Colour Your Life - but with which one?

I often get asked about what is the best colour for you to wear everyday and in your business to bring yousuccess. Well there is no one colour that brings success, it's more about finding the colour that fits you.

It all depends on what service or product you are providing, plus when you get clarity on your Personal Brand, then the colour part is easy!

If you want to know their meanings however, here you go...

RED

One day red may indicate they are ready to take action, or they may be passionate about what they are going to be doing that day, or again it may mean that they are feeling angry that day, on either a conscious or subconscious level.

In using red in business, you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color. To begin with, red is a warm and positive color, a very physical color which draws attention to itself and calls for action to be taken. In color psychology red means energy, passion, action, strength and excitement. It stimulates the physical senses such as the appetite, lust and sexual passion. Although it is often used to express love, it really relates more to sexual passion and lust whereas pink relates more to romantic love. Red represents masculine energy, whereas its softer version, pink, is associated with feminine energy.

A universal sign of danger and warning, this is a color that can also show and create aggressiveness and anger, particularly if used to excess in the wrong applications. Physiologically, it stimulates and energizes the physical body, including the nerves and the circulation of blood, raising blood pressure and heart rate. It is stimulating to the appetite and therefore a great color to use for any product associated with food and its service, including restaurants and take-away businesses. It excites and motivates but in excess it can cause anxiety and tiredness. It also has negative connotations associated with blood, war and violence. The color which most complements and balances red is turquoise, although green or blue will also create balance.

In business, the color red will always elicit a passionate response but the response may be either positive or negative and you may have no control over this response as it will be in the hands of your potential customer.

This is a color which encourages buyers to take action and make a purchase. For example, it could be used to tempt an impulse buy at the purchase counter in your store, as footprints or arrows directing people around your store or to your cash register, or for a 'buy now' button on a website. A touch of red can be used as one of the colors on your website to indicate your energy and passion for your business. In larger amounts it is effective in the promotion of products or services related to food and appetite, energy, passion or speed. Often used as a warning sign, it is best used as an accent color as too much red can overwhelm.

ORANGE

Orange is the color of social communication and optimism. From a negative color meaning it is also a sign of pessimism and superficiality. In using orange in business, you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color. To begin with, it is a warm, vibrant and flamboyant color. It is energy combined with fun, the color of the risk-taker, the extrovert and the uninhibited. In color psychology it means adventure, optimism, self-confidence and sociability.

Physiologically, orange vitalizes, inspires and creates enthusiasm. It is stimulating to the appetite and social conversation and therefore works well in restaurants and other food outlets. This can be achieved by using some form of the color in the décor, such as in the furnishings or the lighting. It does not need to be bright orange - salmon, coral, terracotta and other versions of it will work as well. An up market restaurant will look more elegant with subdued versions of orange. Combine with aubergine, purple, or blue for a unique, contemporary and classy look.

Using Orange in Business: Be careful when using orange in business; apply it sparingly as it tends to be the most disliked color in the western world. Use it to suggest adventure, fun, optimism. It imparts a message that it is affordable yet reasonable quality, sociable and easy-going.

Orange is an invaluable color in encouraging sales in restaurants, café's, bistros and diners as it stimulates appetite and conversation, contributing to patrons eating and talking longer and spending more money. Its stimulation to social communication and the senses makes it a beneficial color for hotels and resorts. Travel websites should consider it as one of their color choices for its association with journeys, adventure and exciting fun activities.

Sports teams can use this vibrant color in their team colors to suggest energy, flamboyance and adventure. Orange is an appealing color for the youth market as children and teens tend to like its sense of fun and adventure and its suggestion of affordability. It is also a great color to use on toys for young children, along with other bright primary and secondary colors. A softer version of orange, such as peach is favorable in beauty salons, spas and treatment centers' and upper class restaurants.

YELLOW

Yellow is the color of the mind and the intellect. It is optimistic and cheerful. However it can also suggest impatience, criticism and cowardice.

