We are all aware that color influences our decisions and actions. Dream research conducted by Abraham Maslow seemed to indicate that falling asleep in yellow rooms would cause people to develop nightmares during their sleep. Sociologists have begun making recommendations to maximum security prisons to color their solitary confinement cells blue because white-on-white rooms for prolonged periods of times seem to induce rage, resentment and insanity.
But one area in which color has seemingly been overlooked is business. Take for instance the less than subtle usage of purple in the commercials of a well known jewelry store chain which will not be mentioned due to copyright laws. Purple has been used since time immemorial to represent royalty, because in days of old, divers off the shore of Tyre and Sidon where responsible for diving to get a certain snail whose blue shell could be crushed and mixed with other components such as woad leaves to create the ubiquitous “Tyrean purple”. The cultural influences and social mores of our past can never be ignored when it comes to their influence over the facets of business.
When choosing a color scheme for your business, look for a hue that is representative of what you are purveying. For instance, if you were a business that offered financial services, gold may be the color for you. The color gold seems obvious at first glance, but we must ask why it is that gold is held in esteem above other colors? Because during the reign of the Pharaohs’, only the aforementioned king of Egypt himself was allowed the right to wear golden jewelry, because it was a symbolic claim as a descendant of the sun god, Atum.
Likewise, gold remains a status symbol to this day because of its unparalleled qualities and more than anything else – it’s rarity. The gold color scheme being used at the hypothetical financial service office targets customers at an unconscious level, to remind them that their business is unique, and is not offering anything commensurate to their competition.
Red symbolizes: action, confidence, courage, vitality
Brown symbolizes: earth, order, convention
Orange symbolizes: vitality with endurance
Gold symbolizes: Wealth, prosperity, wisdom
Yellow symbolizes: wisdom, joy, happiness, intellectual energy
Green symbolizes: life, nature, fertility, well being
Blue symbolizes: youth, spirituality, truth, peace
Purple symbolizes: Royalty, magic, mystery
White symbolizes: Purity, Cleanliness
What does your business symbolize?