“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” – Wassily Kandinsky, a famous Russian painter, and art theorist. Do you agree? We do. Colors have always appealed greatly to our visual senses. These are frequently used as a marketing tool. Brand color psychology is an exciting topic. It’s fascinating how different colors stimulate the brain in ways that promote tranquility or excitement. The colors you use in your Shopify store design can significantly impact your target audience. This is because colors play a vital role in how people perceive brands. In this blog, you’ll learn about the psychology of color, its paramount importance in marketing, and some valuable tips to skyrocket your profits using the same.
But before diving into the psychology part, let’s brush up on our knowledge of colors.
Types of Colors
There are three major types of colors, as mentioned below.
PRIMARY
There are three primary colors in the color wheel, namely Red, Blue, and Yellow.
SECONDARY
Two primary colors, when mixed, make a secondary color. For example, Orange (Red+Yellow), Green (Blue+Yellow), and Violet (Red+Blue) are examples of secondary colors.
TERTIARY
These are formed by mixing one primary and one secondary color: Red—Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Blue-Violet, and Red-Violet.
The Color Theory vividly describes this through a color wheel that illustrates various colors and their potential combinations. However, some color wheels show more intermediate than in the image below.
While warm colors may spark various emotions, including comfort, warmth, hostility, or anger, cool colors may spark tranquility or sadness. Let’s study them in detail now.
Color Psychology
Color psychology studies how various colors influence human emotions, perceptions, and purchasing patterns. So does the color of products compel us to buy? Does the color of the packaging make us choose one brand over another? Short answer: YES! But what’s complicated is the ‘Why’ part – why does this happen? This is what color psychology explains. Keep reading to find out how colors influence people.
How do colors influence people?
Red Color Psychology
- Red color tends to increase the appetite. Hence, it is often used by food chains.
- It creates a sense of urgency, which is why it is frequently used for clearance sales.
- It is high in energy and immediately pulls focus.
- It stimulates the human body, affecting heart rate, blood pressure, and nerve impulses.
- Famous brands that use red color: YouTube, Coca-Cola, Puma
Blue Color Psychology
- The blue color promotes a sense of trust and security in the brands.
- Unlike red, it curbs appetite and offers feelings of calmness and a sense of tranquility and space.
- It is most commonly used in offices and conservative corporate brands.
- Young people, however, associate this color with maturity.
- Famous brands that use blue color: Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Oral B
Green Color Psychology
- The green color is associated with nature and money.
- It is often used for promoting environmental issues.
- It stimulates harmony in the brain, and thus, many Shopify store designs use green to relax customers.
- Famous brands that use green color: John Deere, Roots
Purple Color Psychology
- The purple color resonates with royalty, luxury, wisdom, respect, and spirituality. However, using it excessively may come across as arrogant.
- It represents the brands as creative, imaginative, and wise.
- Purple color is often used for beauty and anti-aging products.
- Famous brands that use purple color: Cipla, Yahoo, Cadbury
Orange & Yellow Color Psychology
- These colors increase cheerfulness and optimism.
- These are great color choices to draw in impulsive buyers and window shoppers.
- These stimulate the logic center of the brain and promote enthusiasm.
- Famous brands that use these colors: Fanta, Ferrari, Ikea, Muggu
Perhaps now you have a clearer view of how the psychology of color works. There’s another short list of colors with their associated meanings below. However, the purpose of the colors may vary for individuals depending on upbringing, location, gender, culture, values, and a variety of other factors.
Black: Sophistication, prestige, power
Blue: Calmness, productivity, trust
Green: Relaxation, positivity, trust
Orange: Warmth, enthusiasm, ambition
Pink: Kindness, warmth, love
Purple: Wealth, royalty, status
Red: Love, danger, passion, energy
Yellow: Happiness, youthfulness, cheerfulness
Brown: Earth, nature, simplicity
White: Peace, purity, clarity
Some Psychological Tips On Using Colors For Your Brand/Shopify Store Design
- The best way to capture the audience’s attention is to use contrast.
- Use warm colors to attract more buyers.
- Use red color in CTA buttons on your website.
- If you want your target audience to like your product, try using cool colors like blue or bright colors like white and grey.
- Choose a color scheme that creates a contrast between the product and the background.
- Adjust vibrancy to achieve different effects.
- Triadic colors are the best for highlighting your products.
- Blue is a universal color preferred both by males and females.
- Bright color schemes are a better idea.
Importance Of Color Psychology
- Colors represent your brand’s value to the target audience.
- The right combination of colors shows your brand’s personality and appeals to your audience.
- The color scheme makes your brand stand out among others. For example, when you hear a clown dressed in red and yellow? The first that comes to your mind is McDonald’s! That’s one way to understand the importance of choosing a suitable color scheme!
In A Nutshell
Ultimately, various brands have to apply the psychology of color in marketing and branding themselves to attract customers. This is because different colors affect human emotions in different ways. However, there are a few tips that do the work. Words can’t stress enough the importance of color psychology in marketing.
And so, it’s time that you start exploring various color schemes and fine-tune them per your audience’s needs. For this, you may need to hire a professional agency that offers Shopify store design services. Contact us at Nivara for Shopify store design, development, and marketing services.