Color Psychology in Marketing & Branding: How Important It Is?

Color plays a significant role in the human psyche. Color affects the human thought process or pattern. Color controls the mood and spirit of a human being. We feel calm and composed when we look at the blue sky or green fields.

On the other hand, when we look at the red traffic signal, we feel alarmed and find ourselves in a state of urgency. It indicates that we need to stop to avoid some mishaps. In this way, we see that every color impacts us differently. It has a precedent effect on the human psyche.

Similarly, color psychology plays a crucial role in creating marketing strategies. With the help of color psychology, a certain brand or company can make an impression on the customers. In this way, it attracts the customers to purchase products from that particular company.

What is Color Psychology Marketing?

Newton first experimented with sunlight passing through the prism. Hence, seven colors of the rainbow were identified. But you will be amazed to hear that the concept of color psychology brought into existence thousands of years ago. It was in Egyptian civilization, where people used color to play with their mood. They used color psychology to achieve holistic means. 

So far, you would be able to get the idea that Color psychology depends on human behavior and different perceptions. Color psychology marketing is a crucial aspect of branding and marketing strategy. It helps people to enhance business by creating a strong impression of that company to its consumers.

Now, statistical data would blow your mind. 90% of people take an impetuous decision about products by only looking at their color. It is really mind-boggling. Isn’t it? 

Now let’s look at how different colors hold different psychology and how they affect a company or a business’s marketing and branding strategies. 

Colors and Their Psychology in Business

Colors have an intense relationship with human psychology. Neuroscientists have proven the influence of color over human cognitive power. Hence, it is a crucial tool in business in terms of Color Psychology Marketing.

Different wavelengths of different colors transmit to our brain, which in turn indulges multiple neurological signals. They stimulate our hormonal system, which results in liking or disliking.

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Red

Red is the color of attraction. When you see red, it will generate emotions of excitement, passion, danger. It is common to see many websites to design the order now button or sales advertisement in red, in the hope of attracting more people. Being an intense color, red can promote strong emotions. Brands like YouTube and Coca-Cola use red as their brand color. It is wise to use this color sparingly and in the right place.

The strongest emotions may be harmful to business, too, so to be careful about its use is the right way to deal with it. The color red is also responsible for increasing your blood pressure and heart rate. Hence, you get the idea that red color is an intense color. It is wise to use fruitfully but not as a cup of tea. On the other hand, red can also express love or warmth. So, often we manifest expressible thoughts in red.

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Blue

In the field of Color Psychology Marketing, blue signifies peace, and calm. Your instinct would refer to the ocean while seeing blue. So, blue keep a peaceful, stable, calm environment. On the other hand, blue can also be signified as a color of coldness and sadness. You will see that some brands use blue in their logo and navigation bars. Whereas brands like Facebook, Twitter, and Skype, use blue as their official color. This color helps you to relax your mind.

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Green

The color green indicates nature. So, it has a great generous impact on your cognitive powers. Also, green indicates money grows and prospers. Like all other colors, green can also be used for different purposes. The soft look of this color makes the brand endorsement more sophisticated. Statistics show that brands dealing with health and fitness also have a fascination with green.

John Deere is one of the popular brands that use green as a benchmark color. It mainly deals with natural aspects only. Agricultural firms can also use green. Money-inflated companies often need customers to get attracted to their wealth terms; hence this color can be useful.

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Orange

In color psychology, orange promotes enthusiasm, excitement, creativity, optimism, and other positive feelings. Often this color can be helpful to drive a rush of adrenaline. Besides, this color can go in contrasting nature with most of the other colors. It’s attractive and the center of eyeballs. Nickelodeon is a kid’s channel that uses orange in the logo.

It matches with enthusiasm and excitement. Orange can cause a sense of caution among people too. So, this color causes the driving force to generate sources of energy. Food brands also use orange sometimes to draw attention.

