PANTONE Guide to Communicating with Color
“Our very survival depends on the ability to identify necessary objects or warning signals whether they are animal, vegetable, or mineral, and color is an integral part of the identification process.”
By Leatrice Eiseman
Of all the forms of non-verbal communication, color is the most instantaneous method of conveying messages and meanings. Before humans learned to appreciate the aesthetics of color, there were far more practical aspects of communicating with color. Our very survival depends on the ability to identify necessary objects or warning signals whether they are animal, vegetable, or mineral, and color is an integral part of the identification process.
Among other uses, color stimulates and works synergistically with all of the senses, symbolizes abstract concepts and thoughts, expresses fantasy or wish fulfillment, recalls another time or place, and produces an aesthetic or emotional response.
There is no better place to judge the effectiveness of color than in the marketplace where it is a vital key in communicating a positive, enticing, and irresistible image to a product. Often called the “silent salesperson,” color must immediately attract the consumer’s eye, convey the message of what the product is all about, create a brand identity, and most importantly, help to make the sale. At the very least (as on a web page or in a print ad), it must create enough interest or curiosity to induce the would-be buyer to find out more about the product (or service).
For truly effective marketing, package colors must satisfy a “wish fulfillment” or need that the product promises to fulfill. For example: products offering sweet taste or sweet scents should be featured in pink, peach, cream, or lavender, while the promise of cool refreshment should be an icy blue, green, or blue-green. Each color family conveys specific moods and associations that become part of the symbology that is critical in marketing the product or company image.
The Color Wheel
An important graphic tool for creating color combinations, the color wheel is a circular arrangement of the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. It visually illustrates color “temperature” — warm vs. cool — as vital psychological components in delivering a specific color’s message. Colors are perceived as warm or cool because of ancient and universal associations. Red, orange, and yellow are associated with the warmth of fire and sun, while blue, green, and violet connect in the mind’s eye with the coolness of the sea, sky, foliage, and outer space.
Color Factoid
Confining a color to a particular feature or usage will give greater emphasis to that feature. Repeating a color too many times can create a distraction or dilution of attention.
