Close your eyes. Think of the first 3 colors you see when you wake up. What are they? Did any of them include red, yellow and/or blue?
As humans, we see color in three primary colors- red, yellow and blue. We combine among them to form the infinite colors we see. To make a green you would need both blue and yellow, whereas orange comprises of red and yellow.
The impact of color and its effect on decision-making is one of the more debated topics of psychology and marketing. While color perception does remain subjective, certain color correspondence have universal meanings.
Depending on the culture, colors can echo polarized feelings of either passion or anger, calmness or melancholy.
Throughout your life, different colors come up more than others. In conjunction with this and your cultural norms, perceptions of colors are formed. Using this, we build rich mental representations that bridge color with associations in your external world as emotion-based concepts. Brands use this as a means of fusing story-telling and personalizing it accordingly to connect to consumers.
Colors are a crucial ingredient in brands that has the influence to transcend a brand by connecting story-telling through emotion-based colors. Rather than companies attempting to classify consumers’ response to colors of their choice, companies are now adapting to colors that are more similar to your personal experiences. In a research done on colors in marketing, result showed that up to 90% of participants judged products based on colors. This makes sense if you think of rebel-archetype companies like Harley Davidson. Their logo is a mix of black, orange and white.
The color orange is associated to energy, enthusiasm and freedom. People who are attracted to Harley Davidson products are more likely to fall under the latter description. The orange used in the logo is specified to evoke a defiant call-to-action that’s contrasted on a black backdrop. On the other hand, the black backdrop logo calls to mind a more artistic yet edgy touch. By tying in colors that will play best into these emotions, companies like Harley Davidson are transcending their logo.
The bottom line: color is powerful because it can change our mood- the mood of a potential customer.
What does your favorite color say about you?
Sources :
https://www.helpscout.net/blog/psychology-of-color/
http://www.fellowshipofmind.com/the-effect-of-color-on-decision-making-and-business/
http://www.onlinepsychologydegree.net/2012/12/07/your-brain-on-colors/