Color Psychology Associated with Branding

As the psychology of colors and their effect on the human brain have advanced, some interesting new discoveries have been made correlating the various effects that different colors in a company’s logo could have on their consumers.

For the essence of this article, we will hit specifically on the applications of the prime colors in business marketing and modeling, as all other colors derive from these three colors. The prime colors are red, blue, and yellow. Also, “hot” colors refer to any colors that derive from the combination of the red and yellow prime colors, and “cold” colors refer to any color that is derived from the combination of the blue and yellow prime colors.

Now, with that said, it has been scientifically proven that “hot” and “cold” colors do invoke multiple different reactions from consumers. But how do they affect us on a day-to-day basis?

Well, for any business, the first thing that should be done before a logo is ever made is to decide a target audience for the brand. People all across the world have different backgrounds, upbringings, and experiences, and all of these differences will translate over to the way that any person views a specific color. However, people from similar geographic areas tend to view colors in the same way because of the cultural influence that impacts them similarly.

RED

As the main “hot” color on the prime color wheel/pyramid, red can perform a variety of tasks when it comes to business marketing. In general, red has been shown to produce two different kinds of reactions from consumers.

On the one hand, red is commonly associated with danger. The stop signs that Americans see on a daily basis is a good example of this because they are meant to protect drivers from danger by applying caution. In the same way, a stove may have a heat light that is red that indicates that it is unsafe to be near to it.

On the other hand, certain shades of red can indicate coziness, warmth, sexiness, and a myriad of other feelings.

So, depending on what business is using red, their brand logo may indicate danger, like a car repair shop, heating, like a house heat repairman, sexiness, like a lingerie store, or a large number of other kinds of businesses.

Good examples of companies that make use of the color red in their branding are Autozone, Youtube, Adam and Eve, and Morris Heating and Cooling.

YELLOW

In general, yellow almost always serves as a color that indicates urgency, caution or unsteadiness. Think first of the yellow light on a flashlight. It is there to indicate to a driver that they could soon be hit if they don’t make it through the intersection quickly enough. It sends the driver an urgent feeling, makes them cautious to speed through perhaps, and can sometimes make them unsure of what to do.

McDonald’s uses the color yellow explicitly in the branding of their clown and also have yellow all across their restaurants. They do this because they know that patrons won’t stay as long if they feel uneasy about being around the color, and this means that they can flip more tables (i.e. “fast” food) and make more money throughout the day.

Fast food establishments like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell all make effective use of the color yellow.

BLUE

Finally, blue is used as a color that indicates cool, mellow, or relaxation. Many A/C companies use this, naturally, because it shows a consumer that they can restore the coolness to their house.

Furthermore, one will often find that different types of bars, massage therapists, and other healthcare facilities will use blue often in their logos and architecture/interior design because they want consumers to feel safe and relaxed. Social Media also focuses around this color.

A few examples of companies that use blue predominantly in their branding are 5W PR, Facebook, Twitter, and many urgent care centers across America.

So, colors play a massive part in dictating how a customer feels about various brands. As such, creating a properly colored logo is a massive part of running a successful business.

Ronn Torossian of 5WPR is a Public Relations Executive and author of For Immediate Release. Torossian is a life long New Yorker.