There's a reason why stop signs are red and public swimming pools are painted blue. The choice of color is in many cases one of science, rather than art. Colors convey emotion and can carry as strong of a weight in first impression as any other factor.

Whether it is a single color or a rainbow of colors, the use of color can make a difference between being the most popular person at a reunion or that person wearing a suit made up of plaid pants, polka-dotted shirt and a neon tie. Not to say that plaid or polka dots are necessarily evil, but they have their time and place, and generally are like oil and water.

Before we take that trip down memory lane and the uncle that has no concept of a dress code, let's look at how colors have distinctly different emotions. The spectrum of color that the human eye can see is vast, but can be divided up into many different portions, depending upon what one is looking for. No doubt that you remember the elementary art class where you learned that there are warm colors and there are cool colors. Most got to hear that warm colors are like the sun and cool colors are like either water or night, depending upon the teacher you had. The mind generally regards bright orange as the hottest color and indigo blue as the coolest. But, these are only limited perceptions of what colors mean.

Before we go any further, let's take this simple little test. Let's find out what your favorite color is today. Undoubtedly it has changed since you answered that question in grade school, so let's find out if you have changed more than you realize, based upon your new favorite color.