shades? • What would the world be like without color? • How / What do color blind people see? • Does the sun / light effect color and how / what we see? • Why is color so important? • Why do we use colors daily? • Why do people have favorite colors? • How / Why do colors influence our decisions and emotions? • When people think/ hear of a color, what first comes to mind? • How does the eye play a role with color? • How does color effect adults vs kids? The same? Different? • Why do some people hate colors? • How does color afftect people? • How does a color make you feel a certain way?

Project Motivations Below is a list of a few key factors that kept me motivated for this project. • Research - Learning meaning of color. Color has been around for hundreds of years but we don’t realize how much it impacts us. Since I am interested in learning more about color, it kept me interested throughout the semester. - Researching about color. Knowing how we see the world in color and how our eyes work is important because I can’t understand the psychology of color before knowing how colors work and how we see them. • Deliverable / Process book - Showing the finished product. Putting all my findings into one document in the end will make me feel successful considering I spend a whole semester research and creating this document - Making dead lines to complete the project. Setting deadlines for myself really helped me stay focus on completing the project. It also helped me stay less stressed as I was able to control my own deadlines.

I narrowed down my intial questions to three questions that I specifically wanted to focus on. I focused on the three questions below to help complete my project. • What is color? • Does light effect color(s) and how we see them? • How /Why do colors influence our decisions and emotions?

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The Process

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Design Brief Project: Thesis: The Psychology of Color

Call to Action

Author: Nicole Miller

• I will investigate how colors communicate and it’s influence on emotional responses and decisions.

Target Audience

• Viewers will gain knowledge on how colors influences their daily lives.

This project will impact anyone who can see color as those people are all affected by how color is conveyed through design.

•The viewers will see how colors make them feel.

Overview

Context Outside

This semester, I will investigate how design communicates through the psychology of color and its influences on emotional response and decisions. This project will impact anyone who can see color as those people are all affected by how color is conveyed through design. This project is important because Graphic Design is about delivering a message and invoking an emotional response through colors leading to appealing and fascinating outcomes.

We see color everyday. Our target audience is aware but also unsure about the impact color has on them.

Project Info Most people are effected by colors and are influenced by their emotions and decisions. The target audience will understand the influence that color has on their daily life.

Process & Materials I intend to use colors to help make the connect between the emotion and decisions that colors can give.

Creative Milestones / Research Process • Thesis Mad Lib • Asynchronous Activities • Research - Survey, Books, Articles • The Creative Design • The Book

Main Resources • Holtzschue, Linda. Understanding Color: An Introduction for Designers. John Wiley & Sons, 2017. • Mcleod, June. Colour Psychology Today. John Hunt Publishing, 2016. • Lewis, Richard G. Color Psychology: Profit From The Psychology of Color: Discover the Meaning and Effects of Color. 2nd ed., Riana Publishing, 2014. • Cherry, Kendra. “Can Color Affect Your Mood and Behavior?” Verywell Mind, 28 May 2020, www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824.

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Research Introduction

Mind Map

With the Psychology of color being my topic. I began thinking of people in the field who could help lead me into the right direction. I first reached out to a family friend who works for Ford as their Global Design Director. After talking with my connections, I did further research on books and articles relating to the psychology of color. After researching and reading on color along with the psychology of color, I learned that each color has a different meaning both positive and negative. Another important factor was that color is created from light and only light itself. Without light, there is no color. I think the topic of the psychology of color is important not just to myself, designs but also the average person. We see colors everyday, so knowing how colors works and how they influence our daily lives is important. Color is such a large topic and can be talking about for hours but narrowing down my research to just the psychology will bring awarness to people.

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Intital Sketches

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Deliverable Sketches

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Inspirations

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Goals

Word List Color Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Pink Purple White Black Gray Brown Rainbow Hues Saturation Color Wheel Primary Complementary Secondary Analogous Shades Tones Tints Mixed Color Water color Color Blindness Warm colors Cool colors Color Theory

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Psychology Brain Emotions Decisions Mood Thoughts Feelings Actions Behavior Personal Mental Way of thinking Science Ideas Questions Reality Reason

For my goals, I wanted to keep them simple. I narrowed my goals down to three, which I find important to my topic. 1. Learn about color and the psychology behind it. 2. Spread awareness of color and how it impacts your decision making and emotions. 3. Complete the project to my best ability. The semester is filled with about fourteen weeks and believe it or not, those fourteen weeks go by quick. Sticking to three large goals over many smaller goals was important to me as I could focus more on my project.

