For example, your app icon would be blue and black and your logo on printed shirts would be red and black.
Before we go on to talk about logos, let us discuss the colours a bit more vividly so that we can understand how they affect our brain and day to day activities. Being an HR I did help in planning logo designs. Colour is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and even influence physiological reactions. Certain colours have been associated with increased blood pressure, increased metabolism, and eyestrain. In 1666, English scientist Sir Isaac Newton discovered that when pure white light passes through a prism, it separates into all the visible colours. Newton also found that each colour is made up of a single wavelength and cannot be separated any further into other colours. Further experiments demonstrated that light could be combined to form other colours. For example, red light mixed with yellow light creates an orange colour. Some colours, such as green and magenta, cancel each other out when mixed and result in a white light. If you have ever painted, then you have probably noticed how certain colours can be mixed to create other colours.
"Given the prevalence of colour, one would expect colour psychology to be a well-developed area," researchers Andrew Elliot and Markus Maier have noted. "Surprisingly, little theoretical or empirical work has been conducted to date on colour’s influence on psychological functioning, and the work that has been done has been driven mostly by practical concerns, not scientific rigor." Despite the general lack of research in this area, the concept of colour psychology has become a hot topic in marketing, art, design, and other areas. Much of the evidence in this emerging area is anecdotal at best, but researchers and experts have made a few important discoveries and observations about the psychology of colour and the effect it has on moods, feelings, and behaviours.
Now let us look at each colour individually and understand how it makes us feel:
1. Black: The colour black has different symbolic meanings. But individual reactions to the colour black can vary widely. According to German scientist Hermann von Helmholtz, "Black is real sensation, even if it is produced by entire absence of light. The sensation of black is distinctly different from the lack of all sensation." Black absorbs all light in the colour spectrum. According to colour psychology, there are many different associations and characteristics of the colour. For example, black is associated with death and mourning in many cultures. It is also associated with unhappiness, sexuality, formality, and sophistication. In ancient Egypt, black represented life, and rebirth.
2. White: White represents purity or innocence. While a bride wearing white was often thought to convey the bride's virginity, blue was once a traditional colour worn by brides to symbolize purity. White is bright and can create a sense of space or add highlights. Designers often use the colour white to make rooms seem larger and more spacious. White is also described as cold, bland, and sterile. Rooms painted completely white can seem spacious, but empty and unfriendly. Hospitals and hospital workers use white to create a sense of sterility. Some of the positive meanings that white can convey include cleanliness, freshness, and simplicity. The colour white often seems like a blank slate, symbolizing a new beginning or a fresh start. On the negative side, white can seem stark, cold, and isolated. Consider how a large, white, empty room might seem boring, bland, and stark.
3. Red: In colour psychology, red provokes the strongest emotions of any colour. While cool colours like green and blue are generally considered peaceful and calming, red is considered the warmest and most contradictory of the colours. In fact, this fiery hue has more opposing emotional associations than any other colour: Red is linked to passion and love as well as power and anger. Thanks to its long wavelength, red is one of the most visible colours in the colour spectrum (second only to yellow). Its ability to instantly grab people's attention is the reason why it is often used to warn people of impending danger. Think: stop signs, sirens, fire engines, and red traffic lights.
Red is also used to convey danger in a non-literal way. Some examples include using the phrase "in the red" to describe financial loss or "red flag" to indicate when something is wrong with a person or situation. People tend to associate red with negative, danger-bearing emotions. This could be because it is the colour of fire, blood, and sometimes of poisonous or dangerous animals.
This stimulating colour is also associated with excitement.
Studies show that being exposed to or wearing red can cause some of the following physical effects:
i. Elevated blood pressure
ii. Enhanced metabolism
iii. Increased heart rate
iv. Increased respiration rate
All these physiological changes naturally cause your energy levels to spike. The colour is also known to increase your appetite by increasing your metabolism, which is why red is such a popular colour in restaurants. Across cultures, people intuitively associate red with the concept of anger. This relationship makes sense given that many people get red in the face from increased blood flow when they are angry.
