Yellow

Yellow is a highly active and visible color, which is why it’s used for taxicabs and caution signs. It’s associated with happiness and energy, and, as Figure 2.3 illustrates, is the signature color of smileys. Like red and orange, pure yellow is a visibly active color. The original orange and lemon-lime flavors of the sports energy drink Gatorade are still the best-selling of the brand’s products. This is likely due, in part at least, to the active, energetic characteristics associated with the colors orange and yellow. An anonymous quote that’s often used with color associations says, “Babies cry more in yellow rooms, husbands and wives light more in yellow kitchens, and opera singers throw more tantrums in yellow dressing rooms.” Whether this comment is true or not, the point is that too much yellow can be overpowering. Come on—if you were a baby stuck in a dressing room with fighting spouses and tantrum-throwing opera singers, you’d cry too!

Figure 2.3: Yellow, the color of smiley’s