There’s more to colors than just aesthetics. There’s an actual science behind how colors work on your eyes and your brain. And the secrets that scientists are uncovering offer astounding revelations on how colors influence the way you think, feel, and behave—often without your conscious awareness.

It’s an exciting time in the scientific study of how colors affect us. Thanks to recent research, we now understand more richly how our brains are affected by color. And knowing how colors affect us informs how we tap into their power to create environments and achieve a breathtaking range of visual goals. It also allows us to dodge popular myths and misconceptions about color that can easily lead businesses and companies to make costly mistakes.

Consider, for example, these scientific truths about color:

• Black uniforms tend to increase aggression and intimidation in conflict situations.
• Red ties can give you an edge in confrontational negotiations, while blue ties can express a desire to collaborate.
• Fire trucks increasingly are painted yellow because that’s the color most visible to our eyes.
• Aligning the right colors to products, brands, and ads can make or break a business’s success.

That’s only a small sampling of the increasingly detailed information we have about what colors mean. And what’s truly surprising: The way our eyes perceive and our brains interpret reds, greens, blues, blacks, and other colors isn’t a subjective experience, but a hard-wired one. It’s a profound concept—one whose ramifications extend to everything from business and advertising to politics and entertainment to your personal diet and love life.

A must-have course for corporate leaders, design professionals, marketers, and anyone who communicates visually, How Colors Affect You: What Science Reveals tells you everything you need to know about the science of color and its impact on all aspects of human experience. Delivered by design expert and professor William Lidwell of the University of Houston, these six lectures explore

• the history, science, and cultural importance of the six universal colors,
• how our brains have evolved to respond to colors without our conscious awareness,
• the key experiments that have shaped our understanding of how colors work, and
• ways to more effectively apply the science of color to achieve your personal or professional goals for a space.

Taken together, these lectures will open your eyes to why your favorite products practically jump off the shelf; why certain logos are more memorable than others; why particular scenes in nature evoke peace, joy, or fear; and so much more.

See Colors in a Whole New Way

Each lecture takes you inside the science behind a specific color or color pair, following the order in which humans have historically acquired color categories: black and white (which always come paired), red, yellow, green, and blue. In each instance, you’ll investigate

• the history and common usage of the color,
• some of the biggest myths related to that color,
• what scientific research has revealed about the meaning of that color, and
• specific situational contexts that show how the color operates in the real world.

Central to this course is the expanse of information about how these colors work on our brains to steer our thoughts and actions. You’ll draw intriguing connections between colors and specific moods such as anger, fear, and love. You’ll go behind the scenes and watch the fascinating experiments and case studies that scientists have used to uncover what they know about color. And you’ll finally understand the (often hidden) significance behind the colors of your everyday life.

Debunk Common Myths about Color

As interesting as the research about color is understanding how researchers arrived at those results. To aid you in this understanding, Professor Lidwell has created a virtual laboratory that incorporates exciting green-screen technology to recreate key color experiments that have proven integral to our current scientific understanding of how colors affect us. As he conducts you step-by-step through these visually dynamic experiments, he points out that a lot of what we think we know about color turns out to be wrong. And if you’re a design or marketing professional, it’s essential to know the truth about color choices so that your business or company dodges expensive mistakes and maximizes profits.

While bringing you up to date on the latest discoveries in the field, Professor Lidwell debunks a number of persistent color myths. You’ll learn that

• pink rooms will not calm aggressive prisoners or sap the strength of opposing teams;
• yellow walls in the nursery will not cause babies to cry more often;
• blue tableware or kitchen walls will not suppress your appetite (although food that’s dyed blue certainly will); and more.

It’s just the kind of eye-opening learning experience you’d expect from someone of Professor Lidwell’s impressive background. Not only has he spent his career immersed in the intricate world of color as a designer, teacher, and best-selling author of Universal Principles of Design—he’s lent his expertise as a consultant to major companies, including IKEA and Merrill Lynch.

With How Colors Affect You, you’ll get a beautiful new perspective on color—one rooted in credible scientific knowledge and not popular myth. Once the curtain has been pulled back to show the myriad ways color truly shapes your life, you’ll never look at the world in the same way again.