Branding 101: The Psychology of Color

Color Psychology: The study of hues as a determinant of human behavior.

Believe it—Color can influence everything from your mood to the taste of your food. Certain colors can stir up your emotions or even make you hungry. This, among many other reasons, is why color is such an important factor in branding and marketing your brand.

The color(s) you choose for your branding is crucial to the visual appearance of your product. Color is a valuable tool used to communicate the personality of your brand and aids in brand recognition. This is why the bold pink, black and white work so well for brands such as Victoria’s Secret and feel appropriate for a national cupcake chain like Gigi’s. Pink is both feminine and sweet! However, these very same colors would feel unsettling for, say, a bank or an insurance agency. Can you imagine the Limu Emu behind a bold backdrop of pink instead of the warm and optimistic yellow branding color of choice? Or, using pink for marketing a salsa?

The Influence of Color

Color is a very influential source of information for people making a purchasing decision. Customers generally make an initial judgment on a product within 90 seconds of interaction with that product, and about 62%–90% of that judgment is based on color (source: Wiki).

The Science Stuff

I will not geek out on all the science behind why colors work in branding (that could be a whole other blog), but I will share a few tidbits. Researchers have noted links between specific colors and behaviors, like red, royal blue, black, and orange connecting easily with impulse buyers. Red is a popular color for food brands because bright red fruits are ripe and ready to eat. Red also evokes hunger. Nature taught us what certain colors mean, and in design, it is best to use colors according to nature’s rules (source: 99designs).

Color Psychology in a Nutshell

Here are a few insights into some of the basic colors and what you can expect your consumers to feel when they see them used in your marketing and branding efforts.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about this topic, please reach out to the NewPoint team. Also, if you are interested in more food marketing topics, please visit our “Intel” page or check out NewPoint’s book: Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain.