Colour word associations: University Undergraduate prospectus as a case study

Colour plays an important role in conveying meaning and is today ubiquitous in all forms of visual communication, yet little is known about the relationship between semantic networks and colours. The study’s objective was to analyse word-colour associations to evaluate their consensus from which a structure would emerge. One hundred and forty-five words were selected from a University undergraduate prospectus and nine colour samples evenly distributed on the colour wheel were used. Eighty-five undergraduate students were asked to indicate which of the nine colours they most associate with each of the 145 key words. A correspondence analysis revealed a three-dimensional structure accounting for 78% of the variance. The two first dimensions provided a triangular arrangement associating colours to semantic categories with green associated to natural environment, red and blue to professional responsibilities and yellow and pink to youth and creativity.