Some Thoughts on Color
by webmaster
It’s
quite well known that the color red inspires impulsive buying.
Our eyes are drawn to the color like ducks to water. Just walk
into any supermarket and look at the color most often used on
products. It’s red. The next one is yellow. Both colors tend to
raise your blood pressure just a tad and dilate your pupils.
They cause excitement, which goes to prove one thing: color
affects us.
The
Science of Color
For a
long time, color has been used by both advertiser and
merchandiser to encourage us (the consumer) to take action
(purchase the product or service). In fact, the use of color in
advertising and merchandising has become somewhat of a science
unto itself.
Sometimes a color is selected for the sole purpose of drawing
attention to the product or ad. This is when red or yellow may
be used. But you can also attract attention by using a
combination of colors. For instance, Stagg® Chili uses a black
background with gold letters. The cereal product, Total®,
creates eye-catching appeal with a blue package and a red logo.
Color can also be used to relate to a particular product or
service. Consider the Green Giant® products. Their packages are
set in a white background with the famous green logo. Healthy
Choice® is another example of using green. Both products are
trying to emulate freshness or healthfulness. Green does the
job. Root beer is sold, using packages created in brown shades.
A&W® is a perfect example, which uses brown and orange.
Designers & Color
Designers often select colors to bring life to an otherwise dull
advertisement. Sometimes those colors selected by a designer
aren’t necessary based on any real scientific choice, just as a
judgment call. But when push comes to shove, the designer can
usually give you a reason why he or she selected one color over
another.
What Colors Say
Of course, as with everything else these days, there have been
plenty of studies done on color. Here’s a short review of some
of the basics used today in ads or product development and what
they mean:
Blue
Here is the all-time color favorite for most folks, especially
men. It’s a cool color that is extremely versatile going from
the darker side of midnight blue to the lighter of baby blue—all
of which inspire us in so many different directions
Yellow
Along with red, this color raises our blood pressure a bit and
catches our eye. Yellow embodies life, joy and offers a
high-impact visual. It adds brightness to our lives.
Red
This color is the attention grabber. It is considered the
hottest color with the highest impact for attention and action.
It has a strong masculine appeal.
Green
This color leads the pack for symbolizing a healthy lifestyle.
Green is often used with health food products, recycling,
vegetables and even mentholated tobacco products (to emphasize
freshness??).
Brown
Although considered a masculine color, it does have a strong
appeal to women as well. Symbolizes home and hearth.
Black
Black is the embodiment of sophistication, gives an expensive
message. It also lends itself wonderfully as a background color
to accentuate other colors, such as: yellow, red and orange.
Orange
This is the color of harvest, the "feast" color, and it evokes
strong emotions regarding holidays, home, eating.
So what should you do with color in your product or ad
development?
While most of us in the small business industry cannot afford to
have color studies done for our products, services and/or
customers, we can use color to provide an accent or an ambiance
to our visual presentations.
But
whatever the color you choose, keep it simple (not more than
three colors per item) and be consistent. In other words, if you
have a product that is packaged in red, a logo in blue and an
advertisement to promote both in green, you’re not helping the
consumer to identify your product, logo and ads from all the
other stuff that’s out there.
Remember to always stay with the same color palette. It helps
your identity and is certainly more pleasing to the eye.
