Color: Influence on branding

I have been playing with the color schemes in my blog the past few hours, being influenced by a course I took at the Kellogg school of management here at Northwestern, as a part of my IMC program. The course was about the influence that image, style and design has on products and services today. After reading through the book "Color:messages and meanings" by Leatrice Eiseman I was truly inspired. I have never thought of myself as a person who found inspiration in colors but this book changed my entire viewpoint.

I realized that color has a deep, subconscious influence on the decisions consumers make on a daily basis. Let's take the example of Google. The inspiring graphic designer, Ruth Kedar came up with the Google logo which is shown to embody the primary colors today and the Catull typeface (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catull) that give Google its unique brand identity. By playing with different colors and bringing a two-dimensionality to the O's, Ruth succeeded in Google attaining its distinctive playful, cheerful and helpful image in the eyes of its consumers.



According to a recent research, about 95% of product assessment and consequent purchase is based purely on color. Color enables brand recognition, whether it is the bright red of Coca-Cola's logo or the vibrant blue of IBM. Color plays a role in tapping into the emotional instincts of consumers often ignored by most marketers today. For example: Red is looked at as a color that invokes passion and is exciting. Using red for a product thus, makes a bold statement due to which marketers use it for products for their consumers who like to stand out.







Blue on the other hand is associated with serenity, peace and calm. Take the tiffany blue color for example which is also available as a paint color.In addition, blue also communicates a feeling of assurance to the consumer which explains the use of blue in Intel's logo - assuring consumers that they can go ahead and purchase the laptop due to the fact that there's an "intel inside."

Take the final example of the colors that embody Northwestern University - Purple. It has been very cleverly designed to communicate the message of inspiration, creativity and ambition found in the students of Northwestern. Purple is also seen as a color that is strikingly different from the other colors which gives it an aura of exclusivity.

Thus, companies need to perform in depth research to understand the unique attributes of their brand they want to communicate to their core consumers. The expression of a brand's core personality can be done through its color. It's not about asking "what is your favorite color?" It's about asking "What are the attributes of your brand and what color best expresses it effectively?"