What’s in a colour? Maybe more than meets the eye

With the sun shining, grass green, and t-shirts every shade of the rainbow, after a long grey winter, we’re finally remembering what colours are all about! Paula McGarry, Creative Director of business member Macsima has kindly given Open Society members some tricks of the trade in branding and colours. Here it is:
Colour is a powerful tool creating many emotional responses. It is the most instantaneous method of conveying messages and meanings. Your project or company must convey the project message through colour, creating a brand identity and, most importantly, to make the sale.

Here’s some basic colour theory below. Bare in mind your project or business when you read them:

Blue – peace, tranquility, stability, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, knowledge, power, integrity

Black – power, wealth, elegance, sexuality, secrecy, sophistication and formality

Green – nature, environment, health, luck, money, youth, vigour and generosity

Orange – balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrancy, demanding of attention

Purple – royalty, power, luxury, spirituality, dignity, nobility and enlightenment

Red – passion, provocativeness, excitement, dynamics, speed, strength, urgency

White – purity, simplicity cleanliness peace, precision, innocence, winter (Imagine this text is white!)

Yellow – joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy

Our thanks to Paula – bare those tips in mind next time you’re designing a logo, website, or even getting dressed to go out on the town! I might need to re-think my purple dungarees…

Advertisement