Orange Color Meaning: How to Use It to Evoke Enthusiasm & Adventure

Are you looking for a color that’s full of optimism and adventure?

Check out the orange color meaning!

Learn how this distinctive color can be used in everyday life, and in business.

Then understand how it’s used around the world.

Let’s learn more about the meaning of this bold color.

Meaning of the Color Orange

Orange is a color that shows up in a surprising range of places.

On the color wheel, this vibrant color sits between red and yellow.

From the shades of sunset to the pumpkins of fall, it is a color for all year ‘round.

Not everyone loves it! Thus it’s often underrated compared with other hues.

How the Color Orange Affects You

Association with Autumn

One of the biggest ways orange affects us is with its connection to autumn.

In Western cultures, including the United States, orange is a key shade for fall. We bring out those pumpkins, enjoy orange trees as the leaves turn, and light warm fires as it gets cooler.

Orange tones help give the autumnal feeling to anything!

Of course, with black, it’s a key color for Halloween.

Connection with Nature

Orange is associated with nature in many ways.

From things like the colors of the sun and fire, to the autumn shades of tree leaves, it is commonly seen outdoors.

This leads to it being one of the colors associated with nature.

Positive Color

Orange is a positive color. It can help with motivation and feelings of hope.

It can even help to uplift people who are feeling down.

Orange is also associated with open-mindedness and social communication without judgment.

Here are more positive associations with orange:

Joyful
Friendly
Youthful
Optimistic
Energetic
Enthusiastic
Creative
Adventurous
Spontaneous
Affordable
Warm
Informal

Gently Stimulates Appetite

While some colors are known to stimulate appetites, orange isn’t always mentioned as one.

But it does, especially for healthy food such as the orange.

Like the warm colors red and yellow, it can be a good one for kitchen decor or food businesses to use.

Negative Associations of the Color Orange

Orange is often a color used carefully. Too much orange can seem exhausting and over the top.

Many people consider orange to be their least favorite color, and that it can be overpowering.

However, its negative association with danger is also a useful one if you want to draw someone’s attention to something harmful. For this reason it’s often used for safety equipment like traffic cones.

Dangerous
Over the Top
Attention Seeking
Frivolous
Superficial
Insincere
Flamboyant
Prideful
Impatient
Self-indulgent
Deceitful
Immature

Orange Meanings in Different Cultures

One of the biggest connections with orange is with the Netherlands.

It is the color of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange.

Everything from their flag to their football team feature orange!

For people from China and Japan, orange is the color of happiness, good health, and courage.

It is a sacred color for Hindus as it is associated with fire and purity.

It’s known as the color of strength and bravery for people in the Ukraine.

Orange Color Meaning for Personality

People who love orange tend to have a positive outlook. They’re optimistic and bubbly, love social interaction, and are often the life of the party.

They are great at living in the moment and focusing on what’s in front of them.

They are natural team builders and love to solve problems.

Learn more about what your favorite color says about you.

Color Orange Meaning in the Bible

There are a few mentions of orange in the Bible.

The two most common themes are around the fire of God, as a warning of danger.

It is also a color of protection and associated with something fresh and pleasant.

Other Spiritual Meanings and Symbolism of Orange

Orange is the chakra color for the second or sacral chakra, Svadhishthana.

This chakra helps with connections with other people and with creativity.

Problems with it can lead to low self-esteem or trouble with anxiety.

Orange is also said to help with emotional balance and expression of emotions.

Spiritually, orange is connected with joy and positivity, allowing energy to redirect to the positive and out of the negative.

Orange Meaning in Art & Design

The first artificial orange pigment was created in the early 1800s and was popular with Pre-Raphaelite painters.

Many Impressionists made great use of the color. Artists like Monet and Gaugin loved to use orange in their work.

Van Gogh mixed his own orange pigments, and used them opposite blue a lot.

A similar example is Ferdinand du Puigaudeau’s Sailboats at Sunset. The contrast of blue enhances the vibrancy and vitality of orange.

Blue is the complement of orange, so it makes for a striking combination. Check out the color meaning of blue to use them well together.

Orange in art and design can also be connected with fertility, abundance, and extravagance. Orange robes were often used to represent this. See Albert Moore’s Reading Aloud below.

Infographic courtesy of Invaluable.

Tints and Shades of Orange Meanings

The hue traditionally known as Orange on the web has the #FFA500 color hex. Its RGB numbers are 255, 165, 0.

Yellow orange is a golden orange. It’s a color of prestige.

Like golden yellow, it is connected with wealth and wisdom, something that is high quality.

It has a hex code of #FFAE42 and RGB of 255, 174, 66.

Coral is a tint of orange that mixes it with pink and red.

It is named for the sea animals, although they actually come in many different colors.

This tint is associated with travel, exploration, and seafaring. The Victorians considered it a lucky color and used to wear pieces of coral as protective talismans.

The hex code for coral is #FF7F50 and the RGB is 255, 127, 80.

Dark orange is less favorable than light orange tints. It is associated with deceit and a lack of confidence.

You can see how the artist Kellepics used it in the fantasy artwork above.

The hex code for this deep shade is #FF4E0D and the RGB 255, 78, 13.

Red orange is even more intense and corresponds to sexual passion, pleasure, and desire. But it also connects with dominance and aggression.

The hex code for this shade is #FF4500 and the RGB is 255, 69, 0.

Find more orange color codes, including burnt orange and 20 more.

This color thesaurus has even more color names for orange.

Phrases with Orange

Orange doesn’t feature in as many saying as some colors, but there are a few:

Squeeze the orange – make use of someone or something.

Squeezed orange – something that is no longer useful.

Sucked orange – someone who is completely exhausted.

How to Use Orange in Marketing

In marketing, pure orange is often used for boldness, but also for youthfulness and playfulness. Consider Nickelodeon’s logo!

The exuberance of orange works for less “corporate” styles of branding.

You can use this energetic color to stimulate physical energy, as for sports teams. It’s also great for your call-to-action buttons!

Darker shades are a great color for businesses that have an autumn focus on their products.

Orange has the excitement of red, but the friendly warmth of yellow.

You can see it in brand logos such as Amazon, Penguin Books, HubSpot, and Timberland.

Learn more about business colors and how to choose the right one.