How Color Influences Emotions and Behavior.

Color plays an important role in brand identity — drawing consumers to products, triggering emotions, and having a major impact on brand awareness. Warm colors can evoke different feelings than cool colors, and bright colors can create different feelings than muted colors. It all depends on how the psychological effects of color are used. Colors can make us feel happy or sad… they can make us feel hungry or relaxed. That's why it's important to understand the possible psychological effects colors have on the average person or your customer's target audience. Let's take a closer look at how colors affect our emotions and behaviors.  

Warm colors

Red, orange, and yellow are next to each other on the wheel and are all warm colors. Warm colors typically evoke feelings of happiness, optimism, and energy. However, yellow and orange can irritate the eyes a bit, and red can increase a person's appetite. Think of fast-food restaurants like McDonald's or KFC — most of these places are yellow and red. Why? Because they want people to get hungry and then eat quickly.  

Red

Red is the warmest and most dynamic of colors — it triggers opposing emotions. It is often associated with passion and love, anger and danger. It can raise a person's heart rate and excite them. If you want to draw attention to a design element, use red. But use it as a moderate accent color, as it can be overwhelming.  

Orange

Orange increases the feeling of vitality and happiness. Like red, it grabs attention and shows movement, but it isn't aggressive. Aggressive yet balanced — it energizes but can be inviting and friendly. Orange is perfect for a call to action to buy a product or subscribe.  

Yellow

Yellow is perhaps the most energetic of warm colors. It is associated with laughter, hope, and sunshine. Yellow tones give your design energy and make the viewer feel optimistic and cheerful. However, yellow tends to reflect more light and can irritate a person's eyes. Too much yellow can be overwhelming and should be used in small amounts. In design, it's used to draw attention in an energetic and relaxing way.  

Cool colors

Cool colors are green, blue, and purple. Cool colors are usually calming and soothing but can also express sadness. Purple is often used to encourage creativity, as it's a mix of blue (calm) and red (intense). If a company wants to convey health, beauty, or security, use these colors.  

Green

Green symbolizes health, new beginnings, and wealth. Green is the easiest on the eyes and should be used to relax and create balance in a design. It's a great color to use if a company wants to convey growth, security, or the possibility of inspiration.  

Blue

Blue evokes feelings of calm and spirituality alongside safety and trust. Seeing blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals. It's no surprise that it's the most preferred color. Dark blues are great for corporate designs because they convey a professional feel, but using too much can create a cold, detached feeling. Light blues feel more relaxed and friendly. Great examples are social sites like Facebook and Twitter that use lighter blues.  

Purple

Purple is associated with creativity, royalty, and wealth. Purple is often used to calm or soothe the viewer, which is why it's used in beauty products. Use purple to make a design look more luxurious and rich, and a lighter purple to convey romance and mystery.  

Neutral colors

Neutral colors are black, gray, white, tan, and brown. In design, these colors are perfect as background colors. Use black, gray, and white when using brighter colors. If you're using textures, add brown and tan tones as a background. It's important to note that colors can be subjective — what makes one person feel cheerful can make another feel uncomfortable depending on the viewer's past experiences or cultural differences. Color isn't universally agreed upon and can appeal to individual countries differently. Now that you know how colors and emotions are connected, you can study your target audience and choose colors accordingly.  

What feelings and emotions do colors evoke in you? Let us know in the comments below.