Colour Theory

Colour Theory. How can understanding colours help your brand? Well, the psychology of colours within your business does not have just one right answer,  simple solution to all of your business problems, but with a bit of knowledge and thought, consideration of colours may help your business succeed!

So, what is colour theory? Colour theory is the psychological theory that all colours have an emotional association. And it’s true, all colours have developed associations to emotions due to socialisation and cultural input. Many of these associations are subconscious but you can use them to help customers understand your business and to convert people into paying customers. But first, we’ll cover the basics of a few colours.

Context is not the only factor that affects a colour’s emotions. Hue (Colour), Value (Brightness), and Chroma (Vividness) also play a significant role. These are important things to consider, as they are more subtle but invaluable when supporting your business’s message. This is also something that many businesses may forget to consider when thinking about colours. Both Chroma, and Value are positively associated with emotion. High vividness is linked to high excitement, and high vividness and high brightness is linked to ruggedness. 

The main thing to take away from colour theory is, what do you want consumers to take away and believe about your company? What is your company personality? What is your message? These will be portrayed by the colours you use. This is clearest, when we look at a study that showed that when a business is unknown, the colours used in their logo impacted how people perceived the business. They had a set of beliefs the business from just the logo, and the colours involved! Your company message can be portrayed by your colour scheme. Colours can even help you stand out and give you the competitive edge. This may be by presenting a different brand personality that makes your stand out, or by closely associating your colours to the audience and your message. However, looking at what your competitors are doing and going against that may help you too. Standing out against competitors may even give you the edge over positive emotional associations, as you will be more memorable and stand out against a herd of other brands, all projecting the same message. 

If we move away from logos and brand messages, we can consider how colours can help turn people into customers. Firstly, you must consider your target audience. Some colours are associated with youthfulness (Pink, Red, and Green). These may be beneficial colours to use if you are aiming towards a younger audience. Orange is associated with childishness. This is something that Nickelodeon has taken advantage of, in that they are aiming to appeal to children. Next, we may consider gender. Studies suggest that blue and green are the most favoured colours across genders, however purple and pink skew positively to women, and are most disliked colours by men. Furthermore, women are suggested to prefer warmer colours such as red and orange, whereas men prefer cool colours such as blue. However, this is not absolute. It is important to remember that not all people will fall into these categories, and that there will be more variation within a gender, than between them. 

The final thing that I will cover here is key to customer conversion. It is fair to assume that the best way to get a person to become a customer, is a call to action. A button, a link, something to tell them what to do next. Now colour comes back into play again. This button will be most successful when it stands out. The most effective way to do that, is to use contrasting colours. Colours that are opposite to your colour scheme on the colour wheel will complement your scheme so your site will look pleasing and professional but the button will stand out. It will draw attention, and people will be drawn to complete the action.