Meaning of Color Purple

What is the psychology, associations and symbolic meaning of the color purple? Also including the color violet. Looking into how these colors influence us? Is the color purple your favorite color? If so, what does it say about your personality and psychological motivations?

Further down below you will also find sections on purple and violet in branding and business, interesting facts, phrases, and the meanings of purple gemstones.

Color Purple Meaning & Symbolism

Violet – HEX D34DD2 – RGB 211 77 210

The color purple is often associated with mystery, magic, sorcerers, nobility, and royalty. It has strong connections with power and leadership. Purple is also a very powerful and rich color which has associations with extravagance and wealth. In nature, there are many flowers that are a shade of the color purple, see things that are purple in nature.Save

Purple dye was once expensive to produce, and only royalty and the wealthy could afford it. This is where it gets its associations with royalty, wealth, and luxury.

Purple and violet are attractive colors and universally liked. However, they are particularly favored by women, and often associated with femininity and female traits.

In some Asian countries, purple is a color associated with mourning. In Japan, and during the time of the Roman Empire, it was worn by the highest levels of class, authority, and nobility. In ancient Chinese culture, purple was associated with eternal life and divinity. In Italy and Brazil, purple is associated with loss of life and mourning.

Wearing Violet or Purple Meaning

Wearing the color purple or violet probably indicates an inward thinking person, and self-gratitude takes priority. They don’t care too much about what other people think when it comes to dress sense or fashion. Inward thinkers tend to be more independent people with a greater need to control their own life and destiny. It may also suggest a need for individuality, and to express that individuality.

Wearing violet could suggest someone is looking to stand out, perhaps gain attention or express their femininity. Wearing purple would indicate a more introverted personality, with a desire to express themselves.

Personality if Purple is a Favorite Color

You find it hard to accept ideas or beliefs that are different from your own.

You spend a lot of time in your own head thinking, living in your own fantasy world, not paying attention to details or the time, and you are often late.

You have high expectations for yourself and others. However, this can lead to critical thinking if people are not living up to your expectations.

You like luxury items and you aspire to have the very best.

You like to be independent and you don’t like to ask for help. Sometimes your pride can get out of hand, you can find it difficult to admit it when you make a mistake.

You have idealistic views about the world which are not always very practical.

You are very spiritual and perhaps consider yourself to have psychic abilities.

Due to your sensitive nature, your feelings can be easily hurt. However, because you are often prideful, you don’t show it.

Positive Influences & Traits

Calming

Like blue, purple is a calming color that can help to make wise and thoughtful decisions.

Compassion

Colors purple and violet are believed to influence and encourage us to show empathy, compassion, and love.

Dignity

The color purple is also associated with seeking dignity and self-respect.

Negative Influences

Irrational

Purple is spiritual, believing in the unknown, unproven, and the unusual, which can lead to irrational and impractical behaviors and ways of thinking.

Suppression

Purple encourages suppression of emotions, which can build up and lead to stress and emotional bursts.

Business & Branding

The color purple is used by many companies and brands for many of its common meanings. A company may choose purple for their brand if they wish to project some of these associations, such as, mystery, royalty, luxury, femininity, compassion, art, and creativity. However, some branding decisions really do remain a mystery as to why the color purple was chosen for their logo.

Examples:

• Zoopla
• Cadbury
• Taco Bell
• Wonka
• Hallmark
• Benq
• Twitch
• Curves
• FedEx
• Yahoo SyFy

Meaning of Purple Gemstones

The most well known and popular purple gemstone is the Amethyst stone. Ancient Romans used the stone to purify the soul and to erase sins. The ancient Greeks associated the Amethyst stone with the god Frey. Frey was believed to be a representative of Kingship.

Other purple gemstones include, the purple diamond, spinal, jade, jasper, tanzanite, tourmaline and purple fluorite. Generally, purple gemstones are believed to be greatly connected to spirituality, enhancing intuition and psychic powers, also to bring sensations of tranquillity, and to have strong inspirational abilities.    

Interesting Facts

The color purple only exists in the RYB subtractive color model, in other words, with paint and pigments.

In the United States, the purple heart is the oldest military award still being awarded to current military personnel.

Purple is the middle ground between the warmest color of red, and the coolest color of blue. It’s a balance between two extremes and its shades shift from warm to cool like no other color.

Purple is a secondary color created by mixing red and blue on the RYB color model. The color purple has an almost perfect balance of red and blue. See what colors make purple for more information.

On the visible spectrum violet has the shortest wavelength that we can see, at round 400 nm.

Color Purple Phrases or Expressions

Born to the purple: Means someone is born into a family with political power, or born into royalty.  

Purple prose: Something written that is more complicated than is needed to be.

Shades of Purple

More shades of purple with HEX and RGB color codes.

Light Purple – Romance, individuality, immaturity, sensitive, superficial, youthfulness, and imagination.

Dark Purple – Sadness, uninspiring, traditional, intuition, spiritual, and suppression of emotions.