How colors affect your target audience

Colors play a very important role in your corporate design to create a visual identity and position yourself accordingly in the market. Here's a rough overview of how different colors affect people. Please note that all colors can appear differently depending on how they are mixed with other colors, or how lighter/darker they are. Furthermore, colors in different cultures must be taken into account!

Colors

Red

Aggression, anger, conspicuousness, strength, dynamism, activity, vitality, life force, sexuality, signal/warning color, increase in blood pressure and pulse, causes rapid reaction

Blue

Calming, trust, security, longing, clarity, depth, control, lowering of blood pressure and pulse, unlimited dimensions (dark blue = distance, light blue = closeness)

Violet

Magic, mysticism and religion, sensuality, power, deception, spirituality, creativity, individuality, mental balance, works against fears and compulsions, suppresses hunger

Pink

the weak, the childlike, femininity, the sweet, tenderness, the gentle, softness, romance

Yellow

Jealousy, envy, signal color (attention, danger!), stimulant, stimulant, cheerfulness, intelligence, memory, self-confidence, optimism, warmth (sun!), liveliness, activation of the lymphatic system, energy boost for muscles

Green

Life, healing (but also poison!), relaxation, peace, balance, nature, environment, youth, growth, calming for heart and muscles, deepening and relaxing breathing

Orange

The cheap, the shabby, the plasticky, the modern, striking, opens up and emotionalizes, effective against depression, boosts the immune and digestive systems. Caution: Orange is a very tricky color for corporate design, although in recent years it has slowly but surely emerged from the "negative corner" and orange is becoming increasingly socially acceptable. Nevertheless, attention must be paid to the exact shade of orange!

Brown

Earth, dirt, ugliness, poverty, narrow-mindedness, stupidity, stability and security, comfort, everyday life. Caution: Brown is a very tricky color for corporate design.

Black

Death, depth, endlessness, depression, nothingness, grief, silence, passivity, elegance and style, prestige, exclusivity (= exclusion from the sum of all parts. All colors together result in white, the opposite - i.e. the exclusion of all colors - results in black.), strength, power, technology

White

Purity and cleanliness, innocence, wisdom, truth, perfection, endlessness, peace, coldness, sport

Gray

Depression, loneliness, boredom, mediocrity, unfriendliness, vices, unloved virtues, old age, independence and self-reliance, theoretical

Silver

Metal, money, coldness, elegance, tenderness, femininity, fast-paced yet eternally secondary or second-rate. Please note: A true-to-life silver tone cannot be achieved with standard CMYK printing inks; it would appear gray. If you want to incorporate the color silver into your corporate design, you will need to use spot colors (for example, from Pantone) that cost extra money when being printed.

Gold

Success, wealth, the expensive, luxury, pride, excess, delusion, the eternal. Please note: A true-to-life gold tone cannot be achieved with standard CMYK printing inks; this would result in an ochre or yellow color. If you want to incorporate the color gold into your corporate design, you will need to use spot colors (for example, from Pantone) that cost extra money when being printed.

Color combinations

White weakens other colors

Example: Red and white: The aggressive red combined with the calming white creates pink, which represents muscle relaxation, warmth, care, the gentle and weak, and innocent love.

Example: Blue and white: The infinite blue combined with the attenuating white creates light blue, thus defusing the vastness. Everything light blue appears close and tangible.

Black enhances other colors

Example: Red and black: The aggressive red combined with the reinforcing black is associated with anger and rage and represents, for example, the devil. On the other hand, a mixture of red and black (= dark red) appears noble and extravagant.

Example of blue and black: The infinite blue combined with the enhancing black results in dark blue and appears far away, like the dark night sky, for example.

For more information about colors and detailed information on color mixing, see the video lesson "Colors" in the branding module in "The Ultimate Masterclass for Branding & Web Design".