0203 150 3141
A deep dive into the colour pink
Pink wasn’t always the name of a colour. In the 1300s, ‘to pink’ was to add a jagged decorative edge to cloth (as in ‘pinking scissors’).
In the 1500s, Dianthus plants were nicknamed ‘pinks’ due to their jagged edge petals. Their colour had nothing to do with it.
It was only in the late 1600s, due to the hue of Dianthus petals, that it became a colour.
‘In The Pink’
Elisabeth I thought Dianthus were the best, or the peak of all flowers. Hence, ‘in the pink’ came to mean reaching your peak in attainment. This later changed to exclusively mean in peak health.
Colour Association
Rather than its properties, what a colour is associated with, is often a large influence on choice. This explains why a colour’s popularity varies hugely depending on geographic location and trends.
Kids Fashion
Before the twentieth century, children tended to wear white as it could easily be bleached clean.
Around 1900, manufacturers started making colour gender-specific. This prevented clothes being handed down from older sisters to younger brothers, thus increasing sales opportunities.
At the time, boys wore pink. Seen as a shade of red, it was associated with fire and aggression. In contrast, for girls, blue was associated with the Virgin Mary and seen as dainty and feminine.
The Gender Switch
Pink became associated with female fashion and toys in the 1950s, influenced by the US First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower and then Barbie.
In the 1990s The Early Learning Centre and until this century, Lego, avoided pink to make toys less gender-specific.
In a more extreme case, in 2021, California passed a law requiring large department stores to have a gender-neutral section for child-care items and toys.
Pink in Politics, Psychology and Science
Sewing Division: Dark Origins of the Pink Triangle
Nazi death camps used identity politics to target groups for extreme, brutal treatment. In addition to the yellow stars sewn into Jews uniforms, triangles of other colours were used to mark Roma, political criminals, those with mental health issues etc. Gay men had a pink triangle sewn into their uniforms.
In post-war Britain, violent attacks on gay men continued. In the 1970s, various books and plays raised awareness of the Nazi’s use of the pink triangle. In the 1980s and 1990s, the pink triangle was inverted and reclaimed by gay men as an act of defiance.
Physicists deny pink’s existence
We see colour using cells in the eye called cones: red, blue and green. Whilst mixing red and blue paint makes purple, when red and blue cones absorb light (and green absorbs nothing) we see pink.
Red and blue are not next to each other on the light spectrum (e.g. a rainbow) so pink doesn’t appear. That’s why physicists argue it doesn’t exists. Its just something we create in our brains!
Colour Properties
A colour’s wavelength alters our perception. Red objects appear closer than they are due to red’s long wavelength. Blues have shorter wavelengths so appear to push back. That’s why pinks and reds appear more intense than blues and greens.
Influence on Mood and Behaviour
Tone and shade are another factor. Whilst Honeysuckle pink tends to raise adrenaline levels, in 1979 Alexander Schauss’ report showed staring at a specific pink (see below) had a measurable calming effect for the first 15 minutes.
Honeysuckle Pink
Pantone colour of the year 2011
That’s #D94F70 to web designers
Schauss Pink
also known as
Baker-Miller Pink
or #FF91AF to web designers.
Prison (and hospital) walls began being repainted in this colour. It was short lived. Real world testing showed after 20 minutes it had the opposite effect, feeling oppressive and claustrophobic.
Also, for hardened criminals, making them sit in a Barbie World like cell was probably quite provocative!
Thinking about changing the colours of your company brand?
