Once you have defined the concept, product, need and budget, don’t forget one aspect which is too often neglected when choosing a promotional product: its color!
What color should you chose for a promotional product? At first sight, the subject doesn’t seem crucial and while in 95% of all cases, the advertiser chooses the color of the product according to the color of his logo, let’s try and see if that is a logical choice!
As you know, colors have not only a meaning, but also an influence on us. There are soft and hard colors, warm and cold colors, plane and deep colors.
Do we need to remind that we are talking here about products serving for communication? That the product must communicate with your prospect or client, and that it is therefore important to take account of the significance of the colors!
Publicity uses many colors: account must be taken of their legibility (some contrasts are more visible than others, like black on yellow), of their swiftness of perception (red is the fastest color to be perceived, followed by green), their capacity of modifying the perception of shapes (white and light colors make volumes look bigger) and their symbolism.
Cold Colors
Associated to the moon, cold colors have a soothing quality
• Blue is the color of intuition, calm and stability. At home, it calms, relaxes and helps fight sleeplessness, nervousness and reduce blood pressure. Generally speaking, blue is the color that causes the fewest emotional reactions.
• Turquoise, a peaceful, refreshing and calming color is good for the nerves.
• Green represents generosity, understanding and inspiration. This color relaxes the eye, invites to balance and to tempered judgements, but can also encourage indecision.
• Purple calms the body. As a color of clear-mindedness and balance, it invites to meditation.
Warm Colors
While cold colors speak of freshness, calm and peacefulness, warm colors are associated to warmth, well-being, pleasure and energy.
• Red is the color of courage, passion, sexuality, love and danger. It accelerates the heartbeat and stimulates activity. If it is too intense, red can be hard to bear and tiring.
• Orange invites to good temper, movement, relaxation and fun. It is a color that stimulates creative activities.
• Yellow is considered the best color for intellectual activity.
Colorless Tones
• Black is the negation of color. It intensifies emotions and absorbs light: it is an oppressive color.
• White is maximum luminosity. Perfectly chemical white does not exist, but there are many varieties of white. It is a color that purifies, cleans and reflects light. Pure white, which gives an impression of utmost clarity, needs well-studied lighting, because if it is too violent, it hurts the eye.
• Grey, which goes from one extreme to the other on its color scale, is a peaceful color that does not provoke strong emotions. It is an ideal environment to favor ideas. It encourages curiosity, thought and imagination (ideal for working spaces: offices and workshops).
Sources:
• www.affection.org/conseils/couleurs.html
• www.aujardin.info/fiches/langage_couleurs.php