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Literature Review I will be discussing two articles related to the psychology of color. The first article is by Kendra Cherry discussing the effect and what the psychology of color is. The second article is by Allison Gremillion discussing color and emotions and how them make us feel. Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel? by Kendra Cheery starts off asking questions as to how colors make you feel when see or working with them. After asking questions, Kendra goes on explaining that colors are powerful and are a form of communication. Colors communication signals our brains which influence our moods, reactions and decisions. So how do colors actually work? Kendra goes on explain color psychology. She explains that it start with Isaac Newton when he discovered light and how we see it. After explains how colors influence us and how we see them she talks about how research is lacking in the topic of color and psychology. She makes a statement that says “Despite the general lack of research in this area, the concept of color psychology has become a hot topic in marketing, art, design, and other areas. Much of the evidence in this emerging area is anecdotal at best, but researchers and experts have made a few important discoveries and observations about the psychology of color and the effect it has on moods, feelings, and behaviors” (Cherry). The articles goes on explaining the psychilogical effect of color. Kendra breaks down each color and explains their meaing behind them. After discussing the basic colors on the color wheel she talks about color therapy, research on color psychology, color influences, and consumer purchase. The article is long and steers away from my topic at this point. Overall, Kendra made vaild points on color. Going into detail about how we see color to the influence it has on us along with that each color means helps spread the imporants of color. In the second article Colors and emotions: how colors make you feel by Allison Gremillion discusses how colors and emotions are closely linked together. Alison begins by discussing how warm and cool colors evoke different emotions and feelings. She states “It all depends on how the psychological effects of color are being used” (Gremillion). Allison explains that colors make us feel a form of happy or sad which is based on the psychological effects, biological conditions and cultural imprints. Which is why it is important to understand the psychology of color as well as the fundamentals of color. Allison continues to talk about colors and their emotions, breaking down warm colors, cool colors, happy colors, sad colors, calming colors and energizing colors. In each break down she explains how the colors make someone feel and how they grad your attention. After breaking down colors and emotions, she breaks down how colors make one feel. She dives into the emotions and feelings that are evoked in each color. She starts with the color red, followed by orange, than yellow,

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than green, followed by blue, purple, pink, brown, black, white and gray. In conclusion she talks about how colors and emotions are closely linked. Explaining that it is important to know that colors are subjective depends on past experiences and culture differences. She makes a note that says “Color is not completely agreed on universally and can appeal differently to individual countries” (Gremillion). Either way no matter the situation, colors are closely linked. Whenever using color it is important to take their effect into account. Knowing how colors and emotions are connected will result in a better outcome. Both articles explain the importance of color and how the psychology of colors influence us. It is important to know how the colors work and how they connet. Colors have important role in convey information, creating content, moods, and can influence decisions. People often choose objects in colors tthat evoke a certain mood or feeling to them. Like choosing a sports car or a paint color to evoke a specific mood. People make these decisionswithout known. It is important to know the impact and influence color has since it plays a roll in your daily lives.

Annotated Bibliography Gremillion, Allison S. “How Color Impacts Emotions and Behaviors.” 99designs. 99designs, June 30, 2020. https://99designs.com/blog/tips/how-colorimpacts-emotions-and-behaviors/.

This article, “How Color Impacts Emotions and Behaviors” by Allison Gremillions talks about how colors make you feel and what impact colors can have on our emotions on a regular bases.

Cherry, Kendra. “Can Color Affect Your Mood and Behavior?” Verywell Mind, May 28, 2020. https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824.

The article, “Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel?” by Ken dra Cherry discussed how impact our mood, feelings and behavors. Kendra goes on explains the what the psychology of color is and the effects it has on people.

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Reseach Data and books After doing throuogh research of the psychology of color, I generated questions that would help answer some of my questions about color. I created my survey via Mircosoft Forms. This anonymous survey has 38 questions which is about a ten mintue survey. I posted the link to my social media channels (FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, additional contact) and asked family and friends to share the link. After keeping the link live for seven days, I had 135 responses. Below are some questions I asked to get a better understanding. I repeated these five questions for every color I did research on; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black, and white. Within each chapter of my deliverable (The Psychology of Color), the survey results are at the end of each chapter.

1. Do you like the color _______? • Yes • No • Only certain shades 2. What are your feelings associated with the color _______? • Positive • Negative • Neutral • No Effect

4. Select all emotions you experience with the sight, thought or hearing of the color _______: • Happiness • Sadness • Fear • Anger • Bordom • Excitement • Stressed • Peace • Passion • Playful • Confidence • Comfort • Trust • Mysterious • Motivation • Lazy • Safe • Energized • Classy • Wise • Powerful • Other 5. What object or idea first comes to mind when you think of _____? 6. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience with any color(s)?

