I found an interesting article regarding what the color of your logo says about your company. Of course it’s not only your logo, it’s also the colors you use in every promotional or advertising piece you present to customers or prospective customers.
Catherine Clifford writing for Entrepreneur.com reminds us that people associate different feelings with different colors. She gives a couple of great examples. For instance, “green conveys organic growth, the earth, nature or feelings of caring” and uses Starbucks and Greenpeace as examples. Black is the color used to convey feeling of sophistication, authority or seduction. Consider the black labels used by Chanel or Sony.
Ms Clifford includes some information compiled by Colourfast, a Canadian plastic-card maker on the influence of color on consumers.
- 93% of purchasing judgments are made on visual perceptions.
- 84% of consumers cite color as their main reason for buying a particular product
- 80% think color increases brand recognition.
In addition color can improve
- Comprehension by 73%
- Learning by 55-68%
- Reading by 40%
Colourfast also gives some examples of the attributes that consumers associate with different colors.
- Blue: Secure, calm, honest, strong, caring, trustworthy
- Red: Energy, love, exciting, action, bold, passionate
- Orange: Happy, sociable, friendly, affordable
- Yellow: Logical, playful, optimistic, forward thinking, confident
- Green: growth, organic, natural, caring, fresh, earth
- Purple: imaginative, creative, nostalgic
- Black: sophistication, luxury, seductive, formal, authority
- Multi-Colored: multi-channel, positive, playful, bold, boundless
So think about the colors you are using in all the promotional pieces that you present, what they might mean to consumers and how you want consumers to perceive your company through the colors you use.
Of course you also need to consider the font and spacing between letters as well as the shape of the letters, though people first see color (even though they may not realize it).
To that end, next week we will talk about fonts and what different logo shapes imply.
A tip of the glass from me to you
E column
by Elizabeth “E” Slater, In Short Direct Marketing
A recognized expert in the fields of direct marketing and sales in the wine marketplace. Slater has taught more wineries and winery associations how to create and improve the effectiveness of their direct marketing programs and to make the most of each customer’s potential than anyone in the wine industry today.
