Color is one of the primary ways to control emotional
flow of prospective clients. By mastering the principles of color you can
subconsciously guide potential customers into purchasing your products or
services. By manipulating color you can send powerful positive or negative
messages. Colors are influenced by many factors such as individual differences (gender,
age, and personality), culture and prevalent social trends.
General groups
- Children- Children are the most responsive group to the pleasures of color. Children
respond more to warm or intense colors while adults tend to respond more to
cool colors
- Adolescents- Adolescents are sensation-seeking and prefer warm colors such as red while
the more reserved ones favor blue or cool tones.
- Elderly- The elderly prefer
light colors over dark colors, although, yellow is the color they liked the
least.
- Introverts/ Extroverts - Introverts and extroverts respond
differently to sensory stimulation. Extroverts usually
prefer warmer colors while introverts prefer the cool ones. Extroverts usually
have a higher threshold for sensory stimulation compared to introverts so they
are less likely affected by bright lights or sounds. Introverts can be
distracted by their senses so bright lights and loud noises can wear them out.
Extroverts like their senses to be stimulated while introverts can become
overwhelmed. Nevertheless, a portion of people may be attracted towards colors
that represent qualities they lack, for balance.
How individual
differences affect color preference
Our preference
for color is set at an early age and by puberty we know which ones we love or
hate. Every color has a psychological, physiological and neurological effect on
the body. Color influences the pituitary gland which helps regulate our
hormones, which in turn affects our mood. Colors are both objective and subjective. Researchers have established that more
than 80% of visual information is connected to colors. Color can
account for up to 85% of the reason people decide to buy
products or services.
Physiological effects
on the human body
When light or color hits the hypothalamus it creates a reaction
in the pituitary gland. Every color has its own wave length which launches a
specific response in the autonomic nervous system. Color is a very powerful
tool when it comes to human physiology. Each color has positive and negative qualities.
Color is used in light/photo therapy which is used in
hospitals and facilities all around the world. Babies born with jaundice are
placed under blue light which converts bilirubin
so that it can be excreted in the urine and feces. Color-therapy can also be
used to treat acne, eczema, and circadian rhythm disorders as well as
psychiatric disorders such as seasonal affective disorder, bipolar disorder and
major depressive disorder.
Warm colors such as yellow, orange and red stimulate the
body, raise blood pressure and can strengthen and tone. It has been
demonstrated that the color red stimulates the sympathetic portion of the
autonomic nervous system.
- Red is the longest visible wavelength that we
can see. It is a powerful color that has been proven to increase tension,
respiratory movements, central nervous system functioning, eye –blink frequency,
arousal and anxiety. It is used in restaurants to increase appetite and by
athletes. Studies have shown that athletes exposed to red light had a 13.5%
increase in physical strength and 5.8% more electrical activity in their arm
muscles.
- Orange is combination of red and yellow. Orange has been proven to increase appetite, increase
oxygen to the brain and speed up the perception of time. It also gives the
sensation of heat but not as aggressively as the color red.
- Yellow is what is seen when both the green and
red cones in your eyes are excited near their peak sensitivity. This is the
most excitement that your cones ever have, aside from seeing pure white. Yellow is the most intense/brightest color on
the spectrum. Yellow has been proven to stimulate the brain, make you more
alert and decisive. It also makes muscles more energetic and activates the
lymph system. When a person is surrounded by yellow they feel optimistic
because the brain actually releases more serotonin.
Cool colors such as blue, green, and violet sedate the
body, ease inflammation and lower blood pressure.
- Blue increases a sense of relaxation while
lessening feelings of anxiety and hostility and acts as an appetite suppressant.
It has also been demonstrated that the color blue stimulates the
parasympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system and lowers blood
pressure. Blue also stimulates the pituitary gland, which regulates our sleep
patterns. It also gives the sensation of being cold.
- Violet is the shortest wavelength it consists
of red and blue in identical proportions. Violet balances the body’s metabolism
and suppresses hunger. It can alleviate conditions such as sunburn
due to its purifying and antiseptic effect.
- Green is in the center of the visible color
spectrum. It has both a warming and cooling effect. Green like blue has calming
affects and is used in many hospitable settings. Being in the center of the visible
light spectrum it is the easiest color on the eyes and has been used to improve
vision. It is the color used for night-vision goggles because the human eye is
most sensitive to and able to distinguish most of the shades.
Psychological
effects on the human body
The psychological effects of color are universal.
- Red is the most emotionally intense color, it
is where the eye looks first and is one of the most extreme colors. Depending
on the context red can be stimulating and lively or very friendly but it can also
be perceived as demanding and aggressive. Red as an accent can focus attention
on a particular element. It Increases enthusiasm, confidence, and provides a
sense of protection. It also stimulates buying actions but can be overpowering
so it must, therefore, be used with caution.
- Orange is associated with a new dawn in
attitude and it’s a color that people either love or hate. It is a combination
of red and yellow which makes it a very energizing color. Orange is the color
used in the United States for safety hazards so it’s associated with danger,
security, and focuses us on physical concerns.
- Yellow is the most difficult color for the
eye to take in, so it can be very overpowering if overused. The wrong tones of yellow in combination with
other colors can produce feeling of fear and anxiety. It instills optimism and
energy, as well as sparking creative thoughts.
