Most of us find ourselves associating colours with people, places, companies, and brands. It may not necessarily be deliberate, but the tendency to associate colours with entities is something that is ingrained well into the human psyche. Thanks to the fact that humans are predominantly visual learners, it should come as no surprise that we are more inclined to match ideas, concepts, and brands with colours than words.
As commonplace as associating colours with certain brands is, however, there’s a term for the way we use colours to form our perception of brands: brand colour psychology.
Brand colour psychology in a nutshell
The study of brand colour psychology mainly concerns itself with the relationship between colour and brand perception—specifically, how the former affects the latter. Brand colour psychology is deeply rooted in the goal of understanding how colours evoke emotions and subsequently impact how the average consumer behaves. While it may seem like a fairly niche field, brand colour psychology has allowed hundreds of thousands of brands around the world to boost their brand retention as a whole and enhance their performance in the long run.
With the study of brand colour psychology, it becomes much easier to fine-tune any brand to invoke the right emotions to further boost the effectiveness of a sales funnel or branding strategy.
How does brand colour psychology work?
Brand colour psychology, in essence, provides a framework that businesses and designers can use to understand how potential customers interact with brands by using colours.
Despite the fact that the colour’s effect varies on several factors, such as gender, culture, and experiences, brand colour psychology acts as a reliable reference point that can apply to almost every consumer. Through the application of brand colour psychology, you’ll be able to make better decisions in terms of colour choices, and engineer desired outcomes every time.
The psychology of (some) colours
Generally speaking, each colour has its own unique effect that sets it apart from the rest, which can be used to further enhance the effect of a brand on its consumers. If you’re new to brand colour psychology, it is essential to first know the effects of the two most commonly-used options in branding projects:
Red
When the terms “colour” and “emotion” come to mind, chances are that you might end up thinking of red right away. This is because red has been shown to evoke the most impactful of emotions.
Red is considered one of the most powerful choices in brand colour psychology as it speeds up and intensifies the reactions of the average consumer because it reduces analytical thinking upon the first view. You may not notice it now, but red is in almost everything that pushes, aggravates, pains, or drives us: stop signs, red volume bars on stock charts, sale announcements, incorrect answers on tests. Scientifically speaking, red possesses its trademark ability to intensify emotions because it has the longest wavelength, which makes it the first colour that a consumer will notice and interact with right away.
Green
On the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, green holds a more calming, restful, pleasing, and wholly-positive aura and impact that invokes desirable emotions out of a consumer and puts them at ease. The emotional serenity brought about by green is rooted in its ability to avoid the need for adjustment when it reaches the retina (as opposed to the colour red’s harsh effect that calls for sudden readjustment).
Given the fact that green sits right in the middle of the colour spectrum, it is a balanced choice that puts a consumer at their best self to understand their potential purchasing decision before actually carrying it out. In terms of symbolism, green is commonly associated with nature, fertility, and eco-friendliness. However, it is worth noting that it can also be linked to negative concepts, such as envy and sickness.
Final words
Colours play a significant role in the way we, as humans, perceive, act, and feel—even more so when it comes to playing our role as consumers. With the help of brand colour psychology, you can harness the power of colours and use them to reach your goals and help your customers move along the sales journey in a certain way that’s more conducive for desirable results!
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