THE COLOR OF MAIL
What Message Are You Sending?
Theresa Peterlein Mid-Michigan PCC Industry Co-Chair National Industry Co-Chair, Postal Customer Council Advisory Committee WHAT IS COLOR?
In 1666, English Scientist Sir Isaac Newton discovered that when pure white light passed through a prism, it separates into all of the visible colors.
There are over one million colors that the human eye can distinguish Colors in the red area of the spectrum are know as warm colors Warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Colors on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colors and include blue, purple, and green.
Cool colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Color is used both by advertisers and merchandisers to encourage and tempt the buyer to take action (purchase a product or service)
Meanings are attached to color in the same respect that meanings are attached to words
Color can be, and often is, more effective than words
Color not only enhances appearances but also influences our behavior
Colors can send a positive or negative message
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Color can calm a crowd
Color can make an athlete work harder
Color is a powerful means of setting emotion, which is the real driving force behind decision making.
Use color not just for decoration, but to guide your viewer’ eyes and attention to the most important elements in your marketing concepts.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Color is used to shape and define our lives, habits, values and our feelings.
Men and women respond to color differently
The colors we chose to wear, decorate our homes, our gardens, etc. gives us a personal insight about what is going on inside our innermost feelings and emotions.
Even in the food we eat, the color is taken into account by food industries and advertising companies when packaging and marketing their products.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Light vs. Dark
In general , light backgrounds create tidier, uncluttered borders.
For shopping or reading information, clean, light backgrounds are suggested, but avoid dull grays
Dark backgrounds can present a cozy, night-time feeling
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Toys, books and children’s web sites usually contain large blocks of bright, primary colors – young children prefer these colors and respond more positively than they do to pastels or muted blends.
Blue and red maintain a high preference throughout life, but other colors drop down the list as other colors become more preferred – as one ages, there is a greater liking for blue, green and purple than for red, orange and yellow
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? WHAT DO THESE LOGOS HAVE IN COMMON?
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? RED Attention Grabber Color of Danger and Excitement Strength Passion, sex – Red is perceived as the most sensual of all colors, and as the saying goes “sex sells” Speed, Movement Color of Energy
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? RED
The most physical color in the spectrum, it has been deeply ingrained in the human mind as a signal to act or react, to fight or flee.
Red is not a good color to over use, but using a spot of red in just the right place is smart in many cases – sale items in stores display red tags
Stimulated people to make quick decisions
Wearing red clothing will make you appear a bit heavier
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? RED Stimulates faster heartbeat
The most emotionally intense color
The color red will make you hungry
Red cars tend to get more tickets
Business wise it is associated with debt, but is great for bolding and accents
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Deep red is connected to wealth, red wine and the “good life”; they are thought of as elegant, cultivated, rich and refined.
There is an expectation that deeper wine colors will be more expensive, but that can be used to your advantage where luxury looks are being promoted
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? ORANGE Associated with playfulness Vibrant – the most flamboyant color on the planet Ambition Stimulates activity, stimulates appetite, encourages socialization One of America’s least favorite colors For business it is good for highlighting information on charts and graphs
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? There was literally no word for orange in Europe until the fruit arrived. Oranges became known as the fruit of the gods, emperors, kings and the hierarchy of the church
The mid 20 th century saw the popularity of orange plummet among the elite as the color was adapted not for fine dining but in fast food restaurants.
Today, orange has gone uptown, especially when clothed for both fashion and home in light to mid peach tones or deeper terra cottas.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? YELLOW
Yellow is the most difficult color for the eye to take in – it reflects the most amount of light of any color
Makes you hurry
Business wise it appeals to the intellectual types and is a good accent
The brain actually releases more serotonin (the feel good chemical in the brain) when around this color
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? YELLOW Raises blood pressure Catches the eye Warmth; Cheer; Happiness Babies cry more in yellow rooms and tempers flare more around this color than any other Husbands and wives fight more in yellow kitchens Speeds up our metabolism
Yellow roses are a symbol of friendship, less passionate or threatening than red ones
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? YELLOW Brings out creative thoughts (legal pads are yellow for that reason) Can be over-powering if over used, but can also be a very effective tool in marketing to greater sales Use yellow to promote children’s products and items related to leisure The color of graphic lightning bolts, it suggests energy and electricity Some shades of yellow are associated with cowardice
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? 75% of the pencils sold in the US are painted yellow…why?
