Success Advice

The Perfect Guide to Show How Colors Influence Your Audience

Published

4 years ago

Jan 1, 2020

Evan Brown

Image Credit: Unsplash

Have you ever thought about how different colors affect your mood? No? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Most people don’t know about this, but the colors you see all around you in the brands of various small and medium-sized businesses are not there by chance.

Colors can greatly affect the way we feel and behave, and many people have been using them, from interior designers to digital marketers, in order to produce certain wanted effects for brands.

Let’s take, as an example, the color palette in the McDonald’s logo:

Red and yellow, as everyone knows. These colors have not been chosen by chance. Teams of marketers and researchers worked on this to come up with the best colors for the brand. This is all because both red and yellow are warm colors, and they are both associated with stimulation and activity. More importantly, red is a color that increases your heart rate, which actually jumpstarts your appetite (yes, believe it or not), and yellow is a color that’s usually associated with warm happy days, but it’s also easy to spot in daylight and at night, which is why it’s so easy to see a McDonald’s sign.

This means that, in logo design, for example, one of the most important steps designers take is choosing the perfect color or color palette. But, how do colors really influence our mood? Keep on reading to understand the psychology behind colors!

Colors Make Us Feel A Certain Way

Have you ever walked into a blue room and felt completely relaxed? Or into a red room and instantly felt a bit anxious? That’s because these colors play on our perception of the world, our heart rate, and our feelings and emotions. Just like words, colors are a strong and powerful communication tool that can be used for many purposes, from influencing someone’s moods and decisions to give you physiological reactions.

The Psychological Effect Of Colors

Colors are so powerful that they have real effects on our minds and bodies. From raising your blood pressure to making you feel content or enthusiastic, there is nothing colors can’t do. The question here, though, is why? And how?

Sure, color perception can be subjective, we all have preferences, but some colors affect us all the same, and there is nothing we can do about it. Notice how people wearing red suddenly look more attractive? Yes, that’s just one example of the effects of the color red on our brains.

Different colors evoke different emotions in the color spectrum. In the graphic below, the top area reflects warm color where red and orange tones echo warmth and optimism. For example: Red-orange logos in the below example exude friendliness, cheerfulness, and passion.

On the other end of the color spectrum in logo design, we have cool colors, the ones on the blue-purple side. Colors such as green, blue, and purple are part of cool and they tend to convey a feeling of calm, mother nature, and sophistication.

Tips On How To Use Color To Influence Buying Behavior

Now that we’ve talked about different colors and the influence they have on people; let’s talk about how you can use this color psychology to influence buying behavior of their target audience:

Use Red to Create a Sense of Urgency

Red is a color that excites the senses, raises appetite, heart rate and blood pressure and creates a sense of urgency. This is the reason why brands use red frequently in clearance sales, fast food restaurants, etc.

red

You can use red if you’re just starting out and announcing your new store’s opening; when you’re hosting a sale or if you’re a restaurant that wants to entice your hungry customers.

Use Green to Focus on Healing and Relaxation

As mentioned above, green creates harmony, relaxation and tranquility in people; therefore, if you’re a brand which focuses on healing, relaxation and tranquility, use green. An example here would be of Starbucks—even though they’re the coffee connoisseurs, instead of using red to encourage appetite, their logo features a mermaid in rich green color which evokes a sense of relaxation, warmth and calmness, which is what they want their customers to feel as they take a coffee break in their store during a hectic workday.

Green

Therefore, if you’re a brand that wants their customers to have a relaxing shopping experience in your store, bringing a little foliage inside the room can make a huge difference.

Use Blue to Build Trust and Inspire Calm

If you’re a brand that wants to evoke trust and reliance in their customers, go for blue. Even having the walls of your store painted blue, or your website in hues of blue will benefit you.

blue

Moreover, since blue promotes productivity, having your designers, creators, writers or other employees working in a blue room will help in boosting their productivity.

Use Yellow and Orange for Drawing in Impulsive Buyers

Just like red, yellow and orange are also used for encouraging shoppers to buy from your store.

yellow/orange

Yellow is also used in many fashion stores to evoke a sense of cheerfulness and optimism, hence, attracting customers.

Use Purple for promoting Lavish Beauty Brands

If you’re a beauty brand that targets women of all ages, different hues of purple will be beneficial for you. Moreover, luxury brands can also benefit from this color as it creates a sense of power and luxury.

purple

Purple—especially in pastel—is associated with nostalgia. Therefore, if your brand is bringing in designs or concepts from the past, you can use purple in pastel to evoke nostalgia in your customers.

Use Black to showcase Authority, Power and Luxury

Black—just like purple—is also used for showcasing power and luxury.

black

Therefore, if yours is a statement brand, use of black in your logo or other marketing elements with plenty of negative space will resonate with your brand and evoke feelings of authority and class.

Use White to Be Creative and Convey Originality

Do you own a yoga or design studio? Then white is the color for you!

white

White is pure, clean and safe. Therefore, someone which showcases all these elements should use this color in their marketing elements. Moreover, if your business or the company you work for focuses on creativity, design, etc. using white can boost creativity as it is perceived as a clean and unaltered state.

Color psychology is one of the most interesting ones around, and it certainly explains a lot of our behavior. So, keep this in mind next time you’re hosting a sale or launching a new product because colors are an important factor that influences your audience’s buying behavior.

Have you ever given thought to how brands use colors to influence your behavior? Share your thoughts with us below!

Up Next

Doing it the Bill Gates Way: 7 Habits Every Leader Should Follow

Don't Miss

9 Traits You Need to Attract High-Paying Freelance Clients

Evan Brown

Evan Brown is a Graphic Designer, Blogger, and Marketing Strategist. He currently works at Design Mantic and has run several successful campaigns to accelerate marketing for the DIY logo maker tool. He has been working in the social media space since 2008, with a focus on design services, user interface planning, branding and others in the graphic design niche.

Click to comment

Success Advice

Mastering Self-Management for Success: Lessons From Peter F. Drucker

With careers no longer following a straight, predictable path, self-awareness and adaptability are essential for success.

Published

4 days ago

Dec 8, 2023

Benjamin Gruber

Image Credit: Midjourney

In today’s dynamic professional world, self-management has become increasingly important. With careers no longer following a straight, predictable path, self-awareness and adaptability are essential for success. (more…)

Success Advice

How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

Published

1 week ago

Dec 4, 2023

M.S. Rao

Image Credit: Midjourney

What is it that makes some people great leaders while others remain followers? What magic do they have that others don’t? What special blessing gives them the power to bring significant change? (more…)

Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 20, 2023

Jane Frankel

Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)

Image Credit: Midjourney

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

4 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.