The color that makes a business successful or just the opposite

When I hardly knew anything about psychology applied to design, I was brave enough to start my own business, right at the same time when I started uni, around 2001, it’s been a while!

I was super excited, because finally I was going to make real my own project, use my creativity and make things the way I wanted to. I was setting up a fashion shop and decided that the logo should be orange, at least should have some orange bits. Yeah, I really liked that color and since it was going to be my little shop I felt entitled to use the color I liked. I did look at the general meaning of that particular color but overlooked other important details. 

It couldn’t have been worst!, I didn’t use colour wisely, that was one of the most valuable learnings I learnt the hard way. You may be thinking, what is wrong with using orange? It has many positive associations!

Ok, I’ll try to keep it brief. I also decided to use the orange color in the interior design, so I painted an entire wall in orange in order to capture attention so that people would be keen to enter the shop and foster a nice conversation. Ok, I did managed that very well, but I started  noticing a rare behavior, people were comining in and talking loads but were in a rush to get out the shop, they wanted to buy and quickly go.

I was so worried, so I started researching and analysing the situation. I got into serious color research and color psychology. It was a whole new unexplored world to me in that time, and I realized that things weren’t that simple and I had still a lot to learn.

The orange was overstimulating my customers, orange has so much energy and my customers were in a rush to get out as they couldn’t cope with that sense overload. In adittion, the clothes I sold in my shop weren’t cheap, so some reflexion time was needed to make final buying decision.

ORANGE: Dynamism, exuberance, sociability, charm, fun and happiness.

Colors make us feel in a certain way, even the tone, contrast and hue. Culture also brings a whole new level into color associations and makes it even more complex. Color combination when designing any piece of art, graphic is another story that maybe one day will feel inspired to talk about it.

So, you know, when it comes to designing the brand for your business and finding suitable colors don’t let your taste guide you. Design must have a meaning, a good reasoning behind. Designing for your business is not like decorating your room (I learnt this lesson) when you design for your business the focus must be on your target audience, you need to analyse every aspect of your customers needs and expectations, only then you will have a spot on brand that really appeals to your customers in every sense. In order to have a well design brand, you need a clear and defined brand strategy.

Takeaway

• Analyse the markets in which you will operate.
• Study about your ideal customer background, expectations, wishes and requirements. 
• Don’t be driven by personal aesthetics.
• Remember color will always be quite subjective, some may like it some may not.
• Mind where and how you apply the colors!