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Since yellow is the most visible color of all the colors, it is the first color that the human eye notices. Use it to get attention, such as a yellow sign with black text, or as an accent. The use of yellow in signage, point of purchase displays and packaging is a significant attention grabber
The combination of yellow and all-powerful black is even more commanding and the indelible message is deeply implanted in the human mind to WATCH OUT!
In times of stress, there is an increase in the sale of yellow foods as people revert to childhood comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese, buttered popcorn, custard, puddings, crackers, warm soups, and French fries
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? BLUE All time favorite color (especially with men) Truth; reliability; belonging; coolness Some shades of blue can send a cold and uncaring message Blue is an appetite suppressant – weight loss plans suggest putting your food on a blue plate Put a blue light in your refrigerator and watch your desire munchies disappear. Why? Blue food is a rare occurrence in nature – there are no leafy blue vegetables, no blue meats
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? BLUE People tend to be more productive in blue rooms because they feel calm and focused. Weight lifters can lift more weight in a blue gym Over the ages, blue has become associated with steadfastness, dependability and loyalty (note how many uniforms are blue ) For business it suggests sanctuary and fiscal responsibility Designers use blue to describe ice and minty freshness Used to promote products and services related to cleanliness: water & cleaning products
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? BLUE Also used to denote crispness and clarity: clear liquids, such as vodkas or products having to deal with air or sky: airlines, air- conditioning Good choice when marketing high- technology or financial services Light blues associated themselves with health, tranquility and softness. Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue twice as much as any other color BLUE stands for love, which is why a bride carries or wears something BLUE on her wedding day Blue is the color symbolic of mercy and, as it is believed that the Ten Commandments were carved on sapphire tables, blue represents the highest orders of justice and moral behavior.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? GREEN Take a walk in the park, even on a dull wintry day, and you will count more variation of green than you have thought possible With a multitude of greens so plentiful in the world, the human eye literally sees more green than any other color. Physically, green affects the nervous system, causing us to breath slowly and deeply, helping the heart to relax by slowing the production of stress hormones.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? GREEN
Associated with envy, good luck, generosity and fertility, freedom, tranquility, jealousy Traditional color of peace The color of balance The easiest color on the eyes and can improve vision Lowers blood pressure
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? GREEN Symbolizes a healthy lifestyle Natural; freshness; money Dark forest green is associated with conservative, masculine & wealth Hospitals use light green rooms because they are found to be calming to patients. Green is thought to relieve stress and help heal. Those who have a green work environment experience fewer stomach aches.
Te Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? GREEN
Soothes, relaxes mentally as well as physically, helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety, offers a sense of renewal, self-control and harmony To create a calming effect or growth image for your product or service, choose green.
Businesses use it to communicate status and wealth
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? BLACK Sophistication
Gives an expensive message
Elegant
Seductive
Mysterious
Intelligence
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? BLACK
Authority; Power; Boldness
Black clothes make people appear thinner
Sometimes associated with evil and grieving
A serious color that evokes strong emotions
Business wise it is great for creating drama and good for a background color (except on websites, it is very hard on the eyes)
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? It is easy to overwhelm people with too much black
Adding black to any color renders that color more powerful, creating an illusion of depth, weight, solidity, substance, and most often, more subtlety.
