The Impact of Color on Marketing and Branding

Marketing starts with color.

Close your eyes and picture any world-famous website. What do you see? We would bet it is an abstract impression of the page made up of small colorful shapes — or perhaps the brand's logo. Now open your eyes, visit http://www.designcontest.com/logo-design and take a look at what good design looks like.

A similar picture forms in the minds of millions of visitors. So the core goal, when choosing colors for advertising, is to turn them into an effective advertising tool. Let's look at how to do that in practice.

If you are a marketer, you should be no stranger to AIDA, the decision-making model designed and proposed by Elmo Lewis in 1898. Lewis argued that a buyer passes through several mandatory stages:

• Awareness
• Interest
• Desire
• Action

The right color choice converts the maximum number of visitors into taking the intended action — increasing sales, for example.

Color holds a monopoly on the user's attention. But can every color be equally effective?

Color Theory, or a Brief History of It

There is a theory that helps you choose colors capable of influencing your target audience's behavior — colors that not only capture visitors' attention but hold it and prompt the expected action. It is called color theory, and successful artists and designers have relied on it for a long time.

The degree of visual impact is largely determined by colors and color combinations, which in turn shape our behavior. Color theory is actually a deep subject that has fascinated society for a very long time. It was first discussed in 1435, during the Italian Renaissance. Initially, four “true” colors were described: red (the color of fire), blue (air), green (water), and gray (earth); all other colors were believed to be mixtures of these four.

Later, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and other scientists proved that there are only three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. The modern theory of color was introduced by Albert Munsell, who brought the terms shade, brightness, and color saturation into our lives. These three categories form the basis of our psychological connection with color.

In recent years, several different digital color theories have emerged. Theorists, designers, and web developers have worked hard to understand how color is perceived and received across digital platforms.

What Does Color Theory Have to Do with Landing Page Conversion?

When a user arrives at a website, their first impression forms within a few seconds. That is why outstanding landing pages are critical to your success: if you cannot capture a user's interest within the first 8 seconds, you have most likely lost them forever.

There are two ways to build a landing page that sells using color theory:

1. Use combinations of contrasting colors to make the content easier to read.
2. Use psychologically proven color associations.

These two approaches let you send users a specific message — and they also help you choose a color that makes the landing page genuinely effective, rather than one that simply “looks good.”

Using color theory, we can:

• Hold the user's attention for as long as possible
• Persuade the target audience to take action.
• Significantly reduce the bounce rate.
• Increase conversions.

Colors and Their Associations

• Red. Use this color to stimulate sales. It stirs feelings such as healthy appetite, determination, and leadership. A section of text highlighted in red always draws attention, so make sure you highlight the most valuable part in red.
• Yellow. A color that focuses the viewer's attention. It is worth using for emphasis because it feels warm and comforting. Yellow is recommended for children's products and brands that serve kids.
• Orange. Because it is associated with activity and energy, it works best for sports products.
• Blue. If you want to evoke trust, honesty, and loyalty, blue is the color to use. Blue adds continuity, consistency, and professionalism to your brand. It positions your company as a leader in its class. Just try not to overdo it, because too much blue can feel numbing and at times even depressing.
• Green. As you know, green symbolizes nature. It is a perfect choice for all healthcare services. Green is also associated with wealth and money. Keep in mind, however, that green is a passive color.
• White. A pristine color that never ruins a design. It works well as a background and creates harmony when paired with other colors.
• Gray. Not the best choice for a business; since it does not attract attention, it can be used to tuck away non-essential information.
• Black. One of the most powerful colors — it can deliver excellent results when combined with other bright colors. Black is the most common color used for text.
• Brown. Use darker shades of brown to convey richness to the viewer, while lighter shades suggest affordability. Brown builds a trustworthy, stable brand image.
• Pink. Mostly used in the fashion world. When it is not overdone, pink is a charming color that carries dignity and elegance.
• Purple. Nearly identical to pink, and in addition it can be used to express magic and mystery.

Ultimately, knowing the psychology of color tells you which colors will positively influence your product's sales. Choose your primary color and build the website of your dreams around it!

Conclusion

The color options are virtually endless. With the “right” color you can get users to take the action you expect, whereas a poorly chosen color can be confusing and drive up your bounce rate. Even though the colors used in marketing and branding are largely predetermined by the psychology of emotion, you should not follow other people's recipes too rigidly.

Look for a color combination of your own — one that can guide you toward conversions and profit. And remember to test everything you change, because color is a powerful tool with no tolerance for carelessness.

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