Green, the New Feel Good Color

The scan is from today’s Mercury News, showing the changes in median prices of home values here in Santa Clara County. I noticed something about the map. They switched the colors around. Is this to make me feel better?

The map used to have green mean “UP” and red meant “DOWN”. Usual thing you learn as a kid and see in everyday life. Green good, red stop. That kind of thinking. But now the meaning is reversed so the map has an overall green look to it.

I wonder if this is to keep the citizens calm about their dropping property value. The power of color choice then affects feeling.

Grumpy me for wanting consistent color markers. When values rise in the future, who decides when the chart changes once again?

-Mike M.