Black implies weight – people will think a black box weighs more than a white one
The color black can target your high-end market or be used in youth marketing to add mystery to your image
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? PURPLE Color of royalty Spirituality Dignity Luxury, wealth, sophistication Use purple carefully to lend an air of mystery, wisdom and respect The favorite color of young adolescent girls
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? PURPLE
In business it is upscale and works with artistic types Because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial When overused, it is associated with putting on airs and being artificial Lighter hues, such as lavender and orchid create a sense of nostalgia, romance or mystique – well suited to the feminine market
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Purple is a combination of red, which stimulates, and blue , which calms – combine to create hues of purples
When it leans towards the blue hues , purple is considered more spiritual or mystical
When it leans towards its redder hues, it is considered more sensual.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Bright purples are well suited for children’s products since they convey a sense of creativity and playfulness.
PURPLE in a child’s room is said to help develop the imagination
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? In order to “sell” purple , to the unconvinced, it’s necessary to skew the shade either to the warm red or to the cool blue side so that the message becomes more obvious.
In business it is upscale and works with artistic types
Maybe add some purple tones to your look for your premium services in your business?
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? A corporate logo for a business that wants to be thought of as dependable and forthright, yet at the same time capable of creative innovation might well consider a blue purple in a business arena where so many logos are blue .
At one time considered an old-fashioned, rather sentimental color, mauve has become less age -related and more acceptable for male slanted product or wearing apparel, especially in the smokier tones
Lavenders , long associated with aging and femininity, have now become more trans-gender and used by all ages
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? WHITE The color of Purity (wedding dresses) The color of innocence Cleanliness/sterility (doctor’s white coats) Safety in bright light Refined, devotion, truthfulness Projects the absence of color, or neutrality For business it can be sterile and refreshing White is bright and can create a sense of space or create highlights
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? WHITE
Aids mental clarity, encourages us to clear clutter
Where black is thought of as the absence of light, white is the complete presence of light.
White expresses silence and the almost total lack of sound
White becomes far more friendly and approachable when combined with another color, especially warm colors, or when the whiteness is not quite so pure-as-the-driven-snow, as in cream, ivory, ecru, bone or off-whites.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? PINK Femininity, gentleness Softness, well being Sweet, innocence Security The most calming of all colors Pink drains energy and calms aggression
Often, dangerous criminals are housed in pink cells
For business you must be aware of it’s feminine links and implications
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Some pinks are called bright and shocking because that is exactly what they are meant to be-intensely theatrical, they radiate with high energy exerting a youthful and sensual force.
Makes us crave sugar
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? BROWN
Symbolizes earth, richness
Associated with reliability; stability & friendship, politeness, effectiveness, helpfulness
Usually, but always associated with masculine qualities
In business it suggest less important items
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? BROWN Use dark browns for creating an air of richness and sophistication. Beige and tans to achieve a sense of soothing and calmness. Very dark brown can be used in place of blacks; adding richness and warmth. Used to promote natural and organic products Use with pale blues and greens to achieve a soft yet earthly feel
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Over the years , brown has become the color highly favored by sports activities, specifically hunting, fishing, hiking and camping.
Brown also has an amazing appeal to an expanded appetite, both in food and drink.
Think chocolate, cappuccino, chocolate mousse, caramel, and hot fudge…in the context of coffee or chocolate, brown is often irresistible.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? GOLD
Wealth, Prestige, Expensive
Divine, Luxurious
Opulent, Radiant, Valuable
We have been taught to associated gold with value, which is exactly what is triggered when we see it in marketing materials
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? The perception of value is always intensified with the use of gold
It can seldom be used in marketing materials though, because it color usually isn’t duplicated well and gets confused with yellow
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? GREY/SILVER Cold/Scientific It also represents cleanliness (kitchens) Practical Timeless Middle-of-the-Road Some shades are associated with old age, death, taxes, depression or lost sense of direction
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Grey is the middle ground between black and white, truly the perfect neutral *For that reason, color matching is best done against a grey background The color of compromise A bit of grey can add that rock solid feeling to your product For business it is traditional and conservative
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? The color of intellect, knowledge and wisdom
Because of it’s perceived neutrality, gray does have some interesting psychological connotations attached to it
The man or women in the grey flannel suit is the perfect arbiter. He/she is deemed responsible, staunch, steadfast, accountable, solid and resolute.