The expression "seeing red" is thought to be based on the physical characteristics associated with anger, including redness of the face and neck, which are caused by elevated blood pressure. It is not just mood and emotions that the colour red can affect. In the arena of sports, wearing the colour red can also increase your chances of winning. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, competitors in four sports—boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling, and taekwondo—were randomly assigned red or blue clothing. In all four competitions, red-clad contestants won more fights.
In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, competitors in four sports—boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling, and taekwondo—were randomly assigned red or blue clothing. In all four competitions, red-clad contestants won more fights. Many think these results are due to the link between red and perceived dominance. For instance, donning a red uniform may cause an athlete to feel dominant and perform more aggressively. Alternatively, athletes in red may be seen as more aggressive, more dominant, and more likely to win a physical competition not only by their opponents but also by the referees. Whatever the reason, red-clad athletes tend to have a significant advantage over their opponents. But red does not always signal danger and aggression. Perhaps not surprisingly, red is also linked to passion, love, and desire. These associations could explain why people wearing red are consistently rated as more attractive by the opposite sex.
In a landmark study published in 2008, researchers showed men an image of a woman and asked them to rate her attractiveness. Some men saw a woman wearing a red shirt while others saw the same woman wearing a blue shirt. Results showed that men rated the woman in red as more sexually desirable than the same woman in blue. Red can also represent power, a relationship that can be found all over modern-day society. The "power tie" worn by businessmen across the globe is, traditionally, red. And do not forget the hallowed "red carpet" that is only rolled out for the most prestigious celebrities and dignitaries. According to some, this association with power and wealth is the reason why women find men dressed in red so attractive.
4. Blue: Blue is described as a favourite colour by many people and is the colour most preferred by men. Because blue is favoured by so many people, it is often viewed as a non-threatening colour that can seem conservative and traditional. Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity. It is often described as peaceful, tranquil, secure, and orderly. Blue is often seen as a sign of stability and reliability. Businesses that want to project an image of security often utilize blue in their advertising and marketing efforts. Blue can also create feelings of sadness or aloofness. Consider how a painting that heavily features blue, such as those produced by Picasso during his "blue period," can seem so lonely, sad, or forlorn. Blue is often used to decorate offices because research has shown that people are more productive in blue rooms. Blue is one of the most popular colours, but it is one of the least appetizing. Some weight loss plans even recommend eating your food off a blue plate. Blue rarely occurs naturally in food aside from blueberries and some plums. Also, humans are geared to avoid foods that are poisonous and blue colouring in food is often a sign of spoilage or poison. Blue can also lower the pulse rate and body temperature.
5. Green: Green is a cool colour that symbolizes nature and the natural world. Perhaps because of its strong associations with nature, green is often thought to represent tranquillity, good luck, health, and jealousy. Researchers have also found that green can improve reading ability. Some students may find that laying a transparent sheet of green paper over reading material increases reading speed and comprehension. Green has long been a symbol of fertility and was once the preferred colour choice for wedding gowns in the 15th-century. Even today, green M&M's (an American chocolate candy) are said to send a sexual message. Green is often used in decorating for its calming effect. For example, guests waiting to appear on television programs often wait in a “green room” to relax. Green is thought to relieve stress and help heal. Those who have a green work environment experience fewer stomach-ache. Green's calming effects may be due to its associations with nature, which people often feel is relaxing and refreshing. While some find green a relaxing colour, others find that it gives them a feeling of excitement. It is a colour that just radiates compassion.
6. Yellow: Since yellow is the most visible colour, it is also the most attention-getting colour. Yellow can be used in a small amount to draw notice, such as on traffic signs or advertisements. Yellow is also the most fatiguing to the eye due to the high amount of light that is reflected. Using yellow as a background on paper or computer monitors can lead to eyestrain or vision loss in extreme cases. Yellow can also increase metabolism. Yellow can also create feelings of frustration and anger. While it is considered a cheerful colour, people are more likely to lose their tempers in yellow rooms and babies tend to cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is a bright colour that is often described as cheery and warm. Yellow is often perceived as being a high-energy colour. It is often used in situations and products intended to create a sense of excitement or energy. It is bright and immediately grabs the eye. It can seem fresh, intense, overwhelming, or even brash and forceful in its energy. While it can be an energetic colour, this intensity can also have a downside. Sometimes yellow can come off as extremely aggressive and even confrontational. In great quantities, people may be left feeling irritated or even angry when surrounded by yellow.
