Color psychology: orange is urgent, black is luxurious

Color Psychology can help you get ahead

Color is one of the most power methods of design, but it is not entirely universal. For example the colors used in North America, are different than those used to entice shoppers in India, so be aware of this when designing marketing materials for your business, be they digital or tangible. Customize your colors to suit your audience.

Yellow is “optimistic and youthful, often used to grab attention of window shoppers.”

While red is used to signify “energy, increased heart rate and creates a sense of urgency often seen in clearance sales.”

Conversely, blue “creates the sensations of trust and security and is often seen with banks and businesses.”

Green is “associated with wealth and is the easiest color for the eyes to process. It is typically used in stores to give a sense of relaxation.”

Orange has an “aggressive feel. It creates a call to action, a sense of urgency to do something: subscribe, buy, or sell.”

Pink is “romantic and feminine. It is used to market products to women and young girls.”

Black creates a sense of being “powerful and sleek. It is frequently used to market luxury products.”

Finally, purple is “used to soothe and calm and is often seen in beauty of anti-aging products.”

Why color psychology ultimately matters

According to KissMetrics, fully 85 percent of shoppers point to color as a primary reason they buy a product and color increases brand recognition by 80 percent. Think about this for just a minute, what color is the arch at McDonalds? What color does Coca-Cola use? Color is deeply associated with brand, and if 85 percent of shoppers choose color as one reason for purchase, it is important to understand how color is perceived.

Online, 42 percent of shoppers base their opinion of a website solely on the overall design. Again, if you are not using a color scheme that appeals to the majority, you could be losing business solely on your color choices. A whopping 52 percent of shoppers did not return to a website because of the overall aesthetic; more than half of your customer base could choose not to come back because they did not find your color palette appealing.

Color is definitely something you want to consider carefully, and with a little research and the color guideline above, you can start to decide what you want your color scheme to say to your consumer and hopefully, in turn, keep your customer base happy and returning to your brand.