It is the happiest of colors yet people or children in yellow rooms are
more likely to lose their tempers.
- Blue is the world's favorite color. It is
seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. Blue is s the least "gender
specific" color, as it has equal appeal to both men and women. It
represents cleanliness, purity, the unexpected and faithfulness. Sometimes it
can be cold and depressing. Top fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to
job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty.
- Violet is associated with wealth, prosperity,
rich sophistication and luxury. It is a color rarely found in nature so too
much can make things seem cheap or artificial. Violet can be seen as uniting
the "wisdom" of blue and the "love" of red. It is the last
visible wavelength before ultra-violet ray, so it is associated with time,
space and spirituality. In lighter shades, it denotes feminism and romance.
- Green symbolizes nature. It is a calming and
refreshing color that represents balance and offers a sense of self-control and
harmony. We are reassured by green on a primitive level it indicates the
presence of water, and little danger of famine when surrounded by green.
Color
theory in different cultural environments
There are many environmental factors that affect the way
we perceive color. It is suggested that people from strongly lit countries
preferred warm bright colors over people from countries that preferred less
saturated cool colors. There are many cultural differences in how we
interoperate color.
- Red represents beauty in many languages and
cultures as well as good luck and fortune.
- Orange is the Netherlands' national color,
and in China and Japan, orange is used to symbolize happiness and love.
- Yellow signifies “sadness” in Greece’s
culture and “jealousy” in France’s culture and represents “Greed" in
Christianity.
- Blue is the color of mourning in Mexico and
in the Middle East, it is a protective color
- Violet is worn by widow s mourning her husband's
death in Thailand.
- Green is used worldwide to represent safety
and in Scotland people used to wear green as a mark of honor.
Prevalent
social trends
People’s preference
to color changes depending on socio-cultural trends. This includes behaviors, attitudes, political and social challenges that make up each of
histories eras. Each generation
has unique characteristics which effect how we perceive color. In this decade
we face computer driven influences and quick-pace lifestyles which are
motivated by now present environmental concerns. Palettes inspired by Mother
Earth are in. Rich grays and camel tones are being paired with yellows, deep
greens or amethyst tones as accent pieces.
The colors of spices and beverages are making an appearance as well. After 9/11 blue became a favorite color of
America, which is associated with peace, something that Americans are looking
for in unstable times
How
to use color in marketing and logo design
Who are you marketing towards? What is their age group? Are they male or female? What culture? Are they high or low income?
You must get as familiar as you can with your target audience. Do as much
research as you can and implement that into your design and color choices. Market
researchers have determined that color affects shopper’s habits. Impulse
shoppers responded best to red-orange, black and royal blue colors. Shoppers
who planned and stuck to budgets respond best to pink, teal, light blue and
navy. Traditionalists responded to pastel - pink, rose, sky blue.
What are the top brands you can think of?
Designs are not made up by a single color but from a
series of colors that evoke an underlying theme. It is no coincidence that fast
food chains use the colors red and yellow. Early in their career Mcdonalds
changed their advertising colors after a university published findings that
they were the most agitating colors (you are more likely to notice these colors
). These marketers and advertisers have spent fortunes in an attempt to make
their target consumers buy their services or products. What works in theory doesn’t always work in
the real world. Market research is extremely important, the only way to be
certain in what works best for your products or services is to test it.
Color Wheel
The color wheel was first created by Sir Isaac Newton in
1704 and it has gone through many changes throughout the centuries. It is an
indicative tool that is used to compare existing colors rather
than calculate exact colors of mixtures. It shows primary, secondary, tertiary,
warm, cool and complimentary colors. The
three main ways the color wheel can be used:
- Monochromatic - when single colors in varying shades
are used. A single hue
is used, and extended using its shades, tones and tints.
- Complementary - when high contrast of color is used by
selecting colors directly opposite from one another on the color wheel
(such as pink and lime green). This puts a warm color with a cool color and
is pleasing to the eye.
- Triple - it uses three colors equally spaced from each
other around a color wheel.
CMYK vs RGB
There are two main ways you can mix color, CMYK and RGB.
Their differences produce two completely different results. By adding or subtracting
color you can produce different results and intensities of color combinations.
CMYK stands
for cyan magenta yellow and black. This is the standard subtractive color
model
used in color printing.
Nearly all color printers use this four-color process. When creating printed
material you should always use CMYK mode.
It is a reflective model which means color as we see it. CYMK is made up of tiny pigments that create
a subtractive color space which means the more ink you have on paper the darker
the image will be. It produces much darker images then its counterpart RGB.
RGB stands
for Red, Green and Blue. It is the mixing of points of light to obtain colors
on devices such as televisions and computer screens. This is an additive color space,
which means the more light that comes off the screen the lighter and brighter
the image will become. It is a non-reflective model since the emitted light
doesn’t reflect off anything. Since it is all light based you do not mix colors
so creating colors does not work in the same way as the CYMK model.
On a final note a rather high percentage of the
population is color bind. Eight percent of
males (approximately 10.5 million) and less than one percent of
females have some sort of color blindness. To be sure that your material
can be easily read by someone with color blindness, try converting your image
to black and white or grayscale.
