The Meaning of Yellow
"How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun." -Vincent Van Gogh
When you think of the colour yellow do you connect it with the sun and its golden rays, or as one of the colours of spring when daffodils are in bloom? Do you feel a energised by it, or do you feel a sense of caution and to beware? There’s no question – yellow from it’s palest buttery tones through to the deepest mustard shades most certainly has a tale to tell.
The colour of happiness, warmth, hope and sunshine
Around the world, across almost every culture the colour yellow represents happiness, warmth and sunshine.
In Japan for instance, the colour yellow is often used to represent courage and since the 19th Century, yellow-coloured ribbons have been used to signify hope and optimism. “Tie a yellow ribbon ‘round an old oak tree” indeed…
Yellow: caution ahead
Conversely, the colour is also featured in traffic lights and in signs indicating that caution should be used. This association may have formed due to a combination of long-standing historical roots as well as due to human physiology.
Historically, during the Spanish Inquisition (1478 – 1834) people condemned to die wore yellow to signify treason.
In addition, research has found that the human eye processes the colour yellow first above all others. Peripheral vision is also 2.5 times higher for the colour yellow than it is for the colour red. These two facts give a practical explanation for why many emergency vehicles a painted a distinctive bright yellow.
When in used in large amounts (such as a very bright yellow wall), the colour yellow has been found to be irritating for some eyes. This may be due in part to the high-reflective nature of the colour (essentially acting as a secondary light source). For this reason, it is also not recommended to use large amounts of yellow font or yellow backgrounds on computer monitors – it can be really fatiguing for the eye due to the high amounts of light reflected.
Quirky facts about yellow
Due to the widespread availability of yellow ochre pigment, yellow has a very long history for use in art dating back to Ancient Egypt, where gods would be painted yellow to resemble gold.
Since the 1890s, many wooden pencils were coloured yellow. Yellow was chosen because the highest quality graphite for pencils was sourced from China. In Chinese culture, the colour signified royalty.
Daffodils – the most highly recognised of yellow blooms has over 13,000 different hybrids and is the national flower of Wales.
Yellow and Spirituality
What does yellow symbolise spiritually? Yellow is a colour of magic and is associated with the third chakra (also known as the solar plexus chakra, also called Manipura). This chakra is concerned with confidence, creativity, manifesting and accepting and being comfortable in one’s own skin.
About Kirstie Page
Kirstie Page is an Australian mixed media artist, classically trained musician and former dementia trainer with experience working on the front line in aged care. Kirstie creates beautifully colourful, uplifting artworks that incorporate her understanding of science and dementia to provide comfort and joy to people, including those living with dementia.