My Grandfather was a grocery-man, he owned a small grocery store in Plano, TX. He was the one who painted the windows with the advertising of the week’s sales. I never saw any of these, I was too little to remember. But I do have his old paint brushes tucked away. And that brings us to color – the basics of colors haven’t changed much over the years, but the spectrum has certainly expanded.
Color and Logos: When we pick colors for logos, I like to look at what’s happening in the industry. If you are a fire related business, you’re probably going to have red and black in your logo, it would be weird to have a teal logo, and talk about fire. But, if you are a dentist or doctor, red is he last color you want. Realtors, they have the full spectrum going on! From red to teal to brown and yellow, you really have your preference.
What does color evoke in advertising:
Blue: is typically used in signage as information. It also tends to be noted to be more masculine. A few other associations:
- Calmness | Tranquility | Relaxation | Refreshing | Peace
- Stability | Responsibility (lawyers pull on this often)
- It also can evoke sadness… “feeling blue.”
Green: we see a lot of green with the uptick in eco-friendly and organic focused business. Associations include:
- Finances | Wealth
- Environment | Health | Wellness | Harmony
- Good luck (4 leaf clover)
- Growth | Balance
- Soothing | Renewal
Purple: is a great color, it is similar to black, in that it matches so many other colors brilliantly, while giving a sense of mystic, luxury, class. Common associations:
- Royalty | Luxury | Wealth
- Intrigue| Magical | Mystery
- Imagination | Spirituality
Red: A drive by Tacoma Boys and their great, old school, hand painted signs: red is sale! It is also action, emergency, do it now! But it has some other associations too!
- Passion | Love | Warmth
- Fire | Danger | Anger
- High Energy | Confidence
Orange: such a great color, friendly and cheerful. It somewhat shares traits of red, but it is more welcoming than danger.
- Youth | Vitality
- Affordable | Friendly | Humorous
- And of course, fall season change!
Yellow, also goes along with red – cautionary, but also can be a happy cheerful sunny color:
- Energy | Happiness | Cheerful | Warmth
- Danger (Maybe this should be Caution – Dewalt tools are perfect example – handle with care, but strong and gets the job done)
Pink: this is such a stereotyped color that we don’t get to use it very often. I’m sure someone has done massive research on how pink became so “girly” but for us let’s think about it as:
- Fun | Upbeat
- Sweet | Delicate
- Romantic | Peaceful
We’re not going to be able to break the stereotype, but I sure enjoy a good pink cupcake!
Gray: has become so much more a part of the color lineup the last few years. Dark gray and white is easier to read than black and white. But it has really become a part of our color use:
- It’s a great neutral – when you don’t want to be black, but you want the richness.
- Professional | Efficient
- Formal | Businesslike
Black: powerful and bold, but also very much a utility color we use it everywhere, similar to purple, we see similar associations:
- Luxury | Mystique | Power
- Elegance | Sexuality
- Darkness | Control
Black was so fitting for Batman!
White: clean, simple and fresh… but can also be too stark and we’re afraid to get it dirty!
- Cleanliness | Blankness
- Cold (snow) | Simple | Modern
And finally, Brown: its richness, the trust it evokes. We are also seeing more browns with the eco-friendly push, because of its closeness to our ground/dirt and trees.
- Reliable | Dependable
- Earthy | Natural | Warm
It does lean toward masculine, but looking at salons, such as Foxfire, I think that has changed over the years.
Much like my grandfather and his paintbrushes, we go on autopilot to select colors, they are ingrained in us. But, when we look around, we really do see and feel how these colors impact us.
