The importance of colour in your brand identity.
Colour is a physical phenomenon, but from a sales point of view colour is people.
People decide which colours will sell and people decide whether they will pass over a product because they do not like its colour.
The reason why colour commands such importance in the sales picture is that it appeals to the emotions, not to reason. And the appeal is largely subconscious. A baby responds to colour long before it recognises shape or form, and this awareness remains throughout life. Almost everyone is attracted by colour.
A sensation of colour is produced in the brain when light enters the eye of the observer. This is important from a marketing point of view because colour perception changes with variations to the light and the environment in which the product is displayed. To take just one example, yellow is particularly difficult under fluorescent light because some variations tend to look sickly and green.
In many cases colour creates the sale – it stimulates a buying impulse at point of sale, attracts attention, and causes people to stop and look. This is particularly important in the colour of your brand or logo.
The following examples show how companies have chosen colours to express the message of their unique products or services:
Yellow (happy feelings) - McDonalds wants every meal to be a "happy meal." By adding some fiery red, they have created a sign that functions as an appetite stimulant.
Blue (business confidence) - IBM wants everyone to trust their products.
Green (health) - Starbucks has a healthier, "greener" product
Orange (joy, optimism) – Nickelodeon, fun for all ages.
Stuff of interest.
A quick reference guide to design considerations in signage design.