There's Much More To Color Than Meets The Eye

What you don't know about color could be hurting your business.


By Ken Peters, May 2009


There's much more to color than meets the eye. Color can cheer your customers up or calm them down. Color can increase employee productivity or make people sick and tire them out. The right color can communicate product attributes such as flavor, freshness and purity, while the wrong color can unintentionally communicate an insulting cultural bias.

Where and how you apply color – from your office or retail spaces, to your web site and printed collateral, to your product packaging and advertising – can have a tremendous impact on the success of your business. You need to know what color is communicating on behalf of you're brand. Test your color IQ by taking our quiz.*

Click on a color dot to skip to answer at bottom of page.

1) Among adults, what color is most liked woldwide?

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2) What is the first hue recognized by infants?

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3) What are two colors the elderly tend to favor?

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4) What food color is most popular among adults in Western nations?

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5) What color puts people in a bad mood if looked at too long?

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6) What color has a calming effect on people?

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7) What color is the most restful to the eyes?

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8) What is the most popular color for cleaning products?

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Answers:

1) Blue: According to several studies, adults prefer blue, followed by red, green, purple, yellow and orange. Nearly 50% of those surveyed in an American Roper Organization study named blue as their favorite color.

2) Yellow: At first, newborns only perceive differences between light and dark, but then their eyes are drawn to the most luminous color in the spectrum – yellow.

3) Blues and greens: Eye lenses yellow with advancing age, which may explain why elderly people gravitate toward hues of shorter wavelengths, and sometimes feel starved for blue.

4) Brown: Adults in western nations find brown particularly appetizing because it suggests a strong flavor and is associated with meats, breads and sauces. Except for desserts and candy, blue is the least appetizing since virtually no natural foods are that color.

5) Yellow: Yellow, especially bright lemon yellow, is the most luminous color in the spectrum and, hence, the most fatiguing color if viewed for long periods of time. Conversely, it is the most cheerful if seen at a glance. Studies show that couples fight more, and babies cry more, in lemon yellow rooms.

6) Pink: Interestingly, while red is the most energizing color; passive pink has a calming, sedating effect. The California children's probation department found that violent children have fewer outbursts when placed in a passive pink room.

7) Green: It is the most restful color because its light rays fall most directly on the retina. Considered an unflattering fashion color, green of subtle hues has risen in popularity as people become more ecology minded.

8) Blue: Not appealing for foods, blue is popular for cleaning fluids from detergent to beauty cleansers because it suggests hygiene and coolness.

For more on the importance of color in branding click here to read my earlier post, Color Yourself Successful.


*This information was sourced from a color study commissioned by The Corporate Design Foundation and conducted by Thome/Guido-Clark, a San Francisco-based color consultancy who work with automotive, textile, furniture and product designers.


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