In using yellow in business, you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color to decide if it will create the message you wish to send to your target market. To begin with, yellow is a warm and happy color which creates a sense of cheerfulness and playfulness. Psychologically, it is optimistic, uplifting and illuminating, brightening people's spirits. Yellow stimulates the logical side of the brain and mental clarity. It promotes wisdom and academic proficiency. It inspires original thinking and creative ideas. Physiologically, yellow stimulates the mind and mental activity. It increases the analytical processes and our logical reasoning, helping with decision-making.

Too much yellow can cause anxiety, nervousness, apprehension, agitation and confrontation particularly in people who are already stressed. It can motivate people to become overly critical and judgmental, as well as deceitful. Using Yellow in BusinessYellow is a great color for children's products, particularly combined with other bright primary or secondary colors. It is stimulating to their mind and their creativity. For many leisure products, particularly those that promote playful and fun activities, yellow is a beneficial color. It will enhance the promotion of any fun and entertainment businesses.

Apart from the above types of businesses, in general it is best to use yellow as a highlight color - too much can cause agitation and anxiety, particularly with older people. Avoid its use where you are trying to impart a message of stability. Use yellow where you want to keep people moving. Most people cannot stay for long where there is a lot of yellow. Fast food outlets use it combined with red to encourage people to eat lots quickly then move on. It is a good to incorporate yellow in the promotion of point of sale purchases - the eyes see yellow first and with so many other distractions in retail stores, you need to capture your customer's attention quickly.

Don't use yellow to sell expensive items to men who see it as cheap and unsophisticated. Don't use dirty versions of yellow such as mustard - they have negative connotations.Yellow with black provides a warning and is often used in safety signs for this reason.

GREEN

Green is the color of balance and growth. It can mean both self-reliance as a positive and possessiveness as a negative, among many other meanings. In using green in business, you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color. Green is a color of growth and vitality, associated with new life and renewal. Psychologically it relates to balance and harmony of the mind, the body and the emotions. It assists in decision making by helping us to see all sides clearly.

Physiologically, it balances people's emotions, creating a sense of calm. Green is associated with nature, health and healing, and the environment, creating a sense of compassion and nurturing for all. It encourages generosity, kindness and sympathy. Darker greens relate to money, wealth and prestige, while lighter greens relate to growth and freshness. Green is regarded as the color of money in the Western world. Too much green can lead to feelings of envy, greed and selfishness. Dirty olive green can have negative connotations unless it is associated with the environment.

Using Green in Business: Green is beneficial for anything to do with health and healing. Green is an ideal color to promote natural, safe, organic products. It is also beneficial in the promotion of environmentally friendly products. Green suggests something 'new' and fresh. Lime green creates an anticipation of the potential of what is on offer.Green motivates people to join social groups and satisfies their need to belong. Dark green is a good color for money and financial websites. Use green where you need people to see both sides of a situation as it aids in clear thinking and decision making.

BLUE

Blue is the color of trust and peace. It can suggest loyalty and integrity as well as conservatism and frigidity. In using blue in business, you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. Blue is the most universally favored color of all and therefore the safest to use. It relates to trust, honesty and dependability, therefore helping to build customer loyalty.

Blue indicates confidence, reliability and responsibility. It relates to one-to-one communication rather than mass communication. It inspires wisdom and higher ideals but is also conservative and predictable. Physiologically, blue is calming, reducing tension and fear. It slows the pulse rate and reduces appetite. Being a cool color it creates a sensation of space.

Blue adds strength and unity, and is therapeutic to the mind and body. It brings harmony to the spoken word. Blue works well for the corporate world and is often used for more conservative types of businesses such as accountants, insurance companies, banks and other financial companies where trust and reliability are important. Younger people see blue in general as a color relating to maturity and the adult market, unless it is a bright electric blue of course. Too much blue can encourage boredom, manipulation or a rigid outlook.

