The Right Color
Selecting the right color only seems important when buying a new car, painting a wall in your house or doing something dramatic to your hair; but, color is important when it comes to promotional products too!
Science has been used to identify the colors that evoke certain emotions when viewed by the human eye. In general, every human brain works pretty much the same when processing colors, but of course, you want to use all the best techniques to make sure your customers are satisfied! If you have the flexibility to choose the colors for your next promotional item, use science to make your decision. Let's focus on the basic principles when it comes to color choices.
What do you think is the most appealing color to the human eye?
That would be green. Notice, we asked "most appealing", not the color most likely to make someone happy, sad or angry...those would be different colors. If you want to attract people, use the color green. Green is most helpful when it's the focus of your promotional item, such as a green tote bag or green imprint. People are more likely to pay attention to the information you are sharing simply because the color green draws their eyes to the item. Even more encouraging is the fact that green reminds us of growth and stability. People are more likely to trust what they are seeing if green is a primary color.
So, how do the other colors influence our responses when it comes to the items we use?
Glad you asked! Blue is probably the second most appealing color, and has similar effects on the human eye as the color green. This actually makes sense! If you remember from your elementary school teachings (yeah, we don't remember that far back either), blue and yellow mixed together make green; so they're related! The color blue actually creates a feeling of status and intelligence, which is why it is often paired with things of high importance or in business settings.
For your next corporate gift giveaway, try a product with some blue, you may find staff are a bit more excited by the sentiment. The color yellow is actually more appealing to kids, as it stands out the most, so naturally kids will respond to it. We will call yellow the most noticeable color, but not the most appealing. Not all adults will respond to the color yellow since it tends to be a challenging color to see, especially when put in the background. And even though it's a "happy" color, in some cases the human eye will relate the color yellow to cowardice, so be careful with this color.
Business gifts for the grown-ups may not be as enjoyable if the main color is yellow. It's probably a no-brainer for the color brown. While the initial response is of earthiness, the ultimate reaction to seeing the color brown is the feeling something is dirty. While brown is a tame color, it may not be the best choice for appealing to your customers. Black is also unique. We can't really call it a color, because it's not! Some call black a pigment or a shade, others just categorize it as the absence of light. Black is good for some things as it does give a sense of mystery and secrecy...so deciding to use black for a promotional giveaway will really depend on what you hope to evoke from your audience.
Let's end this color adventure with the color red. What are your first thoughts when it comes to the color red? You're probably thinking of blood, love or anger. Red will illicit the most intense response to the human physiology as it can increase respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. Using the color red will work best when you want to grab someone's attention with intensity. It is also a good color set against white or black backgrounds as it will stand out the best! It's no surprise that the color red can get a bull's blood boiling! We can suggest trying red for your next promotional t-shirt or towel giveaway, but we warn you on the powerful response it may bring out of your customers!
When considering your marketing campaign or your next promotional product, keep in mind the color choice and what response it can have on your target audience.