The Psychology Of Colours And What They Mean
In our last blog post we spoke about colour psychology and the importance of the right colours in your brand and marketing. In this blog post we look at the psychology of the different colours. By understanding what the different colours mean and how they make consumers feel, you can make sure you chose the right colours to portray your business, brand and message in the right way.
Red
Red captures attention. It is a colour that is often associated with energy, excitement, passion and action, but also danger. Red is a strong and intense colour that is often used for ‘buy now’ buttons on websites. Red is commonly used in ‘sale’ signs in shops and online.
Orange
The colour orange is used to represent adventure, enthusiasm, balance and creativity. Orange is a colour used in marketing by many brands as it adds a little fun to any picture, website or marketing material. Lots of marketers use it for the ‘call to action’ as it attracts the eye.
Yellow
Yellow is the colour of sunshine, this means that it will evoke feelings of happiness, optimism, positivity and summer. Yellow is often used as a background or border for marketing materials as it’s thought of as a cheerful colour. A splash of yellow can leave consumers associating you with something positive.
Green
Green is connected to money and to nature. Psychologically, green gives off a feeling of growth, health, generosity and fertility. Green is often used for landscape, nature and outdoor companies, as well as in the health and fitness industries.
Blue
Blue means stability, peace, calm, trust and harmony for a lot of people. It is also a colour that is closely tied to the sea and the sky. You will often see that blue is used to strengthen the trust on websites and it can be seen around the guarantees and certifications for example.
Purple
Purple is thought of as a regal and royal colour. The meaning behind purple is power, luxury, wisdom and nobility. People who like purple colour are charismatic and compassionate. They have a certain power and stability, and are naturally intense and authentic, making them stand out in the crowd.
Pink
Pink is often used for brands that are primarily targeting a female audience. It’s a colour of femininity, playfulness and unconditional love. Pink is often seen throughout feminine hygiene products, ladies lingerie and the packaging for girls’ toys.
Black
Black is an extremely common colour in retail. It gives off feelings of mystery, power, elegance and sophistication. Black makes text easier to read, which is why it is a popular colour in brands and marketing. Black and white photos are frequently used on websites for consistency too.
Grey
Grey is often used in font colours, headers and graphics. It’s commonly used in products that need to appeal to a mass audience too. The colour grey evokes feelings of neutrality and balance, but it needs to be used with other colours to stop the brand looking and feeling dull or boring.
White
White is the colour of innocence, purity and cleanliness. However, this is not the case in some areas of the world, such as North America where it means the opposite. It’s important to note this if your brand will be worldwide. White is a common background photo for images and photos as it helps them stand out. Black font on a white page works well for readability too.
Brown
Brown is an earthy colour and links to comfort and security in the minds of your audience. Brown is often the colour chosen by brands that sell natural products or foods. You will sometimes see brown used in logos and banner images as well as text as it offers a strong contrast against a white background.
So, now you know what colours make consumers feels, have a think about the colours used in your branding and marketing. It’s important to note that while the psychology of colour has been studied for many years, there is still a lot of debate over the exact impact colour has on the human mind. This is because different people view different colours in different ways.
Why not have a look at our Colour Psychology Infographic we have created for you, click here: Color Psychology Infographic_The Little Marketing Company
