Putting Emotion in Color
It is said that when consumers purchase a product for the first time, their decision depends on whether or not their five senses are stimulated. So of the five senses, which has the largest impact on the decision to purchase something?
It is firmly believed that the visual element, which accounts for approximately 87%, has the greatest impact on purchasing a product. The sense of sight has an unconscious, huge influence on deciding to make a purchase/ Colors have an especially attention-grabbing effect on consumers when factoring in determining purchasing power. When a person is born, they are able to distinguish colors from two months of age, and by the time they are two years old, they have already decided on which colors they like best. Therefore, we can see how colors may affect the conscious and unconscious of human minds from a very young age. Therefore, from a visual point of view, it is important to be able to stop consumers in their tracks by catching their eye through color.
In recent years, many companies have become aware that color has a stimulating effect on emotions, and they use color to make connections to their brands. Not only does color stimulate the consumer’s purchasing mentality, it can also give the influence to brand awareness and may even appeal to their emotions. They use colors in their brands to match their products or image to provide a friendly and peaceful atmosphere, and sometimes they use bold colors to attract the consumer’s attention. Following this, there is a need to utilize color to convey a brand’s emotional elements in the visual sense.
It is not difficult to bring up the iconic color of Coca-Cola, the company that sells approximately 50 billion bottles a year and has one of the world’s highest brand recognition. Red is a stimulating color that triggers appetites and brings up intense emotions, it is the color that is very well-associated with Coca-Cola. It is said that in the winter of 1931, sales declined so Coca-Cola put their signature red on Santa Clause for their marketing. Whether it is true or not, Coca-Cola’s Santa Clause became the household Santa worldwide, and the color red and their brand has been firmly melded together ever since.
If you think of the color blue, it conveys trust and brings up feelings of safety and honesty, and we see it in leading companies around the world, such as Samsung, Visa, Facebook, etc. The color green that represents the Starbucks logo conveys freshness and comfort, and it connects well with what they are pursuing. Just as global fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld said, “There’s no Chanel collection without black. (It) will never exist,” the formal color of black brings expensive and exclusive images to mind and is well-associated with the luxury brand Chanel.
As such, it is important to ensure that colors are consistently associated to a brand’s personality. Once you associate your brand to a color, the consumer’s emotions will be stimulated, bringing out a favorable feeling in them.
“Color is much more descriptive. It is because of the stimulation on the sense of sight. Some combinations bring peace, others give comfort, and others are bold and bring about excitement.”
Of course, since color is extremely personal and subjective, not everyone will feel the same thing for a particular color. However, if you base your marketing and branding on careful consideration of the importance of colors, you will definitely be able to give consumers a stronger impression and receive more attention from them.