What is your favourite colour? Sage? Lilac? Mahogany? Did you know that there exist about 10 million colours in the world? So what made you choose your favourite colour? How did you pick that “okay, this is the one I like the most”?
There’s a whole science behind the meaning of colour and why each of them is significant. Colours add perspective, they hold power; colours can make something go from dull and dreary to appealing and energetic or vice versa.
As I mentioned that colours have meanings that stem from psychological effects, biological conditioning and cultural developments. Some colour meanings are hard-wired in our brains because we’ve always seen them as such, like how we associate red with anger and pink with love.
Colour influences 85% of shoppers’ purchase decisions.
As a designer, it is essential to be aware of these colour meanings to help you choose your colours wisely and tap into the magical power of colour symbolism. Since everyone perceives colours differently there is no such thing as an ideal colour palette that would please everyone. In order to make an effective design, one has to study and understand the meaning of colour to convey the message to the target audience.
Colours increase brand awareness by 80%
When people see your brand, your products, your marketing or your logo, they may not remember the details of these things but they do remember the colour. Similarly, colour affects how consumers feel when they look at your brand and helps your brand stand out in the crowd. Like every time you see a black drink with a red wrapper, you assume that it’s Coca-Cola, even if it isn’t.
Types of Colours
Warm Colours: The positivity colours
These colours are bright and evoke warmth, enthusiasm, joy and passion.
Cool Colours: The moody colours
These colours set a calming, relaxing and sometimes dull & dreary tone.
Neutral Colours: The earth colours
These colours are often paired with warm or cool colours and give off a very sophisticated look.
Colours – The Spectrum
Each colour has its own meaning and symbolism. There are the direct meanings that we all know of, and then there are the in-depth meanings that each colour hides. As a designer or when starting your brand, knowing these meanings is crucial to getting a good response from your target audience.
The Red Colour
Red depicts strength, anger, love, passion; all the intense emotions, making this a powerful colour in branding. It stands out, is impactful and has the ability to make something desirable. Some popular brands using red as their signature colour include Netflix and Coca-Cola.
The Blue Colour
Blue is for calm, trust, responsibility and intelligence. Different shades of blue are used for depth and adding, or subtracting, how impactful the colour is. It gives a professional vibe and hence is used by many companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Procter & Gamble.
The Yellow Colour
The colour yellow is associated with happiness, sunshine and all things good. It is the colour that radiates positivity, youth and instantly grabs your attention. The golden M from Mcdonald’s is one of the most popular uses of the colour in a brand.
The Green Colour
This colour is universally attached to nature. Representing growth and harmony, this colour is commonly used during rebranding. A darker shade of green is often used to show wealth and stability. Famous brands that use different shades of green include Starbucks and Spotify.
The Colour Wheel
All colours are spectacular on their own but when pairing them together, you need to be very careful about which colours go well together and which don’t.
There are different ways you can pair colours together for example opposites, colours next to each other, equilateral triangles and so much more!
To learn more about which colours best suit your brand, hit us up and we’ll get you a colour palette that’s a sight for sore eyes! You can find us here https://g-murtaza.com/work-with-us/
