Colours are rich in symbolic value and cultural meaning.
All colours are capable of activating our senses in ways we may not be consciously of:
– yellow > fun
– red > exciting
– green > calming
– black > power and aggression
The names used to describe colours are often just as important as the colours themselves … colour names are powerful tools for shaping the reader’s experience and helping to create a specific image. Gravy-brown, for example, does not evoke the same image as coffee-brown.
Exercise
Choose an emotion and a setting. Now describe your setting from the point of a view of a character who is feeling the emotion you have selected. Include lots of colour to suit the emotion.
Source: The five-minute writer, Margaret Geraghty, How to Books, 2009