7. Purple: Purple is the symbol of royalty and wealth. In ancient times, creating dyes to colour fabric often required a great deal of effort and expense, especially for certain colours. Because purple is less common in nature, the resources needed to create a dye in this colour were much harder to come by and much more costly. The colour purple became associated with wealth and royalty because very often the rich were the only individuals who could afford such expensive items. During the 15th century, the city of Tyre along the coast of Ancient Phoenicia began producing purple dye by crushing the shells of a small sea snail. The resulting color became known as Tyrian purple and was so well-known it was mentioned in Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid. Alexander the Great and the kings of Egypt also wore clothing coloured with the famous Tyrian purple. This connection with royalty was not just restricted to ancient times. Purple was the colour of choice for tickets to Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. Purple also represents wisdom and spirituality. It’s rare and mysterious nature perhaps causes it to seem connected to the unknown, supernatural, and divine. In writing, the phrase 'purple prose' is sometimes used to describe writing that his extremely imaginative or even prone to exaggeration, hyperbole, or outright lies. Visually, purple is one of the most difficult colours to discriminate. It also has the strongest electromagnetic wavelength, being just a few wavelengths up from x-rays and gamma rays. For this reason, it is often used in visual illusions such as the lilac chaser illusion. Purple does not often occur in nature; it can sometimes appear exotic or artificial. For this reason, it tends to be quite a polarizing colour. People tend to either really love purple or really hate it. Consider some of the symbolic uses of the colour purple. In the U.S., the Purple Heart is one of the highest honours for bravery in military service.
8. Brown: Brown is a natural colour that evokes a sense of strength and reliability. It is often seen as solid, much like the earth, and it is a colour often associated with resilience, dependability, security, and safety. Brown can also create feelings of loneliness, sadness, and isolation. In large quantities, it can seem vast, stark, and empty, like an enormous desert devoid of life. Brown suggests feelings of warmth, comfort, and security. It is often described as natural, down-to-earth, and conventional, but brown can also be sophisticated. Darker colours like brown tend to be associated with more negative emotions. In branding and marketing, brown is associated with reliability, dependability, and nurturing. Popular brands that use brown in their logos and marketing include UPS, Hershey's, Cotton, Edy's, J.P. Morgan, and M&Ms.
9. Orange: Orange is a combination of yellow and red and is considered an energetic colour. Orange calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth. Orange is often used to draw attention, such as in traffic signs and advertising. Orange is energetic, which is perhaps why many sports teams use orange in their uniforms, mascots, and branding. Orange is also the colour of bright sunsets and fruits such as oranges and tangerines, so many people might associate the colour with the beauty of a setting sun or the refreshing taste of citrus. Orange is also linked to autumn and the colour of dying leaves and pumpkins. The colour is also heavily linked to Halloween in the United States, so it can sometimes have a dark or even cartoonish association. People often describe orange as bright, happy, and uplifting. In some cases, however, it can seem too bright and overwhelming. Much like purple, orange tends to be a controversial colour. People tend to either love it or hate it.
10. Pink: The colour pink, for example, is thought to be a calming colour associated with love, kindness, and femininity. Many people immediately associate the colour with all things feminine and girly. It might also suggest romance and holidays such as Valentine's Day. Some shades of pale pink are described as relaxing, while very bright, vibrant shades can be stimulating or even aggravating. Pink is a light red hue and is typically associated with love and romance. It is often described as a feminine colour, perhaps due to associations people form during early childhood. "Girls toys" are usually pink and purple, while "boys toys" are often red, yellow, green, or blue. People associate the colour with qualities that are often thought of as feminine, such as softness, kindness, nurturance, and compassion. Pink is thought to have a calming effect. One shade known as "drunk-tank pink" is sometimes used in prisons to calm inmates. While pink's calming effect has been demonstrated, researchers of colour psychology have found that this effect only occurs during the initial exposure to the colour. When used in prisons, inmates often become even more agitated once they become accustomed to the colour.
