What Is the Most Common Favorite Color?

Is blue the most popular color? It seems so. Even if it is not a person’s favorite color, chances are they would rank it high up. An inclination for blue can be easily explained: it gives people positive vibes. Blue may just be the best color in the world because of the universal appeal it holds.

Why Is Blue Among the Favorite Colors in the World

The way we feel about colors are not exclusive to a particular part of the world, but are in fact universal. Wherever in the world you may hail from, blue is often thought of as classy and elegant. 

Research shows that integrity, devotion, and conviction are all attributes thart people associate with the color. It may have to do with the fact that blue frequently symbolizes order, dependability and stability. It stands for accountability and emanates confidence. 

Being surrounded by the color blue relaxes us and eases stress and tension. The color is also associated with a sense of wellbeing, recovery, safety, security, peace, serenity, tranquility, wisdom, and tenderness. 

Perhaps we tend to favor blue over all of the other colors of the rainbow because we mostly link it with the skies and water, as well as more commonplace yet neutral goods like ballpoint pens and blue trousers. 

The sky is always blue on clear, sunny days when it’s pleasant to be outside, wherever you are in the world. Safe drinking water or an inviting body of water is blue due to because water absorbs colors in the red part of the light spectrum, and what we are left with is blue and similar hues.

A 2015 research on favorite colors in the world showed that blue truly is is the most liked color worldwide. It took access to sophisticated statistical tools and color standardization, but a clear pattern has finally materialized and blue wins the popularity contest hands down. Although there may be differences across different cultures, we simply derive joy from things that are naturally blue.

Research done in the past also suggested that blue is the number one color. One 30,000-person study conducted across 100 nations revealed that a specific shade of greenish-blue was indeed the most popular color. It’s a preference that transcends a specific region, gender, or maybe even political stance. Fast forward to the present, it appears that even Republicans seem to prefer the color blue. 

The Reasioning Behind the Most Common Favorite Colors

Why do we prefer some colors over others and why do color preferences occur in the first place? Somewhat surprisingly, the answer to this question does not seem to be hidden in our DNA. One simple way to gauge individual color preferences is to determine how much they enjoy all of the things that correlate with a certain color. 

The preference for orange, for instance, depends on your ideas about things like pumpkins or oranges, and if you prefer the color green may have to do with how you feel about vegetation, the great outdoors, vegetables, and last but not least, the color of dollar bills.

Just why blue is the best color according to most people around the world can be easily explained: the vast majority of things that are connected with blue are actually positive. Many things and concepts that we tend to associate with the color blue evoke positive emotions. On the other hand, it is pretty difficult  to conjure up bad or harmful things that are blue. Even blue mold generally has a tendency to turn green, and bruises frequently appear more purple and yellow, rather than blue. 

Dark yellows usually rank pretty low on the list of favorite colors, but blue hues seem to consistently emerge as the winners. Of course, a lot depends on personal preferences, so it is important to account for individual variances, which would not exist in the first place if inclinations for the color blue or other colors were hard-wired throughout our DNA. Despite the fact that blue is preferred by the vast majority of individuals, a sizeable portion of people also favor red or green.

Come Rain or Come Shine?

Seasonal changes in climate cause people’s inclinations for certain colors to change over time. Usually, the least popular hues on the color wheel are those typically associated with fall (golden yellows, browns, and deep reds). Nevertheless, surveys done in the fall show a greater predilection for any of these warm, dark hues since people most strongly identify them with festive activities like hayrides and pumpkin fields during this time.

The Most Common Favorite Color: Food Edition

When it comes to food, blue does not live up to its reputation as the most popular color. That honor goes to the color red. Namely, red and yellow are exceptionally good at grabbing your attention, which is something that brands leverage all the time. The reasoning is quite simple: we associate these colors with delicious, healthy foods that our taste buds love, so merely seeing this colors can stimulate our appetite.

One of Hitchcock’s most memorable stunts included hosting an all-blue dinner party. You may not be aware of this, but blue is among the least appetizing colors. Something about it turns us off, despite the fact that some foods are naturally blue. On the other hand, the color red stimulates our appetite. If you are trying to lose weight, you may even utilize the unappealing effect of the color blue by using a blue plate. 

This can be easily explained by our evolutionary mechanisms: with the exception of some types of fruit, vegetables and cheese, blue is rarely found in food innately. Humans are designed to avoid harmful foods, and the presence of a blue hue in food is frequently an indicator of spoilage or toxicity.

Is Your Favorite Color Forever?

The idea of a favorite hue gives the impression that the proclivity for a color is a permanent one. According to what we discovered, color choices may actually have certain predictable characteristics. However, they are dynamic entities that show shifts in people’s tastes and what they are thinking about at any particular period.

It is our experiences throughout our lives, not just specific events, define our inclinations for color. The intriguing aspect of this idea is that it certainly explains why people’s inclinations for certain colors vary and evolve throughout time.