COMPUTER WORD2016

Monthly Newsletter Issue 12

Color plays a significant role in selling products and services. It directs your eye where to look, shows similarities and differences, and even indicates how to interpret a message. Color helps you decide what is important, appealing, and worthwhile. In the recent study, Impact of Color in Marketing, researchers found that nearly all consumer impulse purchases are based on color. The color of a logo can enhance a brand if it fits the product type, which is called alignment. For example, lime green is appropriate for a fun, trendy product, such as a mobile chatting app, but not a serious, stable product, such as insurance. As you prepare to launch your business or new product, consider the colors you are using in your company logo and product or service branding.

Colors have emotional and cultural meanings. Although people react to specific colors based on their background and experiences, most people associate colors with certain qualities. All colors have both positive and negative associations.

In a recent study, people were asked to choose a color they associated with particular words:

Trust: 34% chose blue, followed by 21% for white and 11% for green.

Speed: Red was the favorite by a wide margin (76%).

Fear: 41% said they associate red with fear, while 38% chose black.

Fun: Most people chose orange (28%), followed closely by yellow (26%) and purple (17%).

Cheapness: Orange may be fun, but 26% of people associated orange with cheapness.

Security: Most people chose blue (28%), followed by 16% for black and 12% for green.

Reliability: Blue was also the top choice for reliability with 43%. Next was black with 24%.

Be sure to consider the context in which you are using color.

Although you can make some broad generalizations about color, it’s more effective to make sure people are interpreting your brand’s colors in context. For example, in the Color Psychology and Color Therapy study, green isn’t strongly associated with any color. If you want to signal environmental awareness, however, green is the obvious choice. That said, if everyone in your market is using green, choosing a different color such as sky blue sets you apart from the pack. Color depends on the context in which you use it.

This file created specifically for Risheng Yang