It\u2019s not just a hippie new age inspired idea. Color has long had a huge role to play in global marketing departments simply because it\u2019s one of the key tenets in subliminal marketing.<\/p>\n
Subliminal marketing is about sending a non-verbal, non-textual message to your customers; a very discreet but direct feeling you relay to them about your product or service simply by the color choice of your product, logo, marketing materials, office schemes and more. In fact, about 80% of your visual information is relayed by color.<\/p>\n
Popular laundry detergents are all in either blue, orange or yellow packages, if not a combination of those colors. Over-the-counter medicines have darker\/brighter colors and the same tacky tones. There is a reason, and it\u2019s not just about packaging.<\/p>\n
Think of your favorite digital publication; it too will have incorporate a strategic use of color, even down to the background, accent and text colors. Now think of your favorite publication across a couple of industries and note the difference there. Anything new media inspired tends to have a cloud blue, a bright but subdued orange with grey as an accent color. Anything in news media will have more bold colors with darker tones.<\/p>\n
So what do these colors mean? And how do you choose the right color? By understanding what colors symbolize and the effect they have on people.<\/p>\n
Red<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Red demands attention. It\u2019s the color of primal forces like fire and blood, which links it with today\u2019s association of extremes, passion, danger and adventure. Red is often a favorite color for people, but that doesn\u2019t mean you should automatically reach for it. There\u2019s a difference between \u201cred pen\u201d shades based on \u201ctomato reds\u201d and more striking colors like blue-reds. It\u2019s a general marketing rule that text shouldn\u2019t be in tomato reds since it hurts the eyes and is hard to read. This shade also creates an unfavorable association with errors (like those of red pen markups). If you\u2019re going to use red beyond packaging, then opt for blue-reds.<\/p>\n Yellow<\/b><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Yellow is the most visible color in the color spectrum, which is why road signs are often in yellow. In brighter and pastel shades, yellow is the color of happiness. In darker shades, yellow implies illness. You\u2019ll rarely see yellow used in marketing. If you\u2019re going to use yellow, pair it as an accent color to a shade of its opposite on the color wheel, which ensures your two colors are complementary.<\/p>\n Blue<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Blue is commonly associated with calm, clarity and royalty. Specifically, dark blue implies trust, intelligence and authority. Bright blue shades get you cleanliness and dependability, which is why all cleaning product commercials have blue and white in them. And finally, light blue traditionally translates to more ethereal feelings; though today that feeling can be extended to visionary associations, which is why you\u2019ll see it used in many new media\/technology websites. You can almost never go wrong with blue; again, you can go wrong with the shade you choose, depending on your industry\/product or service.<\/p>\n Green<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The color of money and now the top color of the go-green environmental movement. While these two associations may seem very different from one another, they\u2019re not. They both linked to fertility and growth; in terms of money, everyone wants more of it. If you\u2019re in the popular \u201cgreen\u201d industry, stay away from clich\u00e9 bright greens. Try something more subdued and pair it with a sky blue for impact.<\/p>\n