by Nicole Hines June 16, 2022
3 min read
When it comes to branding and your visual identity, color is often the first thing people notice. The use of color, more importantly, the correct colors, are essential for establishing your brand's identity. Color helps with audience recognition. Think of huge brands like Coca-Cola or Mcdonald's. When one thinks of those brands, one instantly associates them with the colors of their brand. That’s because the color is linked to memory and recognition. It's sometimes easier to remember a brand's color than the logo's appearance.
The psychology of colors also tells us that it's widely linked to mood. Certain colors impact our mood and how we feel when we associate them with the product. Brand specialists have used the psychological effects of color to create feelings in potential customers, build trust or engagement, and incite interest in the product. Larger retailers use color psychology to persuade customers to make purchases and encourage smaller businesses to do so.
Let’s unpack some of the popular colors and how they could be perceived by customers.
Red
Red is associated with excitement and energy. It suggests passion and is proven to increase your heart rate. The best example of a brand using and owning red is Coca-Cola. It’s a powerful color and according to Pantone, it encourages people to take risks.
Yellow
Yellow suggests optimism and promise. It's a cheerful color that is playful, joyous and demands attention. Its association with joy, happiness, and energy has been shown to encourage mental activity, generate muscle energy, and on the whole, cheer you up.
Blue
Blue is one of the most popular choices of color for brands. It is associated with trust and helps instil confidence. It helps people become calm.
Green
Green is a color of optimism, often featured in people’s ‘favourite colors’. It represents nature, stability, and prosperity. A wide range of brands use green in their branding.
Purple
Purple has a long connection to wealth, and luxury is traced through history with its link to nobility and kings. Redolent of this history and tradition, purple is at once commanding and opulent, lavish while maintaining its regal narrative. It is also evocative of the fantastic, suggesting wisdom, creativity, and imagination.
Pink
Pink is a very calming color that is often associated with love, kindness, and femininity. Many people immediately associate the color with all things feminine especially because of holidays like Valentine’s Day. Some shades of pale pink are described as relaxing, while very bright, vibrant shades can be stimulating or even aggravating.
White
White denotes simplicity, cleanliness, and virtue. It has broad applications and is often used by brands as part of their branding.
Black
The color black is timeless, elegant, and sophisticated. Using black in your logo is a bold move, letting consumers know that your product stands for itself. Classic and refined, a simple black logo is a surefire way to represent yourself as an exclusive, high-end experience.
It’s important to remember that the significance of colors can fluctuate depending upon culture, society and circumstances. When deciding which colors to use for your branding and packaging, you need to consider many factors. Many of our customers prefer purchasing our luxury folding gift boxes in traditional colors like white, black or navy. They then accessorise it with color using our ribbons or decorative closures. Color combinations can be fun and exciting too. Using multiple colors of ribbons to create a double ribbon bow look great. Double ribbon bows are a perfect way to customise the box. The entire look of the box changes just with the addition of the ribbon, and a double bow not only lifts the perceived value but the attention to detail in incorporating a brand’s personality.
We can’t wait to see the different color combinations you come up with.