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Reseach Contiuned Color Studies Before explaining the Color Study to the left, I want to explain what a color study is. A color study is typically a small drawing or form of art that focuses on color arrangement. The goal of a color study is to explore and test different color combinations. The end result should give a clear indication of how the colors appear and feel. In the color study to the left, the idea is to show different variations of value and hues with limited color. I did a multiple color study to show how single hue saturation can make you feel. When looking at the study to the left, the red feels strong, while the black feels dark. This is a excerise to help prove my point and research in the next few chapter. The rest of the book will go into each indiviual color and the psychology behind it.

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Project Challenges A few things I struggled with were starting my research and how to properly display my findings. I knew what I want to learn more about but there are many resources pertaining to color. When you first google the psychology of color the first thing you see what is the meaning of color and does color affect how we feel. Since I wasn’t sure where to start, I contacted a family friend who works with color and arts daily which he told me to start with a few books. So before jumping straight into my topic, I read the recommend books and learn what color is and how we see it. I also thought a significant amount about how I was going to deliver my finding. Through a book, website, app, flip book, swatches, there were many options but what was the best way? I ended up going with a book as anyone will be able to read it and it is a simple way of displaying information.

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Explanation of Overall Project The creative process took me a little longer than expected as I was not sure how to use multiple colors. I am usually a designer who limited their color palette to a few colors so using the rainbow was another challenge for me. For my deliverable, I wrote a book that starts off by discussing what color is, how it works, when to use colors, than the psychology of color. As the book goes on, I break down each color into further details. I discussed what the color means, how it influence us and a fun fact. I chose to discuss nine different colors; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, black, and white. Each chapter in color coded within the book which is how I incorporated each color. In the end, my deliverable explains what color is and the psychology of color by common colors.

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Final Work

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Colors Palette

HEX# F93822 CMYK: 0 - 85 - 95 - 0 RGB: 249 - 56 - 34

HEX# FF8200 CMYK: 0 - 54 - 100 - 0 RGB: 255 - 130 - 0

HEX# FFC72C CMYK: 0 -16 - 89 - 0 RGB: 255 - 199 - 44

HEX# 00AA13 CMYK: 81 - 0 - 100 - 0 RBG: 0 - 170 - 19

HEX# 0086D6 CMYK: 95 - 25 - 0 - 0 RGB: 0 - 134 - 214

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HEX# 7F35B2 CMYK: 65 - 91 - 0 - 0 RGB: 127 - 53 - 178

HEX# F04E98 CMYK: 0 - 78 - 2 - 0 RGB: 240 - 78 - 152

HEX# 000000 CMYK: 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 RGB: 0 - 0 - 0

HEX# FFFFFF CMYK: 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 RGB: 255 - 255 - 255

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Final Typography

Why Century Gothic

Header | Century Gothic Pro Bold

Century Gothic comes from the 20th Century and is a sans-serif typeface which was drawn by Sol Hess between 1936 and 1947. With the geometric rounded shaped font, light weight and enlarged x-height, it makes it particularly easier to read. I chose Century Gothic because it is a simple, modern and general font. The font has a bigger tracking and lighter kerning making it friendly for any design.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 &!

Body Copy | Century Gothic Pro - Regular The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 &!

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Deliverable

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Deliverable

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Deliverable

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Deliverable

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Deliverable

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Conclusion

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Self Ciritque

Self Ciritque Evaluation

Management

Management

Did I work on my project for at least 5 hours a week?

Did I work on my project for at least 5 hours a week?

Did everything go as planned?

Did everything go as planned?

Did I follow my schedule accordingly?

Did I follow my schedule accordingly?

Did I stick to my other project theme/topic? ?

Did I stick to my other project theme/topic? ?

Design Process

Design Process

Did I recieve peer feedback and take into consideration?

Did I recieve peer feedback and take into consideration?

Is my design consistent throughout both books?

Is my design consistent throughout both books?

Do I have at least 5 deliverable mockups?

Do I have at least 5 deliverable mockups?

Did I do thorough research? Did I use unbiased sources?

Did I do thorough research? Did I use unbiased sources?

Is the layout and color choice effective throughout?

Is the layout and color choice effective throughout?

Final Process

Final Process

Did I include all necessary documents?

Did I include all necessary documents?

Does my final deliverable effectively represent the Psychology of Color?

Does my final deliverable effectively represent the Psychology of Color?

Did I prepare myself for this thesis project?

Did I prepare myself for this thesis project?

Did I work as hard as I could have?

Did I work as hard as I could have?

In the end, did I accomplish all my goals?

In the end, did I accomplish all my goals?