Using Blue in Business: Blue is best used for conservative corporate businesses where trust, dependability and honesty are important. Communication websites which market to individual customers on a one-to-one basis would benefit with some blue in their marketing. Hi-tech and computer technology businesses can benefit from most shades of blue combined with gray. As with turquoise, blue is recommended for any business involved in the area of cleanliness, whether it be cleaning products, water purification or mineral water. It is also beneficial to businesses, such as airlines, boating or air conditioning companies, that relate to the common associations of blue with the sky, air and water.

Websites promoting technology, medical equipment, cleanliness, male products, or both male and female products should use some blue in their colors. Blue should not be used for food related businesses as it is a color that does not occur naturally in food, except for blueberries, and it is associated with mould and 'off' food. The only exception is sugar, where blue or blue-pinks are used on packaging because blue and pink are associated with sweetness. Light blue relates well to the health and wellness industry, to travel and relaxation. Dark blue is a serious color which inspires integrity and honesty and is often used by political organizations, religious organizations and legal firms for this reason.

PURPLE

Purple is the color of the imagination. It can be creative and individual or immature and impractical. In using purple in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success. Purple suggests wealth and extravagance, fantasy and the world of dreams. It enhances spiritual pursuits and enlightenment.

Physiologically, it heightens people's sense of beauty and their reaction to more creative ideas. It is often used to denote a high quality or superior product, such as Cadbury's chocolate or some women's cosmetics. If you are in a service business, use some purple in your marketing to denote your premium service. Purple is often connected with the 18 to 25 year old market as they see it as sexy and rebellious, while innovative designers connect it with sophistication and power. It is most often used by businesses in creative fields -designers, psychics and cosmetic manufacturers are common users of it. Purple is a color that works well with gold, taupe, turquoise, jade green, deep red, magenta and yellow. Combined with orange it creates a unique contemporary look.

Using Purple in Business: Purple is more suitable for products and websites related to women or children, although younger men are slowly becoming more attuned to it. Academic institutions often use medium shades of purple or violet as they inspire intellectual thought and achievement. Purple portrays wealth and extravagance when combined with the richness of gold. This is difficult on a website as gold tends to look like a dull yellow which is not particularly positive in its message. It works very well on packaging and print material. Pre-adolescent children are attracted to purple along with the other bright primary and secondary colors and these colors should always feature on products and marketing designed for this age group.

Lighter versions of purple are suitable for products and services targeted specifically at the female market. Lavender suggests nostalgia and works well for businesses selling old lace, sentimental handmade craft items and antique goods.

TURQUOISE

The color meaning of turquoise is communication and clarity of mind. It can also be impractical and idealistic. In using turquoise in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success. Psychologically, turquoise represents clarity of thought and communication. It inspires self-expression, encouraging people to tune into their own needs.

Physiologically, turquoise calms the emotions and recharges the spirit, invigorating depleted energy levels and inspiring positive thought. Turquoise is a beneficial color for any business related to communication, including teachers, trainers, public speakers, media communication and computer technology. Turquoise is a good color for health clinics and practitioners as it balances the emotions and calms the spirit. Using turquoise for cleaning products is ideal as it reflects cleanliness and purity without being too sterile.

Too much turquoise creates indecision as people swing between the blue energy and the yellow energy that comprises turquoise. Balance it with either some red, pink, magenta or purple.

Using Turquoise in Business: Turquoise is suitable for use in any business involved in media communication, teaching, public speaking or computers. It aids self-expression, clarity of thought and logical thinking.

Turquoise works well with businesses promoting water, whether it be pure water filtration companies, pool cleaning businesses, or water sports. It has an innovative quality and appeal for sports related businesses and combines well with red, orange or yellow for these types of businesses. Turquoise is suitable for both the male and female market and for all ages. Combined with pale pink, lavender or pale lemon, turquoise has a feminine energy, ideal for the fashion or beauty market, gift or home wares stores.

PINK

The color psychology of pink is unconditional love and nurturing. Pink can also be immature, silly and girlish. In using pink in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success.

