Understanding colours and how they evoke emotions
Hey besties!
Tell me, when you’re scrolling through your socials, have you ever come across a certain Instagram post that just makes you feel excited without even knowing the context or purpose behind it? Girl same! But how tf does this work? Well, *pushes sleeves up* let me explain! It’s all to do with Colour Theory!
Trust me when I say after reading this post, you will feel empowered because you will have learnt the basics of how to use colour theory which will allow you to evoke emotions into your brand!
Art x Science
The best way to describe Colour theory is the mix of art and science because we don’t just see colours we also feel them. Different colours can change our mood and perception of things making them the most important tool in a designer’s toolkit. The way that colours affect our emotions mostly depends on the colours shade, tint or tone, brightness and whether it’s a warm or cool toned colour. Ooph! Juicy!
Cocktail challenge
Speaking of Juicy, say you were at a cocktail bar, and the oh so talented bartender has lined up a variety of DIFFERENT coloured cocktails for you to choose from *dreams can come true*
9 times out of 10 you would most likely go for the red coloured cocktail say over the green coloured one (tell me am I wrong?) But WHYYY? Because, by just looking at the colour of your cocktail, without tasting or smelling it you have already formed a mental profile in your head on how the cocktail will taste and smell, and the #facts is we associate red coloured drinks with sweet and candy-like taste anddd green to having a sour taste. Now dont come at me if you prefer the green colour – its just what it is, i dont make the rules.
How to use colour theory in your brand
“Thanks for the cocktail ted talk Lorraine, but how do I apply colour theory to my brand?”
Designers use colour theory on the DAILY and its not just a matter of throwing together a colour palette of beautiful colours, or taking on colours you LOVEEE. At the get-go of your branding journey, designers look at your brand messaging, who your ideal audience is, your brand values your vision, personality allllll the nitty gritty stuff, and then to pull all these elements to create a visual identity we look at colour theory because each and every colour, carries its own emotional symbolism.
Warm + Cool colours
Warm colours will evoke a feeling of optimism, happiness and energy. These include red, orange and yellow and are a great way to catch people’s attention. But also keep in mind that these warm colours can also signal danger e.g. hazard warnings signs.
Cool colours will evoke a feeling of calmness, sophistication and are soothing, but can also express a feeling of sadness. These include blue, purple and green, and cool colours are a perfect way to give your overall brand vibe that feeling of wealth and luxury.
Colour symbolism
Breaking this down a little further, you can see what emotions individual colours express how brands have used colour to further drive their customers emotions.
Where does your brand sit?
So what happens if you are reading this and thinking ummmm my identity doesnt line up with my brand goals? the fact that you realise that is HUGE! But what you are presented with is now a crossroad, you could rebrand and finally start reaching your ideal clients, or keep going they way you are going – but if nothing changes nothing changes.
No matter where you are in your branding journey the key takeaway I want for you from this post is to look at the core of your brand, look at the emotional symbolism of colours and see if this matches up. Your identity is obviously not just your colours but it’s an important factor!
