Blue Makes You Creative, Red More Perceptive

The red means danger so should we use red ink for medication warnings? And if blue signals the
freedom of open skies, how about brainstorming in a room painted blue?
Maybe so, says new research into how the brain reacts to colors: Red seems to improve attention to detail while
blue sparks creativity.
"People are not aware o this eect at all," marvels lead researcher !uliet "hu o the #niversity o British
Columbia, who studies how environmental cues aect behavior.
$he subconscious eect o color is a hot area o psycholo%y research, in part because marketers try to use color
to hook us on whatever they&re tryin% to sell.
'nd the newest research, published $hursday by the (ournal )cience, su%%ests they&d better be careul *
because red or blue can spark very dierent brain reactions dependin% on the task involved.
$he study put colle%e students throu%h a series o co%nitive tests, most involvin% computer screens colored
either red or blue. Both colors could enhance perormance but in very dierent ways.
)tudents memori+ed more words when the list was on a red screen, or instance. $old to think o dierent uses
or a brick, those shown a red screen listed practical thin%s like "build a house" while those who saw blue %ot
more creative with "make a paperwei%ht& and "build a pet scratchin% post."
,hen they rated ads, those who saw red back%rounds ocused on what to avoid * they liked toothpaste that
stressed cavity-i%htin% over tooth-whitenin% * while those who saw blue went or the creativity o a camera
ad that showed travel ima%es instead o toutin% the +oom lens.
Because we learn early that red means to avoid dan%er, maybe it&s slowin% us down in detail-oriented tasks so
we can do them better * thin%s like memori+in%, prooreadin%, readin% warnin% labels, concluded "hu, an
assistant marketin% proessor, and co-author Ravi Mehta
But people associate blue with sky, reedom, peace, maybe sparkin% a eelin% o e.ploration than in turn
enhances creativity.
"/t&s really this learned association with these colors that drive these dierent motivations," "hu said.
/ the indin%s are ri%ht, the creativity discovery could be a bi% advance * no one&s ever made such a link, said
'ndrew 0lliot o the #niversity o Rochester, a leader in the ield o color psycholo%y.
But he had a bi% caution: $he study ocused on hue without properly takin% into account the intensity and
bri%htness o the colors, meanin% it should be repeated to be sure.
Most color research has ocused on red, indin%, or e.ample, that it makes %ood sports uniorms because it&s
intimidatin%.
$he bottom line: ",hat color research shows is our behavior is driven by thin%s we aren&t aware o, by thin%s
we see on a re%ular basis," he said. "/t&s important to know, so when one sees red one can maybe try to
counteract the natural tendency to make mistakes and ail."
1 owner, not me