Am I happy with the how both project turned out?

Am I happy with the how both project turned out?

Critiques, in general, can be hard to hear but coming from yourself can be even harder sometimes. I have always been the type of person to always go the extra mile or push hard for better results. Out of my self-critique questions, the reason for this is that not everything went as planned. I changed the layout, design, and content more than once. For the design process, I received peer feedback more than once which is always helpful, I also did thorough research by buying five books, reading articles, and reaching out to people in the industry. For the design parts, I think my book is consistent and through out. For the final process, I believe I put my whole heart into it this project. I did everything I could in order to complete this class and project. I am proud of the outcome.

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Final Notes This project was created as research for DES 4999, Senior Thesis at Oakland University 2021, as well as to improve my knowledge on colors and how they influence us. After a long twelve weeks, I have reflected on my process throughout this project and what I could’ve done differently. Going to DES 4999 I was a ball of mixed emotions. I was nervous, as this is my last class before graduating and working in the professional world. I was excited as I finally made it to the end, but nervous that my last project at OU, the one that is a culmination of all my studying was to be on displayed. I was focus on trying to display one of the best pieces that I could present. When class first started I felt overwhelmed and confused. Being told to create a “Mad Lib” of what we want to research for the semester was intimidating. After thinking deeply about what I wanted to learn more about related to Graphic Design, I decided the Psychology of Color was most needed to finish out my education. Color plays such a big role in your everyday life and we studied so little about color directly. Once I started research I honestly couldn’t put down the books. I became fascinated learning how to design with colors, how colors influence our decisions, how color affects us on an emotional level to even how we see color was so much information to grasp. Prior to this, I had been simply choosing colors that I felt were right for my artwork, without knowing its potential reaction or effect on my audience. I am beyond happy with my output of this project. I feel like I am now prepared in every topic to step foot into the “real world.” If I had the opportunity to redo the class, I would set a firmer schedule for myself along with an on-going check list. I am a pretty organized person to begin with but just being in thesis is stressful enough. Being even more on top of things would have helped with the overall outcome.

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Conclusion This semester, I investigate the psychology of color and how it influences emotions and decisions. Colors affect most people on a daily bases, while at work or while your at the store. This project is important because colors are a way to convey a message and envoke emotions and decisions. Throughout this semster I learn significant amount about color. Color impacts our lives whether we know it not and I believe people should be aware of this. I had challenges and successes through the process but was worth each one. I am beyond happy with the topic I chose and how the project turned out. I hope people learn the importance of color and how it influences our lives. So I challenge you the next time you go to the store or even pick a paint color, think twice before choosing. It could effect you daily.

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Bibliography Adams, Sean, and Jessica Helfand. The Designer’s Dictionary of Color. Abrams, New York , 2017. Adams, Sean, and Terry Lee Stone. Color Design Workbook: New, Revised Edition: A Real World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design. Rockport Publishers, 2017. “Century Gothic™ Font Family Typeface Story.” Fonts.com. Accessed April 5, 2021. https://www.fonts.com/font/monotype/century-gothic/story. Cherry, Kendra. “Can Color Affect Your Mood and Behavior?” Verywell Mind, May 28, 2020. https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824. Color Matters is a registered trademark of J.L. Morton. Graphics and Text: Copyright (c) 1995-2021, J.L.Morton, All rights reserved Elliot, Andrew J., et al. Handbook of Color Psychology. Cambridge University Press, 2015. fliphtml5.com. “Interactive HTML5 Digital Publishing Platform.” FlipHTML5. Accessed April 7, 2021. https://fliphtml5.com/. “Fun & Interesting Facts.” The Fact Site, 27 July 2020, www.thefactsite.com/. Gremillion, Allison S. “How Color Impacts Emotions and Behaviors.” 99designs, 99designs, 30 June 2020, 99designs.com/blog/tips/how-color-impacts-emotions-and-behaviors/. Holtzschue, Linda. Understanding Color: An Introduction for Designers. 5th ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2017. Hauff, Ashton. “Color Psychology In Marketing: The Complete Guide [Free Download].” CoSchedule Blog, 28 Dec. 2020, coschedule.com/blog/color-psychologymarketing/. “Meaning of Colors in Color Psychology.” Empowered By Color. Accessed April 7, 2021. https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/meaning-of-colors.html. Morton, Jill L. Explore Colors, 2011, colormatters.com/color-symbolism/the-meaningsof-colors. “Welcome to Color Matters.” Color Matters welcomes you to the world of color: Symbolism, design, vision, science, marketing and more! Accessed April 7, 2021. https:// colormatters.com/.

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