Psychologically pink is associated with compassion, nurturing, love, and romance. It is feminine and youthful in its softer shades, with more passion and energy in its deeper shades.Pink is inspiring, warm and comforting, suggesting hope for the future. It is calming and non-threatening.Physiologically, it calms and reassures our emotional energies, alleviating feelings of anger, aggression, resentment, abandonment and neglect.

This is a color usually used in businesses relating to the female market such as cosmetics, fashion, beauty and romance. Combining it with darker colors gives it more sophistication and strength.

Using Pink in Business: Pink relates to compassion, warmth, hope and understanding, so many charities choose to use it as a major component of their marketing program.It reflects a softness, sweetness and intuitive energy that works well for many products and websites promoting women's products and services, such as beauty salons, fashion businesses and cosmeticians. It is a beneficial color for candy stores and other businesses selling sweet products.Brighter versions are useful to promote less expensive and trendy products to the teenage and pre-teen market.

Dusty pink relates to those businesses marketing sentimental services and products, particularly to the older market.

BROWN

Using Brown in Business: Brown is appealing to most men due to its strength, reliability, durability and practicality (it hides the dirt). It is not as well accepted by women unless they are involved in outdoor activities and farming. With its connection to the outdoors and down-to-earth activities, brown is suitable for businesses promoting outdoor products and services. Earth moving, landscaping and farming businesses are inspired by the use of brown, along with anyone marketing wholesome and organic products.

Durability and credibility as well as homely and comfortable are positive messages given by the use of brown. Too much brown can be heavy, dull and boring. It can appear too staid, serious, passive and unsophisticated.

Light brown suggests neatness, openness, approachability and friendliness. Medium brown relates well to nature, wholesome food and agricultural products when you relate it to color meanings in business. Dark brown relates well to sophisticated and professional men's products when combined with gold or cream.

GREY

From a color psychology perspective, gray is the color of compromise - being neither black nor white, it is the transition between two non-colors. In using gray in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success. Gray is a conservative color signifying neutrality, indifference and reserve.

Physiologically, gray can drain you of energy, be depressing or uplifting, depending on how much lightness and white is in the gray. Dark gray is more depressing than light gray.Gray serves as a good background for other colors as it doesn't attract attention, allowing the other colors to take prominence.

Gray suggests security, reliability, modesty, maturity and dullness. It can imply that you can't make decisions, 'the fence-sitter', that you don't have an opinion on anything. Gray lacks energy; it is neither reassuring nor soothing, neither stimulating nor exciting, neither pleasing nor inviting. It needs to be combined with other colors to give it passion, energy and life.

Using Gray in Business: Gray is a safe color to use in many business applications. It is neutral and serious and can be combined with almost any other color to impart different messages and to reach different target markets. Gray is suitable for legal and financial websites to suggest power and control, particularly when combined with some white and black. Combining it with blue suggests credibility, trust and reliability.

Surprisingly, gold can work well with gray to suggest professional and high quality, but on a website the gold will tend to look like a dirty yellow which is not positive. Light gray can create a hi-tech look when combined with other colors such as turquoise, light blue, dark blue or yellow.

SILVER

Silver has a feminine energy; it is related to the moon and the ebb and flow of the tides - it is fluid, emotional, sensitive and mysterious. In using silver in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success.

Silver is a color associated with prestige and wealth. It is seen as a sophisticated color related to female energy, prosperity and modernity. With its reflective qualities it relates to intuition, clairvoyance and mental telepathy. Physiologically, silver is calming and soothing, with a lightness that is more uplifting than gray. Silver is a fluid color, ever changing, calming, purifying. It is the color of the moon with its ever changing moods relating to emotional and sensitive energies - it is compassionate. It has a degree of mystery about it - like the moon itself.

Silver is patience, reflection, perseverance, dignified, soothing & calming, self control, organization and responsibility. It is illuminating and balancing (neither black nor white). On packaging silver looks sleek, smooth, and lustrous. It has a coolness about it that relates to the future and science and technology.

