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The psychology of color -

Colors profoundly affect our emotions and behaviors. Warm tones like red and yellow can evoke feelings ranging from comfort to hostility, while cool colors such as blue and green often promote calmness and tranquility. These psychological responses are leveraged in various fields, including marketing and interior design.

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Changing symbolism -

Throughout history, color symbolism has evolved significantly. For instance, during the Renaissance, black and purple were mainly associated with mourning, whereas today black is commonly linked to formality and elegance as well.

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Color in marketing -

Marketers utilize color psychology to affect consumer perceptions and decisions. Colors like blue can convey trust and dependability, which sometimes makes them popular in corporate branding, while red can create a sense of urgency, often used in clearance sales.

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Color therapy -

Historically, cultures like the ancient Egyptians practiced chromotherapy, by using colors to heal ailments. While modern science views color therapy with skepticism, the psychological impact of colors is acknowledged in practices aimed at enhancing well-being.

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Color in art -

Artists have long used color to evoke emotions and tell stories. The choice of palette can set the tone of a piece, influence viewer perception, and convey complex messages without words.

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A world drained of color -

Across modern life, a striking desaturation is underway, from digital interfaces to clothing, architecture, and media. This isn't merely aesthetic minimalism; it signals deeper cultural forces that prioritize uniformity, efficiency, and rationalism over vibrancy and emotional engagement.

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Car colors -

Since the 1990s, car buyers have increasingly opted for neutral tones for their vehicles. Axalta’s Global Automotive Color Popularity Report confirms that by 2023 over 78% of cars worldwide were white, black, gray, or silver—nearly double the figure from 1996, which hovered around 40%.

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Cinema -

For Ridley Scott’s feature film ‘Napoleon’ (2023), production teams built sets and designed costumes that were visually rich in person, but appeared cool and lifeless on screen. This is due to modern color grading trends, which favor muted blue-gray palettes. This stylistic norm now defines much of contemporary cinema.

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HBO’s visual rebrand -

In 2023, HBO rebranded its streaming service as Max, and part of that shift was a departure from vibrant blue branding toward darker, black-themed visuals. The decision to do this is a symptom of a broader trend where platforms adopt sleek, subdued visual identities.

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Historical objects -

A 2020 analysis by the UK's Science Museum Group reviewed 7,000 photographed objects dating from the 1800s. Researchers found that modern manufactured items tend to be more neutral compared to the richly colored artifacts of the past. What is behind this relentless shift?

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Modern materials -

The shift from organic materials like wood and leather to industrial ones like metal and plastic has driven people to develop a preference for grayscale aesthetics. These materials naturally align with neutral tones, and they have heavily influenced product design.

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Western philosophy -

David Batchelor’s book ‘Chromophobia’ (2000) argues that the shift toward neutrality is actually a return to the birth of Western thinking. Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle associated color with chaos and illusion. They believed that color was an opposition to the higher workings of the mind.

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In philosophy -

Ultimately, the roots of color aversion run deep, tied to early philosophical traditions that valued rational thought over sensory experience. In Western thought, color was equated with deception and instability.

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Plato’s beliefs -

For Plato, color and vision were unreliable guides to truth. He likened the visible world to a “prison-house” and taught that true understanding came from abstract reasoning, not sensual input. Thus, color was seen as an obstacle to philosophical clarity.

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Aristotle’s praise -

Similarly, Aristotle thought visual pleasure stemmed not from color, but from structure and form. He argued that a precise drawing without color offers more intellectual and emotional satisfaction than vibrant hues alone. The essence of a chair, for instance, lies in its shape and not its shade.

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Enlightenment thinkers -

Philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau saw color as a superficial embellishment. In aesthetic judgment, form carried intellectual value, while color merely added decorative appeal. Kant especially insisted that color played no role in determining artistic merit, as it was purely sensory.

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Formality in branding -

In Western visual culture, form symbolizes intellect and order, while color suggests emotion and chaos. That’s why luxury or corporate brands often opt for muted tones, whereas indie shops or local cafés feel freer to use rich, playful, or saturated color schemes.

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Stark essentials -

Modernist architecture embraced minimalism, eliminating ornamentation and complexity in favor of raw geometry and functional simplicity. This aesthetic transformation also marginalized color, treating it as unnecessary clutter. This was part of a radical move toward rational, orderly environments stripped of decorative distractions.

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Primitive -

Austrian architect Adolf Loos famously condemned ornamentation in his 1908 essay ‘Ornament and Crime.’ He saw color and decoration as vestiges of a primitive era, and believed modern civilization must abandon such excesses in favor of pure, undecorated forms and monochromatic tones.

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Sharing a colorless aesthetic -

Modern architecture often results in repetitive, neutral designs that appear everywhere but belong nowhere. Glass skyscrapers and gray buildings dominate urban skylines, forming a visual monotony. This interchangeable, corporate style is praised as “modern,” though many argue it drains cities of identity.

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Mass appeal -

There is no single, end-all reason why multiple industries have seen this achromatic shift, but commercial incentives is certainly a big one. Color choices in commercial design often reflect a strategy to maximize audience reach.

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Less artistic risk -

Companies choose neutral palettes so they offend fewer people and align with broader tastes, allowing them to produce scalable products without alienating consumers. This approach places marketability above bold visual experimentation.

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"Reblanding" -

In the corporate world, many brands have also embraced minimalism by simplifying their logos. This trend, sometimes referred to as "reblanding," involves adopting cleaner, more straightforward designs to enhance digital readability and modern appeal.

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Minimalist branding -

While minimalist logos offer advantages like improved digital adaptability and a modern aesthetic, they can also lead to brands appearing less distinctive. Simplified designs may sacrifice unique elements that contribute to a brand's identity, which potentially impacts how consumers remember them.

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Color of the Year -

At the end of 2024, Pantone named “Mocha Mousse” (a warm, earthy brown) as its 2025 Color of the Year. This muted hue is a deeper symptom of society’s trend toward neutral, desaturated color palettes.

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Simplicity spreads -

Cultural simplification isn’t just visual. Pop music has also become more uniform. A 2019 study found that only 1% of Billboard no. 1 hits now include key changes, which is down from about 40% in the 1960s. But color in all its variations can still be found in balance! How can this be done?

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The ultimate balance -

Baroque art (unlike modern minimalism) married complex forms with rich colors, evoking both sensory and intellectual engagement. Plato’s ideal of rational beauty coexisted with vivid expressiveness. Perhaps the most compelling art doesn’t reject sensation and color, but uses it in service of deeper emotional insight.

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Seeking inspiration -

There are many ways that people can try to combat the encroaching grayness. Individuals are encouraged to draw inspiration from the vibrant aspects of their environment. Incorporating lively colors into personal projects and spaces can serve as a form of resistance against the monochromatic trend.

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Infusing the world with color -

While it seems that our world is trending towards gray, there is still hope that color will return in vibrancy. By actively incorporating diverse hues into our surroundings and creations, we can celebrate the richness that color brings to our lives.

Sources: (Vox) (Fast Company) (Stitchcraft Marketing) (The Drive)

See also: Cultural meh-fication: why everything looks the same

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