HOW COLOURS IMPACT ON YOUR TARGET GROUP

Colours play an important role in your brand design concept as they help creating a corporate identity design and positioning you in the market. Here you get a brief overview of how colours impact on human beings. Please consider, that all colours have different impacts depending on how they are mixed with other colours or made lighter or darker with black and white. Besides that, colours have different meanings in different cultures!

 

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COLOURS

 

RED

 

aggression, anger, conspicuousness, strength, dynamics, activity, vitality, vital power, sexuality, alert colour, rise of blood pressure and pulse, makes reactions quicker

 

BLUE

 

calming down, trust, safety, desire, clarity, depth, control, fall of blood pressure and pulse, unlimited dimensions (dark blue = far away, light blue = near)

 

PURPLE

 

magic, mysticism & religion, sensuality, power, deception, spirituality, creativity, individuality, mental balance, works against fears and compulsions, depresses hunger

 

PINK

 

the weak, the childish, femaleness, the sweet, delicacy, the soft, tenderness, romance

 

YELLOW

 

jealousy, alert colour (attention, danger!), stimulation, the whiping up, happiness, intelligence,

memory, self confidence, optimism, warmth (sun!), liveliness, activates the lymphatic system,

energy boost for muscles

 

GREEN

 

live, healing (but also poison!), relaxation, rest, balance, nature, environment, youth, growth, calming heart and muscles, intensifies and relaxes breathing

 

ORANGE

 

the cheap, the shabby, plastic and fake, the modern, conspicuousness, opens and emotionalises, works against depressions, boosts immune and digestive system. Attention: Orange is one of the most delicate colours for a corporate design, even though it has become more popular over the past years. In any case, the exact orange tone is crucial!

 

BROWN

 

earth, dirt, ugliness, poverty, smugness, stupidity, stability & safety, comfort, everyday life. Attention: Brown is a very delicate colour for a corporate design.

 

BLACK

 

death, depth, eternity, depression, the void, grief, sorrow, silence, passivity, elegance and style, prestige, exclusivity (= exclusion of the sum of all parts. All colours summed up equals white, the opposite - the exclusion of all colours - equals black.), power, strength, technique

 

WHITE

 

purity and cleanliness, innocence, wisdom, truth, perfection, eternity, peace, cold, sports

 

GREY

 

depression, loneliness, boredom, mediocrity, unfriendliness, vice, age, independence, theory

 

SILVER

 

metal, money, cold, elegance, softness, femaleness, rapid but always secondary. Attention: A real looking silver tone cannot be realised with ordinary CMYK colours, it would appear as grey. If you intend to include the colour silver into your corporate design, you have to work with spot colours (i.e. Pantone) that cost extra money.

 

GOLD

 

success, wealth, the expensive, luxury, pride, abundance, infatuation, the eternal. Attention: A real looking gold tone cannot be realised with ordinary CMYK colours, it would appear as yellow or ochre. If you intend to include the colour gold into your corporate design, you have to work with spot colours (i.e. Pantone) that cost extra money.

 

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COLOUR COMBINATIONS

 

WHITE WEAKENS OTHER COLOURS

 

Example red and white: The aggressive red mixed with the weakening white results in pink that relaxes muscles and stands for warmth, careing, the soft and weak and innocent love.

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Example blue and white: The eternal blue mixed with the weakening white results in light blue and thus makes the far away look nearer. Everything light blue looks near and in reach.

 

BLACK INTENSIFIES OTHER COLOURS

 

Example red and black: The aggressive red mixed with the intensifying black creates a colour associated with anger and stands for the devil for instance. On the other hand, a mix of red and black (= dark red) looks elegant and extravagant.

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Example blue and black: The eternal blue mixed with the intensifying black creates dark blue and looks far away such as a dark night sky for instance.