psychological effects of colour

Information from the book "LIGHT: The Shape of Space" by Lou Michel:
There are six primary colors, which can influence the psychological sens of the human mind.
Some psychologically effects are:
coldness and warmth
joy and sorrow
beauty and uglyness

the warm colors are:
- Yellow/orange
- Red
- Yellow/green

Cold colours are:
- green/blue
- blue
- violet

Red:
Red is not subordinate to any other colour. It is so dominant that it immediately takes over from other colours and stimulates the eye to the greatest extent. When set among other colours it looks as though it is much closer to our eye than the others, such as green or even blue, for example. Red expresses living power and energy. It symbolizes love and addresses the greatest range of human feelings. Heavy, dark red stands for dignity and burning seriousness.
Cardinal red is the colour of toppling, of overthrow. The brighter the red becomes, excitement increasingly retreats in favour of warmth and joy.
In the light hues in particular (pink), red is lighthearted, joyful and young.

Blue:
Blue is the colour of sky. The deeper the blue, the more metaphysical it becomes: blue-black has the note of overwhelming cosmic mourning. Blue is and always will be an enigmatic colour for us. It always seems distant and may be soothing, but still it radiates seriousness, cold and yearning, with an undertone of sadness.Blue makes a hole in the picture - says the painter - and this means that blue always seems to be drawing back. Ultramarine is also cool but has an agreeable, calming peaceful effect, because it behaves passively. Blue-green fuses blue's reticence and yearning with the peace and freshness of green.
Blue-green induces yearneing but is soothing at the same time.

Green:
Green, particularly the fresh green that is often called 'young' green, expresses spring and youth. Darker green loses this symbolic quality. Green is also the symbol of a full and healthy life. However, while orange expresses higher spiritual life, green stands for vegatarive, full bodily life.
Green is the most peaceful of all colours and can thus even out differences. Green attracts the eye, satisfies and invigorates it. If green is mixed with yellow, it becomes more youthful, more lively and more active. When mixed with brown it strikes a different note, becoming heavier and more serious.

Violet:
Violet is the most remarkable of all the colours. It is neither cold nor warm. Yet it has something mystical about it, something that can be depressing for some people and trigger a sense of malaise. Violet appeals to those who tend to be deep and mystical, sometimes even a little odd.
A particular shade of violet can make a profound impact on people, even move them. violet has an almost numbing effect on the very sensuous, and such individuals tend to avoid it. A violet in which blue is predominant is ruther enhanced in its tendency to the ethereal, to striving upwards (ultramarine).
Red-violet, in which the red strikes only a gentle note, becomes more delicat the more it is lightened. It then exudes a fefined delicate, 'feminine' aura. But dark violet-red is more dignified and becomes episcopal purple. Lighter shades of violet (lilac) combined with white and lemon-yellow can create a very intense and feminine effect.

Yellow
Yellow has a very stimulating effect, but without causing the kind of excitement we associate with red. Pure yellow is the brightest colour in the chromatic circle and symbolizes fertility, blessing, abundance, and - if raised to the plane of gold - it expresses power, glory and majesty. The brighter yellow is, the more it moves into the foreground. Yellow has a dominant effect. If it is divided, it increases in power. However, it loses its cheerfulness or majesty if it becomes darker. The brighter yellow gets the more it is refined, becoming less weightly, more delicate and more noble, and then optically more reticent.

Magenta:
Magenta is the colour of the unnatural and thus also of the supernatural and transcental. We see not only the superficial but also the broader context. We try to find out what lies beneath the surface and how everything fits together. Here we are dealing with order and justice, with matters of principle. Magenta can indicate abnormality but also an awareness of the special, or it can even suggest undue claims to power.

Brown:
Brown is the earthiest, densenst and most real of all the colours, Brown cannot be called noble and refined, but it is powerful, expressing health and solidity, earthiness. This very typical quality is changed when brown is mixed with other colours. When mixed with red or violet it gives the impression of sunshine on earth. This violet-brown then has a very attractive power, movin into the realms of magic and mystery.

gold:
as such, gold tends to be toneless and thus soulless, but its density and magnificent radiance give it a festive, majestic quality. Like the sun, gold expresses the highest life force, in spiritual terms. It also expresses power and dignity; the richter and more powerful the age, the more gold was used in the furnushings.

Silver:
like god, silver is toneless and soulless, but its radiance is quite different from gold. Like grey, it is assigned to coloured objects but lessens their joyful quality. Silver is not as enticing as gold; it does not dazzle the eye but attracts it gently.
It is said that silver is 'the light among the metals', and for this reason many people feel that it is nobler than gold. Gold radiates warmth, but silver always seems cool.

Black
Black equals absolute darkness, embodied as material. Black is serious, negative and dark, and sugest mourning. It is closed and sublime. Set against white it produces absolute contrast.

White
white is beyond good and eveil. White is also not a colour in the sense of chromatic quality. It is the strongest counterpole to black. The unconditional nature of this contrast is easy to understand. While black expresses mourning, white is associated with gaiety. For us, white symbolizes essentially simple but powerful and significant has to be expressed, this is best realized by the contrast between black and white.

Grey
grey is the essence of gloom. it could be seen as symbolizing indecision. Grey is indifferent, toneless, it neither warms nor cools. It is a background or secondary colour. Grey can balance and neutralize and thus plays an important part in moderating unduly great colour contrasts or bringing colour contrasts together harmoniously. Grey is like the pause in music.

Information from www.lighting.philips.com:
Highly satured colours mixed without white, black or grey creates powerful aggressive impressions and indicates force and might. They give strong moods

Colours created by light induces mood sensations, stimulates feelings and influences behavior.

A variation of colour and intensity lead to destressing.