Sports teams sometimes paint the opposing team's locker room pink to keep the players passive and less energetic. The Iowa Hawkeyes have a pink visiting team locker room at their Kinnick Stadium conceived by Iowa coach Hayden Fry, who had majored in psychology at Baylor University. He believed that the all-pink room would mess with the minds of the opposing teams. People who are drawn to pink (or any specific colour) tend to have pleasant memories of the colour, while those who do not like it may have negative or unpleasant associations with it.
Now we will look from the business perspective.
1. Red in Business: To begin with, red is a warm and positive colour, a very physical colour which draws attention to itself and calls for action to be taken. In colour psychology red means energy, passion, action, strength, and excitement. It stimulates the physical senses such as the appetite, lust, and sexual passion. Although it is often used to express love, it really relates more to sexual passion and lust whereas pink relates more to romantic love. Red represents masculine energy, whereas its softer version, pink, is associated with feminine energy. A universal sign of danger and warning, this is a colour that can also show and create aggressiveness and anger, particularly if used to excess in the wrong applications.
2. Orange in Business: To begin with, it is a warm, vibrant, and flamboyant colour. It is energy combined with fun, the colour of the risk-taker, the extrovert and the uninhibited. In colour psychology it means adventure, optimism, self-confidence, and sociability. Physiologically, orange vitalizes, inspires, and creates enthusiasm. It is stimulating to the appetite and social conversation and therefore works well in restaurants and other food outlets. This can be achieved by using some form of the colour in the décor, such as in the furnishings or the lighting. It does not need to be bright orange - salmon, coral, terracotta, and other versions of it will work as well. An up-market restaurant will look more elegant with subdued versions of orange. Combine with aubergine, purple, or blue for a unique, contemporary, and classy look. Psychologically, in business applications orange gives the impression of affordability, depending on the shade chosen and its combination with other colours. Too much of it can suggest cheapness. Use your own judgment on how it affects you - if it looks cheap to you, it will do the same for others. More gentle than red, orange represents a more feminine energy and the energy of creation.
3. Yellow in Business To begin with, yellow is a warm and happy colour which creates a sense of cheerfulness and playfulness. Psychologically, it is optimistic, uplifting and illuminating, brightening people's spirits. Yellow stimulates the logical side of the brain and mental clarity. It promotes wisdom and academic proficiency. It inspires original thinking and creative ideas. Physiologically, yellow stimulates the mind and mental activity. It increases the analytical processes and our logical reasoning, helping with decision-making. Yellow is a great color for children's products, particularly combined with other bright primary or secondary colors. It is stimulating to their mind and their creativity. For many leisure products, particularly those that promote playful and fun activities, yellow is a beneficial color. It will enhance the promotion of any fun and entertainment businesses. Apart from the above types of businesses, in general it is best to use yellow as a highlight color - too much can cause agitation and anxiety, particularly with older people. Avoid its use where you are trying to impart a message of stability. Use yellow where you want to keep people moving. Most people cannot stay for long where there is a lot of yellow. Fast food outlets use it combined with red to encourage people to eat lots quickly then move on.
It is a good to incorporate yellow in the promotion of point of sale purchases - the eyes see yellow first and with so many other distractions in retail stores, you need to capture your customer's attention quickly. Do not use yellow to sell expensive items to men who see it as cheap and unsophisticated. Do not use dirty versions of yellow such as mustard - they have negative connotations. Yellow with black provides a warning and is often used in safety signs for this reason.
4. Green in Business: Green is a colour of growth and vitality, associated with new life and renewal. Psychologically it relates to balance and harmony of the mind, the body, and the emotions. It assists in decision making by helping us to see all sides clearly. Physiologically, it balances people's emotions, creating a sense of calm. Green is associated with nature, health and healing, and the environment, creating a sense of compassion and nurturing for all. It encourages generosity, kindness, and sympathy. Darker greens relate to money, wealth, and prestige, while lighter greens relate to growth and freshness. Green is regarded as the colour of money in the Western world. Too much green can lead to feelings of envy, greed, and selfishness. Dirty olive green can have negative connotations unless it is associated with the environment.
