colour in culture

chinese new year the significance of red.

Chinese New Year… the significance of red

It’s Chinese New Year and red is all around us! Also known as the Spring Festival, it’s one of the largest celebratory events for the Chinese community. Red (紅 hóng) is not only the cultural colour of the Chinese people, it’s also their primary celebratory colour. In China, red relates to fire and energy and has…

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happy friday the 13th vector illustration

The Colour of Superstition – Black Friday

If you are superstitious, then today is the day you’ll be watching your every move from keeping your fingers crossed, knocking on wood to avoiding crossing paths with a black cat. And there’s even a name for those with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th – it’s friggatriskaidekaphobics. No, I don’t know how to…

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5 top reads for 2022

Top 5 most read articles for 2022

With 2022 drawing to a close, I thought I’d take a peek at which articles were the most read this year. Interestingly, there is a theme here – they all relate to the colour red. So here are the top five most read articles for 2022. Going from 5 to 1, they are… Number 5.…

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colour symbolism red poppy for remembrance day

Why red poppies are used to symbolise remembrance day

On the  eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918 marked the signing of the Armistice, signalling the end of World War One. The first sign of life that rose from the barren battlefields was the red poppy and they has come to symbolise the memory of those who sacrificed their lives. Remembrance Day is  a special…

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diwali festival of lights main

Diwali… festival of lights and colour

Diwali is one of India’s most important cultural festivals, celebrated across the nation and worldwide by the Indian community. It’s where they light oil lamps or candles to symbolise the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. It has also become known as the Festival of Lights. The name “Diwali” is a actually…

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back to blue for british passports karen haller

Back to Blue for British Passports

  It was announced by Britain’s immigration minister Brandon Lewis that in 2019 the British Passports will be going back to blue.

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most popular blog posts 2013.

most popular colour blog posts for 2013 are…

It’s the end of another exciting year and I’m always intrigued to see which blogs were the most popular with my readers.  Taking a peek at my Google Analytics reveals the top 10 most popular colour posts. It’s really interesting to see what my blog readers found of interest. Most popular by far were the…

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christmas wrapping paper brown paper natural.

christmas wrapping paper… the psychology of colour

One of my favourite things about Christmas is wrapping presents for my friends and family in beautifully coloured paper, ribbons and bows. Colour is the first thing we see and we instantly have an emotional reaction.  It can have an influence on our mood, feelings and behaviour. So choosing wrapping paper and all the trimmings with…

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notting hill carnival karen haller 2013 orange feathered head dress.

colourful notting hill carnival 2013

It was the August long weekend here in the UK and if you were in London and love colour and all things Caribbean, then the colourful spectacle that is the Notting Hill Carnival was the place to be.

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hina sharma from pitney bowes and karen haller pitney bowes radio day.

latest research by Pitney Bowes reveals cultures see colours differently

If you were listening to the radio yesterday morning, chances are, you may have heard me along with client Hina Sharma, Head of Brand & Content Development Europe Pitney Bowes, being interviewed. We were on a bit of a radio interview marathon – on 15 radio stations across the UK, from BBC Guernsey all the way…

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