Different hues and saturation levels can convey different emotions and have different affects on a viewer.
Following are some general thoughts on colors and the impact they can have on viewers.
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Yellow: perceived as cheerful and energetic, yet mellow and soft. It portrays hope, happy times and used as a way to grab one’s attention.
Examples: NY City Taxi Cabs, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, Kodak Films, Dummies Books, Nestle Quick Chocolate Milk, and McDonalds. In nature yellow can be seen on bees, fish, sunflowers, and of course, the sun.
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Orange: friendly, vital, inviting, energetic and playful color.
Examples: Sunkist (fruit and soda), KIX cereal, Cingular Wireless, Nickelodeon, Tide detergent, Jamba Juice and Southwest Airlines. Other naturally occurring orange colors are goldfish, flowers and tangerines.
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Red: excites, stimulates and creates arousal. People often think of the color as daring, warm, dynamic, bold and sexy. In print, red is an aggressive color, whereas it commands attention and demands action.
Examples: Coca-Cola, Staples, Red Cross, Budweiser, CNN and the Chicago Bulls.
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Green: the color of nature, and everything that goes with it. It has been described as refreshing, healing, soothing and prestigious (when associated with money and banks).
Examples: 7-Up, Sprite, First Union Bank, Apple Jacks cereal, DoubleMint gum, Scope mouthwash and Greenpeace.
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Blue: stable and dependable color. As with the ocean and sky that are always constant, blue inspires confidence, commitment and a sense of serenity and peace.
Examples: HP, IBM, BMW and Volkswagen. Many financial institutions, mortgage brokers and large corporations that are conservative in nature, tend to use blue.
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Purple: reflects elegance, sensuality, spirituality and creativity. Purple is perhaps the most complicated and rare color, hence referred to as a majestic and royal, fit for kings.
Examples: This color is representative of rare and sensual products or services, such as lingerie shops, flower shops, etc. Most businesses are hesitant to use purple because of its sensual properties.
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Brown: the ultimate traditional earth color, associated with substance, durability and security. It’s earthly tones lend perfectly to food and food related items, even used in restaurants and coffee houses.
Examples: UPS (United Parcel Service), Hershey’s Chocolate, Godiva, Baltimore Orioles, aged and rich beers, coffees, cigars and chocolates.
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Black: strong, classic, mysterious and powerful. The most sophisticated shade of the spectrum, people associated it with style, elegance, and expensive taste.
Examples: Many designer logos are comprised of simple black lettering or logos. They include DKNY, Calvin Klein, Rolex, Rolls Royce, Kenneth Cole and YSL.
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As you can see, by considering color when creating your promotional pieces, you are one step closer to making a successful presentation.