COLOR AWARENESS

Does seeing red bring to mind passion, anger, fire? Does blue inspire trust, conservatism, or depression? How does gray affect you? Does orange give you energy, excite you, or remind you of something really tacky? Does brown make your mouth water, remind you of nature, feel at home or bored silly? Have you ever noticed how infants seem to prefer colorful objects or young children favor color to form? How we feel influences how we see colors. From infancy when our eyes first perceive colors, we start to formulate color associations that carry through adulthood.

What we learned about color as children is with us our entire lives. We may not be aware or even remember our childhood color associations with a specific incident but our brains do and we continue to respond in either a positive or a negative way.

When we reach the intense, peer pressure teenage years, the tendency is to use “in” colors because of the status and recognition those colors give us. Moreover, color is an avenue of being outrageous. Consider the purple, orange, or flaming red hair seen on many teenagers today or the very black clothing mixed with a little red. In the US, the red and black combination is often associated with dark forces or vampires. When we think of motorcycle gangs, we often think of black leather. When we think of street gangs, there are specific colors associated with each gang bringing a negative connotation to selected colors. On the positive side, cotton candy is always baby blue or pink. Mouthwatering chocolate candies are always shades of brown. The basic black dress has always been classic and timeless. As we age, self-expression and trends still influence part of our color choices but personal tastes and preferences are equally important.

Cultural backgrounds and traditions also influence our learned responses to colors. African and tropical cultures bring to mind bright colors. Kings and Queens through the centuries have worn either purple or navy blue robes. Virgins wear white thus the white wedding dress. Indian mystics believe green brings great harmony. In the US, there is a saying “Green with envy.” Red is often associated with red-blooded, red-light district, to be in the red. Blue is blue-chip stocks, feeling blue, blue blood, etc. Whatever your culture or traditions, the color family you choose will evoke responses however and wherever it is used.

Consequently, each culture has its own unique heritage of color symbolism making it necessary to do your homework on the backgrounds and perceptions in any given culture. As people move around the world, they often carry with them their color baggage. However, some people try very hard to fit in with new surroundings by emulating the colors they see, so it is wise to never make assumptions that all people from particular cultural backgrounds will have the same reactions to any one color.

With increased communications and shrinking barriers, color exchanges become similar as companies reach out to broader worldwide markets. Old color concepts are changing. An example of this is the color white. In China, historically white is the color of mourning. Today, white is in everything from T-shirts to wedding gowns to airplanes. These changes in attitude are especially true for the younger generation who has fewer ties to tradition and are more open to change.

Whatever the culture, whatever the geographic location, there are some generalities in the human response to color. Red always attracts attention. It is the first color named after black and white. The psychological association goes back to the beginning of time to blood and fire, two important elements necessary to sustain life. Red also represents danger thus making it a color to pay close attention to as it triggers a “fight or flight” response and encourages us to act accordingly. Throughout the ages, we have learned a reaction to colors and although we may not necessarily flee from red, we definitely pay attention to it.

Do your homework for your target market. You will be glad you did as color does affect the success or failure of your business.

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