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Purple

Purple has a royal look. It indicates the nature of great wisdom in clients. It also signifies spirituality, nobility, and power. But this color can have some persuasive Nature too, so you should avoid using it too much. Using it too much may leave an impression of arrogance. Yahoo is one of the famous brands that use purple as their brand color. It is also a sound color choice for cosmetics, beauty products, and anti-aging products.

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Black

When we see black, the first psychological impressions that come to our mind are about power, elegance, and mystery. Scientifically black is not a color; rather, it is the absence of color. Sometimes, black is also used to signify intelligence.

Many brands chose black as a representative color. Although this color is a bit tricky to use, many fashion endorsements have used it fruitfully. Combination of black with white forms a contrasting aspect which can attract many customers too. Nike is such a company. Often it is used in text encoding, as it makes the text readable and attractive.

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Grey

In color Psychology Marketing, Grey is the representative of neutral cognition and balance. Also, it is a color of old age and solidarity. This color has a matte look, so overusing it can cause a loss of inspiration. Apple is one of the Companies that use grey as a brand color.

White

As the genuine nature of white, in color psychology too, it represents godliness, peace, spirituality, innocence, and humility. Although the meaning of white is not constant across the globe, it still drives a morality in the audience. Mostly the e-commerce websites are accustomed to using white as a symbol of the brand. Sports brands like Adidas and also Subway use white color for endorsements. Adidas uses a contrasting combination of white with black in the background.

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Brown

Brown is the color of earth, wood, stone, and mud. Psychologically brown signifies down to earth, humble nature. Along with this, it also indicates comfort and security. Statistical reports show that brown is often used in natural products. It is also well shown in banners, fliers, texts to make a contrasting look. UPS is a company which uses brown in their portal. It helps them maintain their secure and humble perspective.

Yellow

Yellow is a bright color. It is the color of sunshine. So, it gives the subconscious mind a pleasant, confident feeling. Sunlight is the source of energy, positivity, and a symbol of a new beginning. So, it is also recognized in such positivity. Having a mid-range wavelength, yellow can also attract eyes and become the center of cognition.

Many brands use yellow in words like shipping and discounts. Yellow is the brand color of Ferrari and Ikea. These brands are associated with comfort making goods. The yellow color is also a source of happiness and attraction. It is wise to use this color to draw preference but overusing may lead to misinterpreted thoughts.

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Pink

Pink has a gender-specific advantage. Research has proven the influence of pink on the feminine audience. So, it is not very efficient for the gender-neutral target audience. However, it has a very gentle influence on the subconscious mind. It represents love, femininity, and playfulness. Some successful brands have chosen to use pink as brand color. Many toy selling companies are also amongst them. Very obviously, brands like Barbie and Victoria’s secret use pink. It has very effectively helped in their progress.

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Indeed, color has a very significant influential effect on customers, but it is not everything. People have a very diverse context and perception of each color. Signifying the importance of one color to one person may be different from someone else. So, it is only an approach to trick the human subconscious mind. Decisions may be based on the conscious mind, which can be driven by many more factors.

Also Read: 10 Best Digital Marketing Project Ideas & Topics for Beginners

Misconceptions Around Color Psychology 

So far, we have talked about color psychology driving digital marketing and gave a detailed explanation of that. But there are some misconceptions about the effects of color on the human psyche. Different people have analyzed this topic in different ways. 

But the main point of discussion on this topic is why there are too many misconceptions that arise in color and its impact on human psychology.

The misperceptions occur maybe because different people react differently to different types of colors. It depends on your lifestyle, perception, choice of culture, and previous experience. How you appraise a color also varies between men and women as their preferences differ. So, there are a lot of factors relying on the psychology of color that leads to various misunderstandings. 

Wrapping Up

If you thoroughly go through the article, you would be able to understand what Color Psychology is, its historical significance, its effect on the human psyche, various colors and their strategic use in the marketing field, and last but not least, the influence of color Psychology in digital marketing and branding.

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