Does colour have anything to do with it?
Have you ever been stopped at a traffic light and made a false start when it wasn’t your green light? Three colours control the daily commute of billions of people around the world, green means go, red means stop and yellow means slow down. To most people.
These colour associations are universal and worldwide. So if colours can tell us when to stop when to go, what else can it tell us to do? What is the colour of your brand telling customers to do?
Psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung said that ‘Colours are the mother tongue of the subconscious’.The use of colour in your brand is crucial to creating brand associations, ideally one that is positive and consistent with how you want your customers to think of you.
Choosing a colour that targets the psychology of your customers is a valuable asset and one that is often over looked, but a little research in this area can go a long way for your business.
Research shows that the human subconscious judges a person, environment or product within the first 90 seconds of initial contact, and between 62 - 90% of that assessment is based on colour alone. HBS professor Gerald Zaltman said that ‘95 percent of purchase decisions take place in the subconscious mind.’
Colours are proven to evoke certain emotions and feelings. Although colour associations are affected by many factors; trends, cultural, historical, political, religious and mythical, some colour associations are relatively universal.
Blue - trustworthy, dependable, cool blue - secure, sea blue - serene, universally liked
Red - activates pituitary gland, increases heart rate & blood pressure, passion
Green - health, serenity, nature, growth, deep green - wealth, prestige
Yellow - associated with in the sun in every culture, connotes optimism, positivity
Pink - hot pink - energy & youthfulness, lighter shades - romantic
Orange - exuberance, fun & vitality
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comments ( 8 )
slendertone system
12 Jun 2013Howdy, I believe your web site may be having browser compatibility problems.
ReplyWhen I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however,
if opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues.
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Matt
13 May 2013I agree colour is very important to brand associations among consumers
ReplyJane
27 Jun 2012This is a great topic! Colour is one of the first thing the eye would register, I think it's crucial for a brand in terms of culture, industry, point-of-view etc. It's interesting how small things like 'colour' are so important.
ReplyEri Mehmeti
27 Jun 2012I'm a huge fan of the power of colour. Of course, some colours can have double meanings - red is passion, but also to many, red can be a warning, so colour really does need to be considered carefully, especially in branding and web design.
ReplyFor me, I like shades of blue, for corporate and professional, but also the brighter, contrasting shades of yellow and amber.
Businesses need to be careful combining colours too. As red and dark green together makes many people think of Christmas...
Great topic Mellissah :)
David
26 Jun 2012Blue colours always grabs my attention. Mostly because i grew up with a lot of blue. My dad owned a blue car and there is heaps of blue around the house.
ReplyThis may sound unusual, but blue kind of gives me a sense of warmth, the type of being around a familiar surrounding.
Sandra
25 Jun 2012Different colours bring out different emotions and feelings. I find that brands that use the colour red immediately grab my attention, are passionate and exciting. e.g. Coca Cola, KFC and McDonald's. I also like brands that are blue as they are calm, serene and trustworthy. e.g. Marketing Eye, Neverfail and Mount Franklin.
ReplyLéo
25 Jun 2012True story.
Replyhttp://blog.kissmetrics.com/color-psychology/?wide=1
Narrow minded comment: As far as I am concerned, what about the colour blind people?
As we assume they do not perceive the same shades, are they influenced differently by the colour marketing? Consequently do they purchase different products according to the colour?
Michelle Tran
24 Jun 2012Colour is always going to be one of the first things that attracts a customer - it catches their eye and makes them curious!
Reply