You were probably not aware of it, but the choice of colors in company’s communication aren’t picked randomly. There is a long graphic searching process in the definition of logo’s colors, websites, commercials and other communications platforms who tend to send a message. Colors have a main role into sharing a message. I am going to tell you step by step what is the meaning of colors.
Blue: an ocean of comfort
Blue is the favorite color of many individuals. In fact, this color reminds us the sky, the ocean; two natural elements that comfort us. Blue reassure calm us but it also makes us dream. That’s why the domains of health, banks and technology use it in their brand identity.
Red: a dance between passion and intensity
Red is the symbol of love, warmth, sensuality, seduction and passion. It brings us a feeling of warmth and adrenaline; it gives us the taste for risk. It is the more powerful and dynamic color with the most potential of action. Red immediatly catches our attention. That’s why many brands use it in their button call-to-action like Pinterest. We can’t escape and resist the color red!
Yellow: a contagious happiness
Like the sun who spread ray of happiness, yellow is the color of life, energy and motion. Also representing optimism, this color gives so much joy! Although it is a source of happiness, it also can have negative points. It is associated with lie and betrayal. But we will remember that yellow is the color of openness and social contact. We identify it as friendship, fraternity and knowledge.
Green: a balance between nature and serenity
Spontaneousouly, green evokes nature, biodiversity and ecology. This color is refreshing, conforting and invigorating. She also has negative aspects: she is associated with failure and poverty.
However, green is easy to mix with other colors like brown, ocher, cream, taupe which are also colors of nature.
Orange: invigorating of your color palette
Often associated with creativity and communication, orange brings optimism and openness. Like yellow, it symbolizes energy and joy. Very trendy during the 70’s, some people say that the color is kitsch.
Purple: a leap in the imagination
Purple is the symbol of dream, imaginary, fantastic and spirituality. Much appreciated by women for its romanticism, it can also trigger nostalgia. This color has soothing virtues: it helps calming some emotions and containing anger or distress. A deep purple brings sophistication, respect and luxury.
This color has soothing virtues: it helps calming some emotions and containing anger or distress. A deep purple brings sophistication, respect and luxury.
La couleur violette a des vertus apaisantes : elle permet de calmer certaines émotions, de réfréner des colères ou des angoisses. Un violet profond apporte, pour sa part, de la sophistication, du respect et du luxe.
Brown: a comforting taste
Brown is an earthy color, because of the Earth and wood. Neither joyful nor sad, this neutral color gives us a feeling of comfort, especially with the thought of chocolate, and protection. This color inspires a notion of concrete and security.
Brown looks good with goes with most colors, thanks to its strong contrast. It is an ideal color for a background use.
White: pure and wise
For generations, the color white has been linked to marriage, purity, virginity, perfection and the divine (papal clothing).
However, it can also have negative aspects. In Asia and more particularly in India, white is a sign of unhappiness. As for Japan and China, white is a sign of death.
White is a color you never get tired of. In graphics and web design, you can use white to breathe life into your interfaces and make them look clean. Even if minimalism turns out to be the trend of the moment, favor a touch of color to energize your visuals and avoid the bland or simply empty effect. Especially since there are no limits with white: it matches all the colors of the color palette, take advantage!
Black: a touch of luxury
Often associated with death, nothingness and emptiness, black holds its effect in the luxury sector. A large majority of the most prestigious brands have logos decorated with the color black. Black brings a strict but elegant and sophisticated side.
It marries in great majority with all the colors, and it will shock only very little, even when it is used to excess. Just like white, you should avoid using it too often alone. Black can quickly echo the emptiness and sadness.
In conclusion
The colors amplifies your message whatever the medium on which you use them. Not all countries have the same meanings and feelings about colors. This is why it is important to define your target well in advance to convey the right message. Some points that prove the importance of colors in our daily life:
- Color increases brand recognition by 80%
- Color ads and visuals are 42% more viewed and read than black and white ads
- Color optimizes text reading by 40%
- Color improves understanding by 73%
There are obviously other symbolic colors such as pink or gold, but I decided to list the most used colors of our daily lives. I hope you liked this article about the meaning of colors, and that it will help you in the choice of colors for your next visual and graphic supports!