Next time you sit down to write a copy or a sales letter, make sure to address the Color with the same delicacy as you would the Font, Size and Position of the Headline. This is ultimately important because we are conditioned to notice color and to react to it in a certain way.
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Just to give you a quick example: what comes to mind when you think of McDonalds? I don’t know about you, but I almost instantly imagine the Yellow Arks of the letter “M” in front of me which makes me want French Fries sooo bad! Personally, I am way past that age when McDonalds used to excite me since now I fully realize what it represents. The fact remains though, that Yellow color immediately triggered a strong desire for food inside of me.
This little experiment (which you can do by yourself by the way) only goes to show you that the colors which are chosen for Marketing and Branding aren’t just incidental. They are carefully analyzed and suit every single aspect of a business they represent.
Now, in order for you to really understand how to use the colors for branding and marketing, here is a quick breakdown of the rainbow for you:
• WHITE – White is associated with innocence, purity, peace and contentment. It’s considered clean and sterile. It’s cool and refreshing. White can have a calming, stabilizing influence.
• BLACK – Black is the ultimate power color. It suggests strength, potency, authority, boldness, seriousness, stability and elegance. It’s distinguished and classic, great for creating drama. Black has more weight than other colors. Too much can be ominous.
• Gray or Silver – Gray can be associated with conservative qualities and considered traditional. Business-wise, it symbolizes high tech and suggests authority, practicality, earnestness and creativity.
• GOLD – Gold suggests wealth. It’s considered to be very classy.
• BLUE – Blue is the favorite color of many businesses. It suggests sanctuary and fiscal responsibility. It inspires confidence. It is the most popular and second most powerful color. Darker shades are authoritative. Dark and bright blues represent trust, security, faithfulness and dignity. Paler shades can imply freshness and cleanliness, although they can imply weakness.
• RED – Red stimulates many kinds of appetites. Red commands attention, alerts us and creates a sense of urgency. It’s considered the sexiest of all colors. Red symbolizes heat, fire, blood, love, warmth, power, excitement, energy, strength, passion, vitality, risk, danger and aggressiveness. Financially, it’s associated with debt.
• YELLOW – Yellow is the sunshine hue and is a spiritual color. Yellow represents a warning, but it can also bring happiness and warmth. The most preferred yellows are the creamy and warm ones. Bright yellow can be irritable to the eye in large quantities. Yellow speeds metabolism. It’s often used to highlight or draw attention.
• GREEN – People associate green with the color of money, as well as nature. Olive greens are associated with health and freshness — a good choice for environmental concerns. Green suggests fertility, freedom, healing and tranquility. Green represents jealousy. Businesses use it to communicate status and wealth. Green is a calming, refreshing color that is very easy on the eyes.
• BROWN – Brown is associated with nature and the earth. Dark browns represent wood or leather. Brown and shades of cream are associated with warmth and coziness. Brown suggests richness, politeness, helpfulness and effectiveness. It is solid, credible, mature and reliable. Light brown implies genuineness.
• ORANGE – Orange is associated with vibrancy and the tropics, as well as warmth and contentment. It can instill a sense of fun and excitement. It implies health. It suggests pleasure, cheer, endurance, generosity and ambition. It can make an expensive product seem more affordable. It appeals to a wide range of people, both male and female.
• PINK – Pink is considered a very feminine color. It represents gentleness, romance, well being and innocence.
• PURPLE – Purple represents royalty and luxury. In darker shades, it’s considered a wealthy color. It suggests spirituality and sophistication. In paler shades, such as lavender, it’s feminine and romantic.
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From now on, choose your colors carefully when it comes to branding and marketing in general. Try not to become a default user, stand out. Pick YOUR color, the color, which defies you best, and prove that you are worthy to represent it.