Color Psychology and Marketing
Business, Sales and the World Wide Web Are In
Color
Color is a meaningful constant for sighted
people and it's a powerful psychological tool.
By using color psychology, you can send a
positive or negative message, encourage sales,
calm a crowd, or make an athlete pump iron
harder.
Employ the latest color psychology in all
facets of marketing and particularly in logo
design, web site design, the cover of a book, or
the package of a product.
The field of industrial psychology has a
sub-field that studies only the psychology of
color. It is no accident that Campbell's soup
has used the same four colors on their labels
for years and years. When I mentioned that
product, I'll bet an image of that label popped
into your head.
Below is a quick overview of the meaning of
basic colors in the Western Hemisphere. This
information will help you decided what colors to
use in your marketing projects. The psychology
of color changes with lighter or darker shades
of the colors below are often associated with
much different meanings. And remember for the
World Wide Web, and different cultures have
differing views on the meaning of color.
Psychology of Color: Black
Black is the color of authority and power,
stability and strength. It is also the color
associated with intelligence (doctorate in black
robe; black horn rimmed glasses, etc.) Black
clothes make people appear thinner. It's a
somber color sometimes associated with evil (the
cowboy in the black hat was almost always the
"bad guy"). In the western hemisphere black is
associated with grieving. Black is a serious
color that evokes strong emotions; it is easy to
overwhelm people with too much black.
Psychology of Color: White
For most of the world this is the color
associated with purity (wedding dresses);
cleanliness (doctors in white coats) and the
safety of bright light (things go bump in the
night ... not the bright sunshine!). It is also
used to project the absence of color, or
neutrality. In some eastern parts of the world,
white is associated with mourning. White
associated with creativity (white boards, blank
slates). It is a compression of all the colors
in the color spectrum.
Psychology of Color: Gray
Gray is most associated with the practical,
timeless, middle-of-the-road, solid things in
life. Too much gray leads to feeling mostly
nothing; but a bit of gray will add that rock
solid feeling to your product. Some shades of
gray are associated with old age, death, taxes,
depression or a lost sense of direction. Silver
is an off-shoot of gray and often associated
with giving a helping hand, strong character
(sterling in-fact!).
Psychology of Color: Red
If you want to draw attention, use red. It is
often where the eye looks first. Red is the
color of energy. It's associated with movement
and excitement. People surrounded by red find
their heart beating a little faster and often
report feeling a bit out of breath. It's
absolute the wrong color for a baby's room but
perfect to get people excited. Wearing red
clothes will make you appear a bit heavier and
certainly more noticeable. (Some studies show
red cars get more tickets but that maybe because
the red car owners drive faster or the ticket
giver notices the movement of the red car more
prominently). Red is not a good color to over
use but using a spot of red in just the right
place is smart in some cases (one red accent in
a otherwise neutral room draws the eye; a red
tie with a navy blue suit and white shirts adds
just the right amount of energy to draw the eye
(no wonder it's the "uniform of the day" at the
seats of government). Red is the symbol of life
(red blooded life!) and, for this reason, it's
the color worn by brides in China. Red is used
at holidays that are about love and giving (red
roses, Valentines hearts, Christmas, etc.) but
the true color of love is pink. Pink is the most
calming of all colors -- often our most
dangerous criminals are housed in pink cells as
studies show that color drains the energy and
calms aggression. Think of pink as the color of
romance, love, and gentle feelings, to be in the
pink is to be soothed.
Psychology of Color: Blue
Ask people their favorite color and a clear
majority will say blue. Much of the world is
blue (skies, seas). Seeing the color blue
actually causes the body to produce chemicals
that are calming; but that isn't true of all
shades of blue. Some shades (or too much blue)
can send a cold and uncaring message. Many
bedrooms are blue because it's calm, restful
color. Over the ages blue has become associated
with steadfastness, dependability, wisdom and
loyalty (note how many uniforms are blue).
People tend to be more productive in a blue room
because they are calm and focused on the task at
hand. Some studies are showing that weight
lifters can lift more weight in a blue gym - in
fact, nearly all sports are enhanced in blue
surroundings.
Psychology of Color: Green
The color of growth, nature, and money. A
calming color also that's very pleasing to the
senses. Dark forest green is associated with
terms like conservative, masculine and wealth.
Hospitals use light green rooms because they too
are found to be calming to patients. It is also
the color associated with envy, good luck,
generosity and fertility. It is the traditional
color of peace, harmony, comfortable nurturing,
support and well paced energy.
Psychology of Color: Yellow
Cheerful yellow the color of the sun,
associated with laughter, happiness and good
times. A person surrounded by yellow feels
optimistic because the brain actually releases
more seratonin (feel good chemical in the brain)
when around this color. It is the color
associated with optimism but be careful with
yellow, when intense, it is the color of flames
and studies show babies cry more in (bright)
yellow rooms and tempers flare more around that
color too. It has the power to speed up our
metabolism and bring out some creative thoughts
(legal tablets are yellow for good reason!).
Yellow can be quickly overpowering if over-used,
but used sparingly in the just the right place
it can be an effective tool in marketing to
greater sales. Some shades of yellow are
associated with cowardice; but the more golden
shades with the promise of better times.
Psychology of Color: Orange
The most flamboyant color on the planet! It's
the color tied most this fun times, happy and
energetic days, warmth and organic products. It
is also associated with ambition. There is
nothing even remotely calm associated with this
color. Orange is associated with a new dawn in
attitude.
Psychology of Color: Purple
What color were the robes of kings and
queens? Yes, they were purple, our most royal
color that is associated with wealth,
prosperity, rich sophistication. This color
stimulates the brain activity used in problem
solving. However, when overused in a common
setting it is associated with putting on airs
and being artificial/ Use purple most carefully
to lend an air of mystery, wisdom, and respect.
Young adolescent girls are most likely to select
nearly all shades of purple as their favorite
color.
Psychology of Color: Brown
This color is most associated with
reliability, stability, and friendship. More are
more likely to select this as their favorite
color. It's the color of the earth itself "terra
firma" and what could represent stability
better. It too is associated with things being
natural or organic. Caution however, for in
India it is the color of mourning.
Basics on How to Use Color Together
Color psychology is complicated field of
study and goes deep into the meaning of
combining colors for a particular desired
effect. We will broad brush some basics that may
well enough for you to make good color choices
for a web site with marketing in mind.
Monochromatic Color Scheme This
is the use of a single color in varying shades.
This can be a clean and interesting look on a
web site. It's soothing and pleasing to the eye
especially in the blue or green hues.
Complimentary Color Scheme This
is using high contrast of color by selecting
colors directly opposite from one another on the
color wheel (such as pink and lime green). This
puts a warm color with a cool color and is
pleasing to the eye.
Triple Color Scheme This
scheme uses three colors equally spaced from
each other around a color wheel. It's popular
with web designers and allows for a harmonious
color scheme.
You ARE that first flash of color seen on
your web site it's important to remember that
color is the first thing registered by a person
who goes to your web site. It that is pleasing,
they will read on -- if it's displeasing you may
lose them in a nano second. So first select your
background color and then select two other
colors for your web site. Remember to keep in
mind the meaning and harmony of colors.
