Color is a powerful component in determining how your brand is perceived by your audience. It has a strange yet powerful effect on our emotions and how we behave as consumers. It awakens and reinforces a brand’s personality while inspiring creativity, action and capturing interest and attention in our daily lives.
One of the most crucial things to consider about a brand’s color is how the color can project the brand’s values and what you as a company stand for. It is believed that consumers make a subconscious judgment about a product, person or the environment they are in within 90 seconds of introduction. Talk about first impressions eh?
Although color psychology is not considered as an exact science of sorts, it would be helpful to understand and be aware of some of the most common meanings associated with color. This can help shape your brand in a way that can resonate more effectively with your target audience. Variances can come across geographies and culture as well as social upbringing in certain parts of the world. While the color RED evokes excitement and cautions danger in western societies, in China RED is a symbol of happiness and prosperity. And in some of the former Eastern European Bloc countries, this is a color that stands for communism. The definitions stretch and vary immensely. And unfortunately, there is no one single formula that would work for all. It would all come down to how well you incorporate and address these components when developing your brand for your target audience. Therefore, understanding the cross-cultural translations of color could also deem helpful in effective communication.
RED
Frequently associated with excitement, power and passion, red is one of the most intense shade across the spectrum and is known to provoke some of the strongest emotions amongst audiences. Thus, you will find this frequently as the color of a call-to-action button or sign, which can capture the attention of a viewer very easily. It’s also on some of the most popular and well recognized brands across the planet. Coca Cola, YouTube, Netflix etc.
ORANGE
This is a color that is associated with innovation, energy, friendliness, courage, and confidence. It’s a color that does well in communicating warmth and good vibes. It is a color that commands attention, yet a little subtle compared to red. It’s a bit more playful, which gives it a more “approachable” color. Some of the most iconic brands paired with orange are Harley Davidson, Mastercard and the playful TV channel nickelodeon.
YELLOW
Often seen as the happiest color of them all. Bright and cheerful, yellow symbolizes fun, happiness, optimism, and is the easiest color to see. It’s a color that helps lift spirits, and provide inspiration, creativity and evoke a sense of freedom. From Ikea, Snapchat to Ferrari, you will find yellow across quite a few of your most beloved international brands. Last but not least, don’t forget the iconic golden arches of McDonalds!
BLUE
Associated with stability, trust, harmony and reliability, blue is commonly identified as the most loved shade of color in the world. It evokes a sense of calm and relaxation., almost at the opposite end to red. The meanings behind the color blue are closely tied to its most dominant elemental forms, the sky and sea. Many companies use the color blue on their seal or certification of guarantee, to reinforce trust. Some of the global tech titans such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype carry blue as their primary color of representation.
PURPLE
Often associated with royalty, this is a color that is connected to power, nobility and luxury. Purple possesses some of the best components from the primary colors, blue and red. With the energy of red and reliability of blue it is a color that is quite frequently connected to spiritualism as well. Some of the other emptions that the color purple evoke are the sense of imagination, magic and mystery, which is often why you see purple incorporated with brands that showcase creativity.
GREEN
Closely associated with nature, green symbolizes health, wealth, fertility and projects balance and harmony. It’s also a color that represents life and projects a sense of peace. It is also considered as the easiest color for the eyes to process, and is often associated with brands that promote nature, natural qualities or health.
BLACK
Symbolic of power, authority, elegance, mystery and sophistication, this is a popular choice amongst fashion and luxury brands. It’s a hue that commands control and remains separate from the other shades by being void of any light. Nike for instance portrays their logo in black and white, projecting strength, stability and power, while brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel use black to convey sophistication and luxury.
WHITE
The color white showcases innocence, purity and cleanliness. This is also a color that symbolizes peace and simplicity. White can also mean an absence of color altogether or a balance of them all. Popular for businesses taking a contemporary, minimalistic approach, white offers a blank canvas that is quite neutral to the senses.