In a logo or brand identify image, a vibrant red or purple can create the excitement against the quiet assurance of gray .
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Silver is the more exciting metallic sister to gray .
Just as gold is invariable connected to the sun, silver is inevitably paired with the light emanating from the moon. ( silver was actually referred to as “Luna” in ancient times)
The color of coins, jewelry and pricier items with a silvery shimmer establish a perceived value to the finish wherever it is used.
There is a fluidity of motion attached to silver .
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Color Preferences by Gender A distinctive second to blue , green is a favorite color of men who prefer brighter shades, while women favor cool, soft greens . Women wear brighter more varied colors, while men’s attire is traditionally less colorful
Purple stands out as a feminine color and is strongly disliked by men, including lavender and turquoise.
Even though it is acceptable as a clothing color for men, pink has strong negative associations for men.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Color Preferences by Gender
Female top 3 favorite colors: blue , purple , green Female top 3 least favorite colors: orange , brown, gray Male top 3 favorite colors: blue, green, black Male top 3 least favorite colors: brown, orange , purple
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Among favorite colors, preference for green decreases with ages for all genders
Among least favorite colors, dislike of brown and purple decreases with age while dislike of orange increases with age.
In general, women shop more emotionally and deliberately than men and respond to merchandise that really entices them – color plays a large part in that enticement.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? The effects of color differ among different cultures, so the attitudes and preferences of your target audience should be a consideration when you plan your design of any promotional materials
White is the color of death in Chinese culture, but purple represents death in Brazil.
Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, but signified sadness in Greece and jealousy in France.
People from tropical countries respond most favorably to warm colors; people from northern climates prefer the cooler colors.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Regardless of gender, it’s the “50 plusses” who have the most expendable income. They have more experience in buying, they are the most demanding and make no mistake about it, they are style and trend aware.
However, it is also this age group that starts to have trouble reading the fine print on packages or in signage – if they cannot read it, they’ll leave it.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Occasionally, the elderly get confused when they take various medications, most of which are small white tablets. Researchers have found that patients who take multiple drugs on a daily basis preferred bright pill colors. Patients also respond best when color corresponds with the intended results of the medicine – example: calm blue for a good night’s sleep
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Many medications, previously available only with a prescription are now available as “over the counter”. This means that it’s more important than ever for the products to catch the shopper’s eye and convey information effectively. Color and design are extremely critical to the brand.
The cool color range in print is especially problematic to older eyes, so it’s important to intensify and brighten the cool colors; separating those shades by interjecting some neutral tones or incorporating some contract of warm colors.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Studies have shown that color
accelerates learning, retention and recall by 55-78%
Improves and increases comprehension by up to 73%
Increases recognition by up to 87%; and increases motivation and participation, moving people to action, by up to 80%
Reduces error count from 55% to 35%
Sells products and ideas more effectively by 50% to 85%
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? When using text and/or graphics:
Limit text to phrases – simply stated and to the point
Maximize white space between points to avoid cluttered look
Choose a basic text color that best reflects the message. For example : red for excitement, orange to express heat
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Changing a color of a word or phrase within the body of the text will make the word or phrase more memorable
Legibility is best served by contrast-light text on darker background or dark on light
White against a color can provide high contrast. The human eye perceives of white as a brilliant color
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? 73% of purchasing decisions are made in-store, consequently catching the shopper’s eye and conveying information effectively are critical to successful sales
Ads in color are read up to 42% more often than the same ads in black and white
Tests indicate that a black and white image may sustain interest for less than 2/3 of a second, whereas a colored image may hold the attention for 2 seconds or more.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? 92.6% of people surveyed said that they put most importance on visual factors when purchasing product
When asked to approximate the importance of color when buying products, 84.7% of those surveyed think that color accounts for more than half among the various factors important for choosing products
Research also reveals that people make a subconscious judgment about a person environment, or product with 90 seconds of initial viewing, and that between 62 & 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? What are “safe” colors? Purple and orange will never have the positive color responses of blue , beige or green.
