Hi Cringers,
When I think about orange I think about my high school room.
The way the morning light bounced off the cantaloupe orange walls made me feel like I was waking up in the sun.
Orange is warm, vibrant, and energizing.
It’s the color of fake tans, sand dunes, and traffic cones.
It’s the color of Nickelodeon, Amazon, Hubspot, Hermès, Fanta, and The Home Depot.
It captures attention like red but is less sex, death, and roses and more citrus, sunshine, and road safety.
Though, like all colors, its meaning depends on where you are and who you ask.
This week, we’re exploring the history, psychology, and cultural significance of rainbow color #2.
The History of Orange
In case you’re wondering, the fruit got its name before the color.1
According to David Scott Kastan and Stephen Farthing, authors of the book On Color:
“Early in the 16th century Portuguese traders brought sweet oranges from India to Europe, and the color takes its name from them. Until they arrived, there was no orange as such in the color spectrum. When the first Europeans saw the fruit they were incapable of exclaiming about its brilliant orange color. They recognized the color but didn’t yet know its name. Often they referred to oranges as ‘golden apples.’ Not until they knew them as oranges did they see them as orange.”
Imagine you’re in ye olde street surrounded by the same blues, browns, and greens you’ve seen a thousand times. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you see a completely new color, “betwixe yelow and reed,” (in the words of Chaucer) on a fruit stand. Wild, right? The thrill.
Beyond the fruit carts, legendary artists like Vincent van Gogh and Monet favored the color for sunsets, while Toulouse-Lautrec used it to capture the “frenetic energy of Parisian dance halls.”2
Of course, the color existed long before the Europeans were introduced to it. People had grown oranges in China, India, and Turkey for centuries.3
Buddhist monks had used saffron and turmeric to dye discarded clothes for their “saffron robes,” a symbol of simplicity and detachment from materialism, since the time of Buddha.4
And, in the early-early days, yellow-orange-hued minerals like realgar and orpiment were used for everything from Egyptian tomb paintings to Medieval illuminated manuscripts.5
Cultural Meanings of Orange
In Hinduism, orange is a sacred color that represents fire and purification. Cremation is common among Hindus, who believe fire can cleanse the soul for its journey to a new life.6
In the U.S., orange is used to promote visibility and signal potential danger. It’s the color of prison uniforms, traffic cones, and the second-highest terror threat level. It’s also associated with Halloween, a time of pumpkins and autumn leaves.
In the Netherlands, orange is a color of national pride and is connected with the Dutch Royal Family, descendants of the House of Orange.7
As Kassia St. Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Color, points out, “The House of Orange is proof that personal branding isn’t new. In portrait after portrait, its members are gilded in shades of orange.”
In Ukraine, the color symbolizes strength, bravery, and unity and is connected with a series of 2004 election protests, known as the Orange Revolution.8
It’s the color of the Liberal Democrats’ Party in the UK, a mix of the Liberal Party (yellow) and the Social Democratic Party (once associated with the red of the Labour Party).9
The Psychology of Orange
Orange is favored by the young and creative (“cantaloupe orange” is apparently popular among millennials, see room color above—I’m such a cliché). 10
It increases energy and distracts from studying. 11
Some shoppers connect orange with inexpensive products.12
In 1978, Home Depot founders chose orange to represent affordability, accessibility, and activity to avoid intimidating customers.
It’s also associated with optimism, safety, and activism and has been a symbolic color for UN Women and the gun safety coalition, Wear Orange.
According to UN Women spokesperson, Sharon Grobeisen, “[Orange] was adopted as a symbol of a brighter future, free from violence against women and girls.”13
Branding with Orange
If you’re considering incorporating orange into your branding ask yourself the following:
What audience do you want to attract?
Where is your audience located?
What message do you want to send?
If you want to capture attention, a vibrant orange may be just what you need. Or, if you’re looking for a more grounded or spiritual tone, then a deep saffron hue may be the way to go.
If you’re still not sure if orange is right for you, read the following quotes and see if anything resonates:
“If Lady Gaga is like an orange Bugatti Veyron, then I am like a black 1970 Chevelle.” ― Caity Lotz
“This color is social and inviting. Of all colors of the spectrum, orange is the most extroverted one.” ― Colorsexplained.com
”The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the colour that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again.” ― Ram Charan
What are your thoughts on orange? Would you use it in your branding? Comment below!
Until next time, Cringers, yellow, and goodbye.
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Want to say hi? Connect with me on Linkedin.
The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair
https://mymodernmet.com/history-color-orange/
https://www.artsandcollections.com/article/a-history-of-the-colour-orange/
https://www.heritageoaksmemorialchapel.com/how-different-religions-view-cremation/
https://www.colorsexplained.com/color-orange-meaning-of-the-color-orange
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/colors-in-uk-politics-ge19/index.html
https://amywax.com/generational-colors-how-to-attract-various-demographics-via-color/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01580/full
https://www.jbrmr.com/cdn/article_file/i-16_c-135.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/06/health/colorscope-orange/index.html
Another fantastic issue, Isabel.
You might be interested to know that in Dutch, oranges are called 'sinaasappel' - from "China's Appel" ! Onward to the next colour!