Business owners and advertisers have a very powerful marketing tool which often goes underutilized and misunderstood: the use of color. The right colors and color combinations have the abilities to grab attention, evoke emotions, and create lasting impressions. When used effectively, color used with signs and ads can help to increase sales, improve brand recognition, and boost customer loyalty.
The Psychology of Color
Studies have shown that color exerts a powerful psychological effect on people. It can evoke different emotions, create different moods, and even influence people’s purchasing decisions. For example, consumers associate red with excitement, passion, love, and even danger. Therefore, advertisers use this color to grab attention and create a sense of urgency. Blue, on the other hand, evokes feelings of calmness, peace, and trust. Many B2C businesses use blue to create a relaxing and inviting atmosphere while many B2B companies leverage it to demonstrate trustworthiness.
How to Use Color in Advertising
When developing forms of advertising, use the following tips to decide on how you can apply the right colors:
- Your target audience: What are the demographics of your target audience? What are their interests and needs? Choosing colors that appeal to your target audience will help to increase the effectiveness of your advertising.
- Your brand identity: What colors are associated with your brand? Using these colors in your advertising will help to create a consistent brand image.
- The message you want to convey: What emotion do you wish to evoke with your advertising? Choose colors that will help to create the desired emotional response.
- The context of your advertising: Where will your advertising be seen? Will it be online, in print, or on television? The context of your advertising will affect the colors you choose.
How to Use Color in Signs
Specifically, when using color in signs, consider the following factors:
- Visibility: You must ensure that your signs and banners are visible up close and at a distance. They should stand out from the background, and viewer should have no trouble seeing the colors you choose from a distance and in different lighting conditions.
- Contrast: The colors you choose should also have enough contrast to make the text and images on your sign easy to read. We have provided here a chart which demonstrates some of the most common and easily readable color combinations. Avoid using colors that are too similar or too different, as this can make it difficult to read the text on your sign.
- Attention-grabbing Power: The colors you choose should also grab the attention of your target audience, especially if your sign is located in a busy area.
Conclusion
Advertisers use color create effective advertising and signs. When used according to some of the tips in this article, color can help to grab attention, evoke emotions, and create a lasting impression. We hope you found value in this blog to help you choose colors that will enable you to achieve your advertising and signage goals.
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