“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”
-Oscar Wilde
Does Color Psychology matter in my business, and why?
Short answer: Yes, because, trust me.
Long answer?
First to convince you that this matters, one study found that not only do people “make up their minds within 90 seconds of the initial interaction with either people or products” but that 62-90% of that decision was decided entirely based on color. This same study concluded that color can be used to “increase or decrease appetite, enhance mood, calm down customers, and, reduce perception of waiting time, among others.”
You still with me?
Good.
Let’s dig in.
LET’S START WITH THE BASICS
Red, yellow & blue. The Primaries. I’d like you to think back to all the businesses you associate with the color red. What about blue? Yellow?
For red, you may have thought about Target, or McDonald’s, or Chick-fil-A and any other number of quick-service restaurants. Blue may have indicated Walmart or a bank, or a hospital or doctor’s office in your city. Yellow may have been a bit harder. McDonald’s again? Your child’s daycare center?
For each business in each respective color though—they all have something very important in common:
MARKETING STRATEGY
YUP. Most big name business that use the brightly saturated red (on purpose), are all doing it for the same reason. One study found that when asked what color they associate most with “speed”, 76% of responders said red. The color red has also been proven to jumpstart the autonomic nervous system, and some claims have even been made that it actually makes us hungry and impulsive.
**Side note: I’d like my husband to take notes on that part about impulsivity, and join together with me in blaming color psychology for my Target receipts.
The color blue on the other hand does the exact opposite. It slows our heart rate, calms anxiety, and makes us feel comfortable *insert a sudden longing for the ocean*. This has actually been proven so many times over, that in 2009, a railway in Tokyo installed blue lights at the end of some of their platforms in an attempt to reduce suicide rates on the platforms.
It worked. They saw a reduction in suicide of 74% at the platforms where they had the blue lights installed.
Yellow evokes joy, happiness, bright, cheerful and energy. It’s the first color an infant responds to, and it’s wavelength is unique to many in that it’s the easiest color to actually see.
The primary colors are not alone. No, no, no. There are secondary colors, tertiary colors, shades, tints, etc. And they all affect us differently.
A QUICK TEST IN EFFICACY
I’m going to display a series of images. As you look through them, slowly, one at a time. Think about how they make you feel. Calm? Uncomfortable? Maybe they make you nostalgic for a childhood bedroom or maybe they actually remind you of a specific business? Take your time.
Photography by Radoslav Bali
Photography by Joel Filipe
Photography by Martin Widenka
Photography by Marra Sherrier
Photography by Orlova Maria
Photography by Mona Eendra
TO TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER…
The color purple has been shown to provoke passion and creativity, Orange can come across as both fun and whimsical or raucous and loud.
And as I said before, different variants of color have different implications, as well. While olive green tends to convey military or safari connotations, light green shades can make us feel calm and lightweight.
SO, CHOOSE WISELY
In short, color does matter. While it’s tempting to use colors we love, and the ones we’re drawn to personally (because in a sense, most of us are our brands to an extent)…proceed with caution.
Color is both a tool and a weapon in the world of marketing.
-Krissy J <3