Adapted from: melissa1shaffer.weebly/uploads/2/2/8/5/22851166/psychology_of_color

1. Adapted from: melissa1shaffer.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/8/5/22851166/psychology_of_color.ppt

2. Color Psychology • 90% of an assessment for trying out a product is based on color alone • Color is the first thing a customer notices about a company’s logo • Most popular logo colors: • Blue (33%) • Red (29%) • Black/Gray (28%) • Yellow (13%)

6. Red in a Business • Best when used as an accent color • Too much will overwhelm • Encourages customers to take action & make a purchase • Elicits a response • May be a positive or negative response • Response is dependent on the customer • Best used in businesses specializing in food & appetite, energy, passion, or speed

10. Orange • Stimulates appetite & social conversation • Lighter shades of Orange & Red are seen as more feminine • Gives impression of affordability • Too much orange will come across as too cheap • Good for restaurants & food outlets • Important to the décor of a business • Combined with blue, purple, or aubergine for a contemporary / classy look • Phoenix Suns

11. Orange in Business • Apply sparingly as it is disliked in the Western World • Suggests fun, affordability, reasonable quality, & adventure • Invaluable color in restaurants, cafes, bistros, and diners • Stimulates appetite & conversation • Social color that is frequently used in hotels & resorts and on travel websites • Sports teams pick orange a lot due to energy associated with it • Orange appeals to the youth market • Teens like its fun & affordability • Kids see it in toys a lot • Softer colors of orange such as peach are often used to represent upper class businesses • Example: Spas, Beauty Salons, Treatment Centers, Expensive Restaurants

14. Gold in Business… • High perceived value • Promotes wisdom and wealth • Products that use gold are seen as expensive / exclusive • Best when combined with dark red, dark blue, or dark green

17. Yellow in Business • Effective if combined with other bright primary colors • Combined with black will act as a warning • Great color for children’s products • Stimulates mind & creativity • Helps keep people moving because most people don’t like yellow for long periods of time • Popular in fast food • Good for leisure products • Enhance the promotion of any fun and entertainment business

18. Yellow in Business • It is a good color to highlight but too much can cause anxiety, especially with older people • Subway & McDonalds remodeled • Use in Point-of-Sale purchases • Eyes follow yellow first • Avoid using yellow on expensive items • Men view it as cheap and unsophisticated • Dirty versions of yellow have negative connotations • Example: Mustard

21. Green in Business • Green is a good color for health & healing • Promotes natural, safe, & organic products • Environmentally friendly • Suggests something new and fresh • Motivates people to join social groups • Helps people thing more clearly • Dark green is good for money & financial institutes • Lime Green suggests anticipation • Olive Green is negative unless used to emphasize nature / environment

24. Blue in Business • Blue is the most universally well-liked color in the world • Safest to use • Helps build customer loyalty • Blue is best suited for the conservative, corporate world • Trust, honesty, dependability are important • Popular for companies dealing with air & water • Airlines, Boating Companies, Air Conditioning, etc… • Best if used for companies seeking one-on-one customer relationships versus mass communication • Insurance, accountants, banks, & other financial institutes • Reduces appetite and slows heart rate • Too much blue can encourage boredom, manipulation, or a rigid look

25. Blue / Green

26. Turquoise in Business • Good for businesses focusing on communication • Teachers, trainers, public speakers, media communication, & computer technology • Aids in self-expression & clarity of thought • Has an innovative side that goes well with sports teams • Popular in health clinics & practitioners • Balances emotions & calms spirits • Good for products promoting water • Pool companies, water filtration, water sports, etc.. • Often used in cleaning products as it reflects cleanliness without being too sterile • Too much Turquoise creates indecision • Best if used with red, pink, magenta, or purple

29. Purple in Business • More suitable for products & websites relating to women or children • Younger men are starting to see appeal • Kids like purple & bright colors • Lighter shades appeal to women • Craft items, antique stores, selling things like lace, etc.. • Academic institutes will frequently use a medium shade of purple • Inspire thought & achievement • Portrays wealth, extravagance when combined with gold • Gold is not a good color on websites • Gold is effective on packaging & print material

32. Pink in Business • Pink is popular with charities & their marketing programs • Relates to hope, compassion, warmth, and understanding • Pink works well in businesses promoting women's products • Beauty salons, fashion businesses, & cosmeticians • Effective in candy stores & places selling sweet products • Brighter pinks are popular amongst the younger market • Promotes less expensive and trendy items • Dusty pink is popular in businesses focusing on older generations or sentimental services

35. White in Business • White is probably the best color to use as the background color for websites • Exceptions are yellow & pastels • Helps clean up negative space • Suggests simplicity, cleanliness, & safety • Promotes hi-tech products, kitchen appliances, bathroom items, infant, and health related products • On its own white is viewed as cold and sterile

38. Black in Business…. • Black is beneficial for companies selling luxury, elegance, & sophistication • High quality professional products • Upper class car companies • Black packaging is viewed as heavier & more expensive • Creates classy, elegant look • Good color to promote to wealthy teens • Music companies • Seen as cutting edge, trendy, sophisticated, & rebellious • Can be seen as dramatic when combined with bright, rich, jewel colors such as red, emerald, yellow, or orange • Too much black is viewed as unfriendly and intimidating • People think of salesmen wearing a black suit, black shirt, or black pants

41. Silver in Business • Reflects quality craftsmanship and artistry • Beneficial for businesses promoting quality modern appliances and equipment • Appropriate for high-tech, innovative computer market & scientific companies • Doesn’t work well on websites • Appears gray which is cold and impersonal • A good complimentary color not primary color

42. Color Symbolism • Colors are often used symbolically by writers. If you study the list below, you will see that the same colorcan symbolize both positives and negatives.

43. Symbolic Meaning of Colors in Literature • Red : immoral; blood, passion, emotion, danger, or daring; often associated with fire, excitement, energy, passion, speed, strength, power, heat, love, aggression, war, violence • Black: seen as a cold and negative aspect suggesting passivity, death, ignorance, or evil; black hens are used in witchcraft as are black cats, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, underground, mourning, death • Green : inexperience, hope; new life, immaturity; it is a comforting, refreshing human color; it is the color of plant life, nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, vigor, spring, generosity, jealousy, envy • Yellow : rotting, heat, decay, violence, decrepitude, old age, and the approach of death; bright; happiness, joy, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard • Blue : cool, calm, peaceful; an insubstantial color in the real world except as translucency, the void of heavens, tranquility, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, cold, technology, depression • Pink : innocence, femininity • Purple : royalty, bruising or pain, spirituality, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning • Brown : a color somewhere between russet and black; it is the color of earth and ploughed land and soil, it represents humility and poverty, earth, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, stability, simplicity • Orange : the emblem of divine love or extreme lust; vibrancy, life, energy, balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrancy, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention • Violet : composed of red and blue, it is the color of temperance, clarity of mind • White : innocence, life, light, purity, or enlightenment, reverence, purity, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, marriage • Grey: security, reliability, intelligence, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring

44. Assignment: in notebook. ILLUSTRATE WITH COLOR and/or PICTURES! 1. Choose your favorite color and compare it to its definition. Does or doesn’t it fit your personality? 2. What societal expectations are reinforced with color marketing? 3. Describe an instance or instances where you, as a consumer, have purchased, shopped, or dined based on color. 4. Think about your dominant “personality color” or colors. What, if any connections can you make between the personality descriptions, business and marketing associations, and literary symbolism?