Why Psychology of Color in Fashion Branding is Sexy
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Psychology of color in branding is actively used by fashion brands to establish their brand identity.
Dan Ariely, in his book Predictably Irrational, talks about, how we think that we make rational decisions. But in reality our decisions are irrational but that irrationality can be predicted.
And the psychology of color in branding is used to influence that irrational, emotional part of our brain.
It is shown scientifically that amygdala, a small seahorse-shaped structure within our brain is involved with our emotions. And if we can entice that area, we can influence clients perception of our brand.
In her book, The Charisma Myth, Olivia Fox Cabane says that “Logic makes us think but emotion makes us Act.” So, as a fashion brand, it’s integral that you generate emotion within your customers, therefore leading them to action.
There are a lot of studies that have been done to understand the psychology of color and how it affects branding.
Infographic created by ogilvydo shows how each color is perceived by us.
Red: color is used when brands want to be seen as powerful, passionate, active, bold, youthful and pioneering.
Following brands use red color to create that feeling among their customers.
The blue color is used in branding to appear calm, honest, trustworthy, sincere, caring, show integrity.
Pink color signified sweetness, love, sexiness, warmth, feminine, care, sensitive, nurturing.
Yellow color shows that brand is fun, friendly, optimistic, warm and is used to grab attention.
The black color is extremely popular among luxury fashion brands. They use the psychology of color strategy to generate a feeling of luxury, exclusivity, sophistication, authority and encourage customers to do impulse purchase.
Orange is used to portray energy, playfulness and create sense of haste & seem affordable
Green color, as we all know showcases balance, equilibrium, nature, freshness, care for the environment, organic.
Brown is used to showing warmth and dependability.
Purple stimulates the brain to show individuality, originality, unconventional taste, rich, nostalgic, fantasy.
White signifies purity, cleanliness, simplicity, freshness. It is used by one of the most popular brands, Apple to generate the feeling of simplicity in design and freshness in ideas.
According to a study done by helpscout, men and women react differently to each color.
As you can see Blue dominates as favorite color among 57% of men. Among women, we see an equal split between blue (35%) and purple(23%) as their favorite color.
As you can see, a lot goes into branding and picking the right color that would resonate with your target audience.
We hope the above data gives you a good starting point to pick the right color palette that incorporates basics of the psychology of color to help your brand.
Sources:
• Helpscout: Psychology of Color
• Ogilvydo: Branding agency
3 Comments
This is great information, I am in college studying fashion design and currently in the process of creating colors and logo for my brand. This would be very helpful.
thank you Nikki.
Such interesting theory behind colors, and so useful for so many things. Will definitely be looking out for brands’ color decisions.