Colors in the IPA Analysis

Colours have always interested people, from the ancient astrologers, through the classical Greek philosophers, right up to the present day. Something happens to us in terms of mood when we see a particular colour, and it is this experience and feeling that has fascinated history’s greatest thinkers for millennia.

Green
Red

Yellow
Blue

The colours of the IPA universe Importance

Colours have had meaning for thousands of years

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BLUE

RED

GREEN

YELLOW

The battle of colours

In modern times, the classical conflict between (natural) scientification on the one hand and the subjectification of life and existence on the other has manifested itself in the controversy between Newton and Goethe. Colours personality.

Newton proved that light consists of waves and can therefore be described in mathematical and objective terms – unlike Goethe, who set out to find the inner nature of colours. He found that colours are created by the meeting of light and dark, blue and yellow being the two basic polarities, green being the merging of blue and yellow, while red is the continued condensation of green. The colours in the IPA analysis will be unfolded later.

Colours as concepts

Colours are more than just waves. By their very nature, they emerged as polarities, syntheses and conjunctions, the same concepts we can apply to life and evolution. Colours therefore have their own substance – their own inner life – which in our experience of them reflects a mood, and can therefore be used as a mirror image of ourselves. The Newtonian worldview has therefore – as far as colour is concerned – taken a slight detour from what humans have always known. Just as quantum physics (with Niels Bohr as a prominent proponent) rejects complete objectivity and makes man himself part of the experiment, Goethe’s position implies that we enter into a kind of symbiosis with colour. When we look at them, we are also imprinted by them in our minds.

Today we also see researchers, such as the German psychologist Max Lüscher, coming up with theories about the link between colour preferences and type/personality that are consistent with what the ancient thinkers found more than 2,000 years ago. Colour is not just a mathematical formula, but a real sensory phenomenon that evokes emotions and creates moods, and in Goethe’s words is present within us as part of our perception of our surroundings. Colours themselves have a character that resonates with us and does something to us.

Colours therefore reflect genuinely existing psychological phenomena, and have thus been part of man’s efforts to develop a typology of temperaments and emotions. Let us now try to outline this typology in terms of the four basic colours. We are talking about the colours of personality.

The colours of the IPA universe

GREEN

Green is associated with the phlegmatic basic temperament and is the colour of SENSATION and water. Green is associated with the friendly, welcoming and long-suffering, the pleasurable tasting itself, the immersion in the experience.

The green personality is inherently restful, calm, slow, reflective. It is the person who is conciliatory, always ready to talk things over and who takes his time.

The green space is harmonising and calming and an image of “in the quiet deep peace of the forest”.

YELLOW

Yellow is associated with the basic sanguine temperament and is the colour of INTUITION and air. Yellow is associated with the outgoing, the expansive, the inventive and the boundless.

The yellow personality is light, bright, full of radiance and enthusiasm, but also of volatility. Where the blue colour brings the world together in precise rationality, the yellow will spread the world out in more floating and fluid images.

The yellow space is expansive, throwing things out from itself and into the world. It is the space of dialogue and unpredictable processes.

RED

Red is associated with the basic choleric temperament and is the colour of EMOTION and fire. Red is associated with the active, the strong-willed, the explosive, the passionate, the restless and is the colour of love.

The red personality is fiery, powerful, emotionally controlled and often reacts with anger and aggression. It is the dominant and outgoing person who often has an idealistic relationship with the world around him and fights tooth and nail to get his views across.

The red room is powerful, meaningful, solemn and attention-grabbing.

BLUE

Blue is associated with the melancholic basic temperament and is the colour of TIGHTNESS and earth. Blue is associated with the introspective, the contractive, the formative, the delimiting and the precise.

The blue personality gives the impression of coolness, remoteness, honesty and objectivity, but also of the security and safety-seeking. It is the sober and rational thinking person.

The blue room is the study, providing space for reflection and contemplation

Summary of the colors in the IPA Analysis

There is a clear connection between the classic color typologies and the colors that are used in the IPA Analysis.

The blue color is connected with the METHOD FACTORS and is associated with thoughts, knowledge, and rationality. This is where we create the factual, professional and knowledge-based foundation for our actions. The red color is connected with the RESULT FACTORS which are related to action and power, and the way that deliberate action is directed towards the surroundings, in order to reach the set goals. The green color is connected with the RELATIONSHIP FACTORS, and it is associated with compassion, empathy, and an open and accommodating behavior. The yellow color is connected with the PERSONAL GROWTH FACTORS that covers the limitless possibilities, intuition, and a general desire for change and personal development. This is also the color of conflict and expansion, and it symbolizes a place of experimentation, self-development, and a desire to cross borders and enter unknown land.

Steen Wæver Poulsen
CEO & Owner IPA Nordic

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