Effective use of colour in your logos and prints can maximise engagement with your audience and can put you light years ahead of competitors in creating successful designs. Colour theory is the art of understanding how colour creates meaning. Building these key concepts into your design process can help you to choose appropriate colours, tones and combinations for your next project.
Cold Colours
Cool, calm colours such as blue, green and purple are the colours of nature, of rivers, brooks and streams, of night skies and of open fields.
Using blue as an example of a cold colour, we can begin to understand its versatility. As well as creating a sense of calm, blue can also symbolise sadness in western cultures. The tone of the colour you choose can change your design from being refreshing and open to bold, or even cold. Blue is often used by professional companies, as it creates a sense of aloof detachment and competence. Incorporating blue into your brochure printing can be an effective way of portraying professionalism and trust. Purple is a popular choice, too; as the colour is representative of monarchy and wealth in the west it can symbolise value and importance.
Warm colours
Orange, red and yellow are warm colours. Being evocative and atmospheric, they are the tones of fire, sunset, warmth and energy.
By looking at one warm colour, we can see the range of emotional associations that are available to you in your designs. Red connotes heat, passion and emotion. It’s associated with war and with love, with valentines hearts as well as the pumping of blood. As well as having strong emotive connotations, red can have a tangible physical impact, making your heart beat faster on sight. For more information about how colour can affect your psychology, read this article: Colour Psychology: Does it Affect How You Feel?
Cultural differences
Understanding how colour works in different markets is important for cross-cultural publications and marketing. For example, the associations with red that we’ve talked about are western – in the east, the impact of using red will be quite different. For example, in China, red symbolises luck and wealth. In South Africa, however, red is traditionally a funereal colour.
Something to think about
Good design requires more than just thinking about colour but it’s a good place to start. Learning about the science of colour can put your business ahead and make sure your publications and materials have the impact you’re hoping for. Contact us today to learn more about how to use colour to create successfully printed publications. PrintUK.com