5. Turquoise in Business: The messages the colour sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success. Psychologically, turquoise represents clarity of thought and communication. It inspires self-expression, encouraging people to tune into their own needs. Physiologically, turquoise calms the emotions and recharges the spirit, invigorating depleted energy levels and inspiring positive thought. Turquoise is a beneficial colour for any business related to communication, including teachers, trainers, public speakers, media communication and computer technology. Turquoise is a good colour for health clinics and practitioners as it balances the emotions and calms the spirit. Using turquoise for cleaning products is ideal as it reflects cleanliness and purity without being too sterile. Too much turquoise creates indecision as people swing between the blue energy and the yellow energy that comprises turquoise. Balance it with either some red, pink, magenta or purple.
6. Blue in Business: It relates to trust, honesty, and dependability, therefore helping to build customer loyalty. Blue indicates confidence, reliability, and responsibility. It relates to one-to-one communication rather than mass communication. It inspires wisdom and higher ideals but is also conservative and predictable. Physiologically, blue is calming, reducing tension and fear. It slows the pulse rate and reduces appetite. Being a cool colour, it creates a sensation of space. Blue adds strength and unity and is therapeutic to the mind and body. It brings harmony to the spoken word. Blue works well for the corporate world and is often used for more conservative types of businesses such as accountants, insurance companies, banks, and other financial companies where trust and reliability are important. Younger people see blue in general as a colour relating to maturity and the adult market, unless it is a bright electric blue of course. Too much blue can encourage boredom, manipulation, or a rigid outlook.
7. Indigo in Business: Indigo or deep midnight blue is a powerful colour related to the right side of the brain. It resonates to the 'New Age' way of thinking. Psychologically, it conveys integrity and deep sincerity and stimulates creativity and intuition. While it is connected to structure, tradition, ritual, and ceremony, it can also transform people's thinking and beliefs into developing new insights and a pioneering spirit. It imparts a message of great responsibility and high ideals. Physiologically, it helps broaden the mind and free it of fears and inhibitions. Indigo is also the colour of the fanatic and the conformist as well as the addictive personality. It can, however, be depressing and boring to some people.
8. Purple in Business: The messages the colour sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success. Purple suggests wealth and extravagance, fantasy, and the world of dreams. It enhances spiritual pursuits and enlightenment. Physiologically, it heightens people's sense of beauty and their reaction to more creative ideas. It is often used to denote a high quality or superior product, such as Cadbury's chocolate or some women's cosmetics. If you are in a service business, use some purple in your marketing to denote your premium service. Purple is often connected with the 18 to 25-year-old market as they see it as sexy and rebellious, while innovative designers connect it with sophistication and power. It is most often used by businesses in creative fields -designers, psychics and cosmetic manufacturers are common users of it. Purple is a colour that works well with gold, taupe, turquoise, jade green, deep red, magenta and yellow. Combined with orange it creates a unique contemporary look.
9. Magenta in Business: Magenta is a colour of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life. Magenta represents universal love at its highest level. It promotes compassion, support and kindness and encourages a sense of self-respect and contentment in those who use it. It can assist ambitions and desires to become reality. Physiologically magenta helps us to flow with life and let go of old ideas. Magenta is a strong and inspiring colour which can appear outrageous and shocking on one hand or innovative and imaginative on the other. It is particularly attractive to the non-conformists in the community.
10. Pink in Business: Psychologically pink is associated with compassion, nurturing, love, and romance. It is feminine and youthful in its softer shades, with more passion and energy in its deeper shades. Pink is inspiring, warm, and comforting, suggesting hope for the future. It is calming and non-threatening. Physiologically, it calms and reassures our emotional energies, alleviating feelings of anger, aggression, resentment, abandonment, and neglect. This is a colour usually used in businesses relating to the female market such as cosmetics, fashion, beauty, and romance. Combining it with darker colours gives it more sophistication and strength.
