Have you noticed the way different colors can make you feel? When you’re standing in a lush green field surrounded by blue skies, you feel complete serenity. Perhaps you have even noticed that the color red can make you feel slightly alarmed.
No matter the color that popped into your mind when you read the first sentence of this post, it is likely that you have fallen victim to color psychology. As crazy as it may sound, colors have a huge effect on the human psyche.
It is all part of color psychology. Check out this little guide from CBS-CBS.com to learn more about color psychology.
What is Color psychology?
Color psychology is the way different colors determine or affect human behavior. You can readily use color psychology in advertising and marketing to evoke and change emotional reactions to what you are advertising. While that sounds simple enough, there is plenty to know about color psychology.
How do colors influence people?
Color meaning and color psychology can easily and powerfully change the way people behave and make decisions. Within only a few minutes, people can make subconscious judgments about a person, product, or environment. With the right colors, you can impact people’s initial impression of you and your business.
As a business promoting your brand, you should know all about tints, hues, colors, and shades to evoke emotion and promote action. Through specific color choices in logos, signage, packaging, and advertising, brands can easily influence consumers to buy on impulse or choose their product over another.
For example, when you think about your favorite brands, think about how they make you feel. Do their logos stand out because of their bright colors or do you prefer black and white? That is color psychology in its finest form.
How colors can make people feel…
Here are some colors and how they may make people feel:
- Red- Red often creates a sense of urgency. That is what makes it perfect for clearance sales or breaking news. It is also frequently used by fast-food chains as it often makes people hungry. People may often associate red with passion, movement, power, and excitement.
- Green- Green is most often associated with health, wellness, and general wellbeing. It is clean, clear, and brings a sense of nature into your brand. The color green can also create a feeling of harmony and encourage decisions.
- Purple- Usually, the color purple is associated with wisdom, royalty, and respect. It greatly stimulates creativity.
- Blue- Funnily enough, men prefer the color blue in advertising and marketing over any other. It is associated with reliability, peace, tranquility, and water. The color blue also promotes trust in a brand.
- Yellow and orange- Both colors are cheerful and promote optimism. However, used incorrectly they can make people cautious.
Color psychology is a powerful stimulator when it comes to how people view your brand. How you incorporate color into your brand will essentially say everything about your business. While there are no “best” marketing colors, there are colors that impact people better than others.