COUNT ON COLORS

We count on color. It paints our moods and communicates to us.

When we see a baby dressed in pink, we assume it is a girl.

Colors affect attitude, said Faye Pickett, an interior designer with Rust & Martin in Cape Girardeau. "We mainly work with color."

Pickett said there are cool colors like blues and greens, and warm ones like red and yellow.

"Blue is one of the colors I would probably use the least," she said. "When realtors sell homes, carpets that are pale blue are less likely to sell."

Browns and earth tones are more inviting, Pickett said.

In many countries, color has clear connotations.

An American gum manufacturer couldn't generate sales in China. So it changed its green wrappers to pink.

"Green has very strong connotations in the Chinese culture," said University of Illinois color expert Surya Vanka. "A husband whose wife has left him wears a green hat."

In contrast, pink is considered good luck in China. "It was important for the chewing gum to be associated with the desirable meaning of pink," Vanka said.

Picking the right color can be crucial for overseas sales, said Vanka. The college professor advises American companies on how to mix and match colors in a global market.

In Islamic culture, green is closely identified with the prophet Mohammed and certain uses could be considered sacrilegious.

A Canadian airline repainted its entire fleet because the original colors symbolized bad luck in Asia.

Blue is considered good luck in Japan, where it is associated with the ocean.

A Japanese manufacturer failed in its effort to sell black motor scooters in Vanka's native India because black is associated with death.

In the United States and a few western European nations, pink is associated with baby girls and blue with baby boys.

"Color definitely does talk about our personality," said Rodney Bridges of Garber's Men's Wear.

Some men wear dull-colored shirts and suits. Such men, he said, don't want to call attention to themselves.

Bridges loves to wear bold and brightly colored shirts. He feels fine in a fire-engine red blazer.

"A guy has to really feel good about himself to wear that," said Bridges.

There is a science to color with the "Color Me Beautiful" approach at JCPenney.

When it comes to color, some people are winter people; others, are summer, spring or autumn types, said Linda Springs, color consultant with JCPenney's Cape Girardeau store.

Dark-haired people are winter-color types, she said. A winter woman like Elizabeth Taylor looks good in blue.

The "Color Me Beautiful" approach considers everything from skin and hair color to makeup and clothes.

"You don't want a red-headed woman wearing pink lipstick. You don't want a black-haired woman wearing orange lipstick," advised Springs.

"You want everything to look balanced."

You notice a woman in red. "It is a fun color," Springs said. Red is an upbeat color.

But red has a negative side too. "It is aggressive. It is threatening," she said.

For that reason, a woman shouldn't wear a red dress to a job interview, Springs said.

"Pink is more of a gentle color. It is non-threatening," she said.

Lawyers often tell their women clients to wear pink at divorce proceedings, Springs said.

She and other "Color Me Beautiful" experts do color analysis by appointment.

They hold swatches of color up to the customer's face to determine what colors look best.

Springs said green is a fresh color to Americans. Pink is sweet, she said, which makes it a perfect wrapping for bubble gum.

Color adds an emotional aspect to artwork, said art professor Sarah Riley, who chairs Southeast Missouri State University's art department.

"Darker colors can create a moody, melancholy view," she said. "Warmer colors can convey a more intense, emotional message."

Said Riley: "If you're doing a piece on war, you wouldn't want to use pastel colors."

Geography affects our feelings about color, too. "You would just not go down the street in England with bright colors on," said Riley, who has visited the rainy country.

Khaki and gray are prevalent colors. "It must have something to do with the atmosphere," she said.

People pay attention to colors, interior designer Pickett said.

Complementary colors like red and green stand out when paired together. "It makes each of the colors brighter," she said.

"I think that is one reason they are Christmas colors," Pickett said.