Everyone knows that first impressions can be extremely important, especially in business, and your signage can often be the first thing that a customer notices about you. There are therefore many different things that you need to consider when designing your sign, and one of the most important is colour.
The psychology behind colour can dictate the feelings and associations that people have when they see a colour, and therefore how they might react to your sign.
When you think of certain colours, you might automatically bring up images of certain brands. Red often leads back to Coca-Cola, whilst yellow conjures up images of McDonalds and blue brings up Facebook. These brands have used colour psychology to their advantage and your sign can too.
To explain further, professional sign makers in Mansfield, Judson Signs share their expertise on how colour can provoke a range of emotions and how to communicate them into your signage.
Colour Theory
There are millions of colours to choose from in the world, so it is important to use colour theory to pick the right one for your sign. You need to think about the emotions that they can trigger, the physical responses that they bring about and what they say about your business. It is no good just picking your favourite colour, as this might give all the wrong images about your brand.
Impulse buys
The colour most typically associated with urgency is red, which is why it is seen on so many signs promoting sales and special offers. It is used to make people feel as though they have to act quickly and can encourage impulse purchases as a result. This can work for some brands who aim to grab the attention and bring about a sense of action.
Trust
If you are looking to build a sense of trust around your brand, then you may want to look at shades of blue. This is seen as something reliable, calm and social so it can be used in the world of technology, medicine and law amongst others.
Appetite
Did you know that the colour red can actually make you feel hungry? Once you realise this, you will start to see how many food and drink brands use it, and how many restaurant signs are usually adorned in red. If you offer food in any form, then you want to remind people of the empty feeling in their stomach and lure them in using the most persuasive colour.
On the flip side, blue is seen as being an appetite suppressant, so this one should be kept out of the signage for restaurants and cafes.
Health
Health, life and nature are often linked, and the colour that brings them all together is green. This calm, fresh colour is often used in a medical context as well as anything promoting nature and wellbeing.
Power
If you want to be seen as strong, powerful and authoritative, then you can use black to great effect. It is most often used alongside white as they are not only visually appealing together but also because white is seen as clean, pure and neutral. There are a number of huge brands that have stuck to this very simple colour scheme for their brands and their signage as whilst it might seem basic, it can have some of the strongest effects.
When you choose a colour for your sign, you need to think about how it looks in a number of different ways. You need to think about how visible and eye-catching it is, but also how it works with human emotions, whether it works with your brand and whether it creates the actions you are looking for, and this all comes down to a little bit of colour psychology.
