Colors are a powerful tool to influence people’s emotional states and trigger their physiological responses. The use of colors in various areas of life, such as the design of houses, religious practices and clothing styles, plays an important role in communication. For thousands of years, people have expressed their lifestyles, preferences and social status by attributing various meanings to colors. These colors may differ according to the history, culture and geography of societies, but the meanings attributed to certain colors in historical contexts generally do not change over time. The symbolic meanings attributed to certain colors in the geography of societies in the past are still influential today.
Research shows that colors affect people’s emotional state.
One of the reasons why startups use colors in every sector is that colors have a hidden persuasive communication power. These initiatives use colors together with other elements to create awareness, attract attention, be memorable and symbolize meanings that will evoke themselves to their target audiences. Colors, which form the basis of corporate brands, have become one of the important factors affecting consumers’ purchasing decisions. Color psychology aims to understand human behavior and buying habits through studies on the effects of colors. These studies are aimed at explaining how and how much colors affect our purchasing decisions.
The psychological meanings of colors are as follows;
The choice of black may be appropriate in certain situations to emphasize the desired message of the design or communication, but its excessive use can create a pessimistic effect or create a negative perception in communication. Blue generally evokes feelings of calmness, trust and reliability in people. Therefore, it has a relaxing and soothing effect on consumers. Therefore, the color blue is often used to emphasize the reliability of brands or products or to instill a sense of trust in consumers.
Orange is an attention-grabbing color and when used in a product or brand, it is usually noticed by everyone. This color can create a magnetism and attract people’s attention and influence them. It is also associated with people being more comfortable entering spaces occupied by orange. Red is generally recognized as having blood pressure-boosting, appetizing and blood flow-boosting effects. For this reason, brands that want to increase consumers’ appetite, such as food brands, often prefer the color red. Brands including Coca Cola, Pizza Hut, Ülker and Burger King use red in their logos in consideration of these effects.
Colors have a strong influence on human psychology. This effect has a significant impact on consumption habits and brand perception.
Reference: Psikolog Merve Altındağ
CEYLAN, İ. (2015). Amblem ve logo tasarımlarında renklerin dili. Art-e Sanat Dergisi, 8(16), 314-330.
İçli, G. E., & Çopur, M. E. (2008). Pazarlama iletişiminde renklerin rolü. Trakya üniversitesi sosyal bilimler dergisi, 10(1), 22-33.
