by Merik Flatt-Beer
Do you take your notes in color? Maybe you should start.
Note taking is the one thing that remains constant throughout the years in education. Your parents took notes, their parents took notes, your professors took notes from their professors who took notes. But, your notes don’t have to be the same notes they’ve been taking all these years. Back in the day, students were stuck with sad, boring ink and pencils in the same three colors for generations. Why don’t we try something new? Nowadays, along with the invention of sparkly gel pens for the people who still write theirs in notebooks, many students have started to take notes on computers, which makes it even easier than ever before to introduce colors and graphics into your delightful shorthand. Not only does this make it more fun to take notes, but it also helps to keep you engaged, and even helps you remember the information you’re taking notes on.
What is Memory?
Obviously, memory is what you remember, right? Simply put, yes, but there’s more to it than that- there always is, isn’t there? It involves keeping, finding, and using information about things we have experienced in some way before that moment, but is something you’re not currently experiencing (1). For example, I could ask you to remember what a field of corn looks like, smells like, or sounds like, and you could tell me without having to be standing in one right now. That’s memory.
Memory is a process with a lot of steps and a lot of mechanisms that we don’t entirely understand just yet, but we do know what kinds of things make your memory better. Namely, things that either grab your attention, or emotionally invest you in them (2). That’s why you remember that embarrassing thing you did five years ago (while you’re trying to sleep, every time), and can’t remember what you had for lunch last week.
Emotion can be engaged by many things, but so can your attention. When you’re driving down the highway and the giant red McDonald’s billboard catches your eye, or when the “Ooh, something shiny!” reflex kicks in, something is grabbing your attention and forcing you to think about it. There are a few ways to grab someone’s attention in this manner, but the best way? Nothing can grab someone like a striking color palette.
Coloring Your Attention
Color catches your (visual) attention better than any other visual stimuli, because it takes the least amount of effort to perceive (3). Then, the longer you look at that stimulus, the longer it has to imprint on your short term memory. That visual information worms its way quickly into the long term memory after the prolonged exposure.This is why marketing is often very colorful, with lots of moving shapes and textures, and loud, ranging sounds. They want your attention more than anything else, so you remember their name or product better than the competition.
But, I can definitely hear you asking me, what does this have to do with me as a student? Doesn’t that just mean the PowerPoint I’m reading off of should be in kaleidoscope colors? Yes, it should. But more specifically to you as the student, color is a form of creative expression that you can use to enhance your memory.
Being Creative With Your Memory
Being creative during class, especially when taking notes, keeps you engaged and interested in the material, and this will make it stick in your memory longer than if you were just copying information down as you hear it (4). But not everyone can make masterpieces in the margins of their notebooks, now can they?
Well, adding color to your notes is a form of creative expression that anyone can participate in, no matter how creative or creatively skilled they are. You can’t even draw a stick figure? That’s okay, you don’t need to! Instead, try switching colors in between each topic, and if you want to go a step further, make color patterns with them outside of just the plain rainbow. As long as you are expressing yourself in a creative manner while you’re taking notes, your mood and motivation will be much higher (5).
So, What Colors Should I Be Using?
Use whatever colors make you happiest. I keep notes in blues, purples and greens, because my favorite colors are the cool ones. Use whatever colors, mediums, images, or annotations that speak best to you, like your favorite colors, cutesy patterns, doodles, or whatever strikes your fancy.
However, there is a correct answer to this question. There has been a few different studies that have been conducted about this, and the results vary (no matter how many colors I make it, the periodic table isn’t going to be memorable to an interior designer, after all), but most commonly the primary and secondary colors like red, green, and yellow, are the most memorable colors (3). Even more specifically, use warm colors like red and orange over cool colors like blue and purple, as these colors tend to catch your attention better and for longer (6).
Sources:
- Goldstein, E. B. (2019). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience. Cengage.
- Gomes, C. F., Brainerd, C. J., & Stein, L. M. (2013). Effects of emotional valence and arousal on recollective and nonrecollective recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 39(3), 663-677. doi:10.1037/a0028578
- Bae, G., Olkkonen, M., Allred, S. R., & Flombaum, J. I. (2015). Why some colors appear more memorable than others: A model combining categories and particulars in color working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(4), 744-763. doi:10.1037/xge0000076
- Baack, D. W., Wilson, R. T., & Till, B. D. (2008). Creativity and Memory Effects: Recall, Recognition, and an Exploration of Nontraditional Media. Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 85-94. doi:10.2753/joa0091-3367370407
- Ceci, M. W., & Kumar, V. K. (2015). A Correlational Study of Creativity, Happiness, Motivation, and Stress from Creative Pursuits. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(2), 609-626. doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9615-y
- Jadhao A, Bagade A, Taware G, Bhonde M. Effect of background color perception on attention span and short-term memory in normal students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 2020;10(11):981-984