On the first day of my first marketing job after graduation, I had a meeting with the boss. He plopped a pouch of colored pencils in my hand and said “This will help boost your creativity at work”. I thought it was fun to be around colored pencils once again. Initially, I took them out for they reminded me of my fun childhood days. Then I used them every time I ran out of ideas. I would sketch some random object and fill it in with colored pencils. And then out of the blue, the idea that would save the day is born.
Coloring books for adults, believe it or not, have been around for nearly 4 decades. Coloring in the past has been used as diagnostic tools to help doctors understand patients, marketing messages to help customers get involved and even in education to teach children various concepts. Initially touted for its health benefits in dealing with stress-related disorders such as anxiety, coloring for adults is now a trending hobby with the internet bursting at the seams with information and discussions on materials being used, book hauls to even paper quality.
So what started all this rage?
Coloring for adults is a phenomena that has gained popularity in the recent past. Even though there are hundreds of coloring books that have come out for adults, there is one book that sets off a trend and has the world going crazy – Secret Garden by Johanna Basford. It all started when the artist known for her monochromatic drawings got an idea when a publisher remarked that they would love to color in her “black and white” sketches. Fast forward to 2013, Secret Garden by Johanna Basford was born. From what used to be a discreet hobby with adults, it is now considered far more addictive than what even iPods/smartphones used to be.
Art therapy is also an added excuse to get yourself invested in these coloring books. Titles range from helping you combat stress, make you smile and even help you sleep are just some of many therapeutic coloring books published in the last couple of years. Many studies have claimed any form of art to be a calming activity in your brain, much like meditation.
Why is this activity so much in sync with adults today?
Simply because the art of coloring takes you back to your childhood days, which were for most of us carefree. The thinking part of doing up the sketch has already been done for you by the coloring book author. It is up to you to give that sketch some life with colors. These popular coloring books are not only a hit with adults. They are quite popular with the young ones as well. Basford, herself has since published two more coloring books – Enchanted Forest and Lost Ocean.
Divya Ramamoorthy is a graduate from Madras university and a post-graduate (MBA) from Jain Group of Institutions- Bangalore, India, based in San Francisco Bay Area, United States. Divya area of expertise revolves around creating careers, identifying talents, recruiting and assisting people . she is also currently enro ...