11. Gold in Business: Psychologically it is seen as the colour of inner wisdom, quality, and wealth. It is associated with prestige, luxury, and material wealth, suggesting that a product or service is expensive and exclusive. Physiologically, it can induce great feelings of happiness and bliss or alternatively, deep anxiety and fear. It implies generosity of time, money, and spirit. It is the colour of victory, hence the use of gold medals for winners. When used with purple it can indicate wealth and beauty and is associated with expensive luxury items. Used with dark blue it suggests honesty, trustworthiness, and success. Used with black it suggests extreme opulence, elegance, and wealth. Using it with white creates an elegant impression.
12. Silver in Business: Silver is a colour associated with prestige and wealth. It is seen as a sophisticated colour related to female energy, prosperity, and modernity. With its reflective qualities it relates to intuition, clairvoyance, and mental telepathy. Physiologically, silver is calming and soothing, with a lightness that is more uplifting than gray. Silver is a fluid colour, ever changing, calming, purifying. It is the colour of the moon with its ever-changing moods relating to emotional and sensitive energies - it is compassionate. It has a degree of mystery about it - like the moon itself. Silver is patience, reflection, perseverance, dignified, soothing & calming, self-control, organization, and responsibility. It is illuminating and balancing (neither black nor white). On packaging silver looks sleek, smooth, and lustrous. It has a coolness about it that relates to the future and science and technology.
13. Black in Business: Psychologically black means authority, power, and control. In many situations it can be intimidating, unfriendly and unapproachable. Alternatively, it be sophisticated, dignified, and serious. Physiologically, it is intimidating and controlling, although its power can instil confidence in some. Black creates an air of mystery and secrecy. Sometimes people hide behind its unapproachable facade. In exceedingly small amounts it can add strength and confidence without becoming overpowering. Black is favoured by the youth market aged approximately 16 to 25, who are still trying to find their own sense of identity and place in this world. Those who are achievement oriented and ambitious also favour black. Black board with printing in any of the jewel colours of red, emerald green, magenta, or bright blue, or gold, silver or white will create a dramatic impression. Black packaging can make an item appear expensive and heavier.
14. White in Business: In colour psychology white is the colour of new beginnings, wiping the slate clean, so to speak. It is the blank canvas waiting to be written upon. While white is not stimulating to the senses, it opens the way for the creation of anything the mind can conceive. Physiologically, white is calming as it creates simplicity, organization, and efficiency out of chaos. It clears the way forward. White's basic feature is equality, implying fairness and impartiality, neutrality, and independence. It is a reassuring colour which helps to create order and proficiency. White amplifies everything in its way and too much of it can give an impression of sterility, coldness, disinterest, and detachment. White is useful in businesses where cleanliness is imperative, such as dental surgeries and medical centres, but these businesses need some green or pink to assist in healing and to create a calm and caring atmosphere for patients.
15. Gray in Business: Gray is a conservative colour signifying neutrality, indifference, and reserve. Physiologically, gray can drain you of energy, be depressing or uplifting, depending on how much lightness and white is in the gray. Dark gray is more depressing than light gray. Gray serves as a good background for other colours as it does not attract attention, allowing the other colours to take prominence. Gray suggests security, reliability, modesty, maturity, and dullness. It can imply that you cannot make decisions, 'the fence-sitter', that you do not have an opinion on anything.
16. Brown in Business: Psychologically, brown is associated with strength and solidarity, comfort and earthiness, maturity, and reliability. Physiologically, brown gives people either reassurance and comfort or a feeling of dirtiness and suffocation. Brown relates to the acquisition of material possessions which implies security and safety, comfort, and homeliness. Brown suggests endurance, duty, and stability. It relates to the outdoors, the practical and down-to-earth and the family unit. Many men love brown due to its strength, security, and practicality. Sometimes brown is regarded as a neutral colour, although the lighter versions of it such as beige and taupe tend to work better as background neutrals than the deeper shades of brown. Be aware that many, particularly women, find brown to be boring and too earthy, even dirty.
