There’s a well known theory that red and yellow used in fast food chains grabs our attention and sparks the appetite causing us to stop what we are doing pull over and grab a comforting loving meal. In fact the colors red or yellow can be found in almost any well-known fast food chain (McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr., Jack in the Box, Pizza Hut, In & Out, etc.).
According to color psychology red makes us feel loved, comforted and warm yellow is exciting and grabs our attention.
So colors can impact the choices we make when it comes to eating but can colors also affect spending habits for consumer goods and services? If it’s true that our eyes are the window to our stomachs can they also be the windows to our wallets? According to Impact of Color on Marketing; Management Decision; “Customers generally make an initial judgment on a product within 90 seconds of interaction with that product and about 62%-90% of that judgment is based on color.”
So how can your business use color psychology to influence consumer emotion and perception of value? First it’s important to answer the simple question what is color psychology? Color psychology is the study of color as a determinant of human behavior. It’s the theory that using color in ads, stores, restaurants, post cards, and flyers will spark an interest in the consumers’ minds and cause them to act accordingly.
Below are some common meanings associated with colors:
- Red – Love, comfort, excitement, energy
- Yellow – Joy, happiness, exciting, optimistic
- Blue – Trust, security, high quality
- Black – Sophisticated, luxury, grief
- Pink – Romantic, sincere, feminine
- Green – Envy, good taste, relaxing, environmental
Now consider your favorite brands’ colors. Do they and the way you feel about them match the descriptions above?
Fun Fact: The world’s favorite color is always blue, no matter who conducts the study, what century it’s conducted, how it’s taken, or how many people participate. Crazy huh? I guess everybody wants to feel trusted, secure and of quality.
So next time you’re designing an ad, think about your target demographic, your brand and the feelings you want to convey when marketing your products. Stay tuned as we discuss various ways colors can influence your website’s success rates (conversion rates, crawl rates, bounce rates etc.). In the meantime, here’s another great resource on color psychology.
