Yellow

Nothing illuminates a décor like yellow, the color of the sun, of light, of summer. In matters of decoration, yellow is your strongest ally when it comes to brightening a dark room or one that faces north.

Over the ages and in a number of cultures, yellow has variously been associated with the emperors of China, the arrival of spring and Easter, the generosity of the land at wheat and corn harvest time, Buddhist philosophy and a number of other images.

Yellow draws people's attention. It is used to flag potential danger on our highways: traffic lights turn yellow (amber) before turning red, road signage used to forewarn us of construction work and other dangers are yellow as are double lines used to prohibit passing.

In advertising, yellow is used to attract the eye. Publishers of telephone directories (Yellow Pages) understood the phenomenon a long time ago. And New York cabs are yellow.

In sports, yellow carries different meanings. In European football (soccer), a yellow card is used to warn players of fouls. In cycling, the yellow shirt is emblematic of supremacy in the world-renowned Tour de France.

But yellow does have a less positive side to it. It is associated with illness. Seagoing ships, for example, reserved their yellow pavilions as quarantine quarters. Yellow is also associated with cowardice and newspapers that exploit sensationalism.

La Couleur Nature, histoire et décoration; Paris, Le Temps Apprivoisé; 1993; 256 pages.
Pastoureau, Michel; Dictionnaire des couleurs de notre temps; Paris, Christine Bonneton, 1999; 255 pages; Collection Symbolique et société.