Black, white and grey: what is the effect of achromatic colours?
Colour psychologyrefers to colours as "achromatic" if they have neither a certain colour shade nor saturation. They differ from each other solely in terms of their brightness value. The degree of brightness results in greyscales. These include black, white and all grey shades.
Black
Black is a "non-colour" because it absorbs all the frequencies of light. Black divides people's opinions and can have different effects and trigger different emotions, depending on the culture. Black stands for darkness and grief, but also for sophistication, seriousness and discipline. Depending on the context, black can appear elegant, sublime and timeless and make a very bright colour look more elegant.
White
White symbolises peace, clarity, purity and innocence. In physical terms, the light spectrum of white consists of many different colours in a colour range. It is therefore often associated with divinity and perfection. Western cultures have no negative associations with white. But in China, white has another significance, where it is the colour of grief and death. White can therefore also stand for new beginnings and rebirth, as every beginning is as white as a blank sheet of paper.
Grey
Grey is the colour of objectivity, neutrality and reticence and is often associated with boredom and insecurity. Grey appears distinguished, subtle and purist; in combination with other colours, it can also be elegant. Grey can make other colours appear brighter and is therefore an ideal combination colour.