Now we will try to understand the connection between the colours and logo.
In recent years, researchers have attempted to establish the importance of colour in influencing consumer behaviour. Marketers are using colour in innovative ways as brand can establish an effective visual identity and help the product achieve a unique competitive position in the market. Marketing managers can use knowledge about colours to choose an appropriate colour scheme for logos, packaging, advertisements etc. to reinforce a specific brand personality. Designers must understand the meaning behind the colours and use the right one. Red is an intense colour. Green symbolizes life and renewal. In manufacturing, green represent eco-friendly companies. Blue, the most popular colour, represents confidence, dignity, and trustworthiness. Image is mainly the combination of cognitive, logical, and emotional. Colour creates a match between brand logo and the personality dimensions (excitement and red, competence & blue, sophistication & black). Combination of colour and shape of the logo drives likability and familiarity though. Colours can help create a distinct brand identity. For example – Pepsi changed the colour in its logo from red to blue. Dell offers an assortment of colourful laptops. Apple ipods are available in different colours. Nike customers can choose a colour for their shoes. Even the shape of the logo influences consumer behaviour (Henderson & Cote, 1998). In India, Asian Paints, a manufacturing company gives the option to mix colours and discover new shades of paints. Multi-colour logos aid brand recognition. Colours chosen to depend on the purpose of the logo and the type of product that is going to be marketed. Youth oriented products have colours that reflect exuberance, enthusiasm, energy and responsible carelessness. Colours like yellow, orange, red and green represent food brands. Green indicates energy, environment, and freshness. So green is a popular colour. Logos of feminine products are coloured pink. Red represents boldness. Orange is supposed to be appealing to kids – but these kinds of opinions are more subjective and less based on market research. Even market research may not include a truly representative sample and so generalizing based on the opinions of a few respondents is not fair. Colour induces moods and emotions, influences consumers’ perceptions and behaviour and helps companies position or differentiate from the competition (Aslam, 2006). Selection of colour in a corporate logo is dependent on its cultural values, desired customer relationship levels with the firm, marketing objectives and corporate communications. Colour preferences require high involvement decisions (Foroudi et al, 2014) (Grossman & Wisenblit, 1999). Colours have a physiological effect. Different colours have different impact on people (Hynes, 2009). Colours make the logo alive, offer an instantaneous method for conveying meaning and message to the logo – it is the most influential nonverbal form of communication. Colour has played an important role in influencing buyer behaviour in retail industry (Singla & Aggarwal, 2016). Color induces moods and emotions, influences consumers’ perceptions and behaviour and helps companies position or differentiate from the competition (Aslam, 2006). Selection of color in a corporate logo is dependent on its cultural values, desired customer relationship levels with the firm, marketing objectives and corporate communications. Colour preferences require high involvement decisions (Foroudi et al, 2014) (Grossman & Wisenblit, 1999). Colours have a physiological effect. Different colours have different impact on people (Hynes, 2009). Colours make the logo alive, offer an instantaneous method for conveying meaning and message to the logo – it is the most influential nonverbal form of communication. Colour has played an important role in influencing buyer behaviour in retail industry (Singla & Aggarwal, 2016). Colours play an important role in logos. Mc Donald’s logo is yellow because yellow is a colour that stimulates appetite. IBM’s blue logo is representative of authority, success, and security. Colours, flowers, fragrances, music – all these have therapeutic powers. Markets have used these attributes to their advantage. Walmart also chose blue colour for its logo as blue evoked a sense of modernity and trustworthiness. Walmart used an asterisk like symbol that looked like a bulb. This was a hint that Walmart customers were smart and intelligent and took advantage of affordable, quality products. While designing a logo, the designer must pay attention to colour. Colours appeal to the emotions of consumers. Choosing the right colour for a logo is a delicate decision that needs to be arrived carefully. As businesses expand their footprint globally, they must demonstrate cultural sensitivity while choosing colours. Colours chosen must espouse the values that the organization wishes to demonstrate to customers.
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