Impulse buyers respond best to red/orange , black & royal blue
Shoppers with budgets respond best to pink , teal , light blue & navy
Traditionalists respond best to pastels – pink , rose & sky blue
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Use caution when using red or orange
Deeper reds look classy and need a touch of black within them – using the border effect works well – use red for detail and white to prevent blandness.
Orange should be used carefully, but works with some thick black detail. It is a good food color.
Green creates serenity, but never use yellowish greens (lime) for large areas.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Know Your Market Are they Asian or Polish? Think Red Are they Dutch? Think Orange Are they young? Old?
Research shows that you have between 8-20 seconds maximum to persuade a prospect to continue reading – visual appeal is your first weapon – use it wisely.
Watch the Car Makers Car manufacturers spend millions on color research so that you don’t have to. Watch the top selling car colors to see emerging trends – Lexus appears to be especially sensitive to colors.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Color differentiates your service or product (John Deere) The Green Lawnmower
Research reveals that people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Use blue green for classical elegance
Color differentiates products, stores, and organizations from their competitors
Color defines the brand (Home Depot)
A color to build on…. Home Depot uses its distinctive color to create an intimate relationship between the store and its customers.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? RED – You are stimulating, energetic, dynamic, direct, competitive, confident and bold
PURPLE – Your are original, spontaneous, intuitive, psychic, aesthetic, visionary, and unusual
GREEN – you are people-oriented, natural, stable, detail-oriented, healthy, keen, and friendly
Blue – You are peaceful, refined, spiritual, trustworthy, reliable, non-threatening, serene, honest, and dependable
YELLOW – You are easy-going, calm, bright, expressive, talkative, funny, warm and happy
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? A rather high percentage of the population is color blind. To be sure that your materials can be read by someone with color blindness, try converting your image to black and white or grayscale.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? ON THE INTERNET…..
We don’t deal with face to face selling – the internet is a visual and psychological medium. The background color of a website, the color of the header, the color of the text, headlines and sub- headlines all have a psychological impact on your visitors. Blues and white backgrounds work best for business sites. Maternity sites pink , golf or lawn sites green. Food sites should consider red.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Don’t forget common sense – black text on white backgrounds may be dull, but it is the most readable and pleasing to the eye. Yellow text on white background is not only unreadable, but causes eye -strain which will have people leaving your site quickly. Nothing will lose sales faster than eye-straining text.
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? DEFINE YOUR MESSAGE!
Is it invigorating, exotic or intimate?
Should it suggest a certain mystery, sentiment or taste?
Select the dominant color that most conveys the message
Choose subordinate and accent colors to support the message
Fine tune the choices for appropriateness to the target audience
Check competition colors for similarities and “tweak” if necessary
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Use red when you want to grab attention and communication
Use pink when you want to imply warmth, delicacy and femininity (romance)
Use orange when you want to get attention to convey creativity
Use yellow when you want to convey a sense of newness, excitement, fun or surprise
Use green when you want to suggest a restful feeling, endurance and sturdiness
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? Use blue when you want to be relaxed and calm
Use purple when you want to convey grandeur, luxury and expensive
Use black to suggest power and dominance
Use grey to appear conservative, businesslike and smart
Use white when you want to convey simplicity, purity, and cleanliness
Use brown to suggest naturalness and earthiness
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending? THANK YOU
Theresa Peterlein Mid-Michigan PCC Industry Co-Chair National Industry Co-Chair Postal Customer Council Advisory Council (616) 329-3267
The Color of Mail - What Message Are You Sending?