Teal: The Color of Excellent Taste

Teal: The Color of Excellent Taste

I'm always fascinated by the colors I see in nature. Pinks and purples in a sunset, metallics on a pigeon, pearly iridescent inside an oyster shell, blues of the sky and sea.  Today I'm looking at one of the colors of this Fall – Winter season – Deep Teal. (1)  It is one of the Pantone colors of the season.

Teal…green-blue…..blue-green…?  Teal is a mix of green and blue, but is considered to be a Green. If more blue is mixed in, it becomes a Teal Blue and moves in to Turquoise family.  Confusing isn't it?!  It is one of those colors, like mauve, that is a combination of two colors and everyone has their own perception of what the color is. I always ask a customer who wants teal, if they are thinking of a teal green or a teal blue.

So where did the color teal come from?

Teal emerged on the scene in 1917!  That's the date it was first recorded as a color name in English. (2) But let's go back further – where did the color teal come from?  

Photo credit: Cornell Lab of Ornoithology

This duck is called a Teal. In fact, here is a  whole group of ducks known as Teals. This fellow above is a Green-winged Teal.  The color name teal comes from the green stripe of color on his head.

So what is the color psychology of Teal?

"Cool and constant, teal indicates stability and resistance to change. If teal is your favorite color, you are a sensitive individual, and have excellent taste. Optimistic and trusting, you have a high degree of faith and hope, easily trusting others." (3) Sounds like a terrific choice of color!
 

1 -http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=20834&ca=4

2 -Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 205; color sample of Teal: Page 101 Plate 39 Color Sample L7

3 – http://www.sashasouzaevents.com/publish/psychology-of-color-7a236/