Orange - Orange Baby

A wonderful colour in the right hue for the job at hand, in the wrong hands orange baby can turn on a sixpence to become the unruly teenager and cause absolute chaos.

We have learned over many years that orange is the happy colour, yes it is but there is also a darker side to orange and when prodded, when not used properly becomes unfit for purpose. And as orange in my eyes is the marmite colour of the spectrum, we ether love it or loathe it, there seems very little middle ground with orange. The colour in my experience that causes much diversity and the strongest of feelings.

When Happy perfume came out a good while back now and placed on the shelves in shops up and down the Country , the proof was in the choice of colour, the exact orange hue was chosen with much care and after much deliberation, the colour was perfect, fit for purpose so therefore the product was a huge success. It sold remarkably well, and as with all things colour, customers chose by colour first. Happy flew off the shelves.

Colour choice needs to be in the right hands and chosen with full colour knowledge and ability, when students first come into classes they rightly believe this is easy, as the teacher in most cases will begin at the very beginning then slowly over time increase the colour knowledge and understanding taught while working with the class and at the class pace. Keeping knowledge release at their students pace of learning, to ensure each step is grasped fully as a strong foundation in colour is imperative to grow from. Remembering also students initially only work in the main with 9 colours. Understandably they have a long road of colour learning ahead.

Back to orange baby, why do I call orange, orange baby, well I will share why with you. In my experience orange needs to be handled carefully with understanding and with kid gloves on, otherwise orange can scream its way into everyones awareness and get on most peoples nerves very quickly!

When ever I have used orange for a client it has usually been in a gentle shade and rarely as the main colour, orange works beautifully as an accent colour, but dont open the door too wide, you must let orange know its place. Of course there have been exceptions to this rule when a orange hit is required in soft furnishings , furniture or within a wallpaper or paper design, a pop of pure orange can work a treat. Again it comes back to finding the right colour for the job at hand to ensure the shade/hue chosen is fit for purpose.

People say they cannot wear this colour or that colour, I disagree, as I truly believe from my experiences over the years, choosing the right shade of a colour is the key to wearing every colour.

Being what we term a physical colour of the spectrum, in colour healing orange can be an energy booster, a behind the scenes nudge to the endocrine system to wake up and to play ball.

In interiors golden orange is one of my fav choices when teamed with a soft dove grey, the combo can look stunning when placed together and in the right setting. Of course there are a hundred more examples but I am just skipping through for now.

In class I used to share a Juneism to make a point, it went something like this; Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall etc and orange put all the pieces back together. We can sometimes forget about the healing qualities of orange, known for its ability to help support healing when suffering from shock was my point and as I went on to explain at the time.

As the naughty overwhelming side of orange can overtake and the better sides of orange forgotten.

Working with colour can be a minefield when one first starts, but don't be overwhelmed, remember to build your knowledge on a strong foundation then you cannot go wrong, softly softly, ease your colour use in gently. Never use too many colours at once, stick to the ground rules at first then gradually "colour outside the lines" as you become more confident.

Orange has both wonderful attributes and rather obnoxious ones, yet it is not orange that is at fault ever, it comes down to the person using or placing orange and their ability coupled with their colour knowledge. My advice will always be, go gently when using orange in any format or for any purpose, ease in nice and slow, you can always add but never take away, and this goes for healing too and also when using orange in environments and for marketing on products.

Happy was a great success as the orange colour was chosen with much care and a deep understanding of colour and its attributes so it sold well. Trust me when I say there are products out there today using orange that are very successful because the colour is chosen with the utmost care and understanding, and more importantly is fit for purpose.

You will notice yourself when out and about, you will notice your reactions, especially when shopping on the high street, when you see orange used in the wrong way you will find yourself immediately recoiling, you walk away, but when used correctly you are drawn to that product, whether it be on the shelf, clothing, furniture, shoes, bags, soft furnishings etc. You will know.

An over exposure to or healing with the wrong shade of orange can cause feelings of despondency and /or melancholy in some people, so please tread carefully, get to know the full range of oranges abilities. When so many refer to orange as the happy colour the other sides of orange can so easily be forgotten.

So to wind up, go softly with orange initially, use it sparingly while you get to know more about the colour and the effect it has , get to learn the possibilities and the downfalls of orange baby, then a happier world it will be. There is far too much unhappiness in the world at the moment, our job when working with colour is to aim to bring about stability, balance, inner peace and harmony especially when using colour to heal.

Copyright June McLeod. World Rights.