Using Silver in Business: The color silver reflects quality craftsmanship and artistry and would benefit businesses offering a first class quality service or product or those selling exquisite items to the prestige market. With its modern sleek appearance, silver is appropriate for the hi-tech, innovative computer market and scientific and technological companies.

Silver also works well for any businesses promoting and featuring quality modern appliances and equipment. Silver doesn't work well as a color on websites because it just appears gray which can be cold and impersonal. However, combined with other colors that are appropriate for your target market, gray will take on the messages associated with the other colors and it will then work well for your website.

GOLD

Gold is the color of success, achievement and triumph. Associated with abundance and prosperity, luxury and quality, prestige and sophistication, value and elegance, the color psychology of gold implies affluence, material wealth and extravagance. In using the color gold in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success. Psychologically it is seen as the color of inner wisdom, quality and wealth. It is associated with prestige, luxury and material wealth, suggesting that a product or service is expensive and exclusive.

Physiologically, it can induce great feelings of happiness and bliss or alternatively, deep anxiety and fear. It implies generosity of time, money and spirit. It is the color of victory, hence the use of gold medals for winners. When used with purple it can indicate wealth and beauty, and is associated with expensive luxury items. Used with dark blue it suggests honesty, trustworthiness and success. Used with black it suggests extreme opulence, elegance and wealth.

Using Gold in Business: Businesses marketing items of high perceived value will benefit from the use of gold in their packaging and marketing. However it doesn't translate well onto websites - it becomes a dirty yellow which generally does not give a positive message. Using it with navy or black are good choices when selling quality products to men, whether it is used in packaging, promotional materials or on a website. Just be aware of how it transcribes onto your website. Combined with dark red, dark blue or dark green it imparts a message of quality, wealth and prestige.

BLACK

Black is the color of the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, creating an air of mystery. It keeps things bottled up inside, hidden from the world. In using the color black in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success.

Psychologically black means authority, power and control. In many situations it can be intimidating, unfriendly and unapproachable. Alternatively, it can be seen as sophisticated, dignified and serious. Physiologically, it is intimidating and controlling, although its power can instill confidence in some.

Black creates an air of mystery and secrecy. Sometimes people hide behind its unapproachable facade. In very small amounts it can add strength and confidence without becoming overpowering. Black is favored by the youth market aged approximately 16 to 25, who are still trying to find their own sense of identity and place in this world. Those who are achievement oriented and ambitious also favor black.Black board with printing in any of the jewel colors of red, emerald green, magenta, or bright blue, or gold, silver or white will create a dramatic impression. Black packaging can make an item appear expensive and heavier.

Using Black in Business: Black is beneficial for businesses selling luxury, elegance and sophistication. These types of businesses include those selling high quality professional products and luxury goods, and up market car companies. Black packaging makes an item seem heavier and more expensive and of higher perceived value. It creates a classy and elegant impression.

Using black for selling and marketing products and services to the high end youth market, including music related businesses, is seen as cutting edge and trendy. The youth market tends to be attracted to black with its sophistication and rebelliousness. Black can be used to create a dramatic effect when combined with bright, rich, jewel colors such as red, emerald, cobalt, yellow, magenta and orange. However, in general, using too much black can be intimidating and unfriendly - think of the salesman with the black suit and tie or the black shirt and pants.

WHITE

White is color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection. The color meaning of white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. In using the color white in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success.

In color psychology white is the color of new beginnings, wiping the slate clean, so to speak. It is the blank canvas waiting to be written upon. While white isn't stimulating to the senses, it opens the way for the creation of anything the mind can conceive. Physiologically, white is calming as it creates simplicity, organization and efficiency out of chaos. It clears the way forward. White's basic feature is equality, implying fairness and impartiality, neutrality and independence. It is a reassuring color which helps to create order and proficiency.

White amplifies everything in its way and too much of it can give an impression of sterility, coldness, disinterest and detachment. White is useful in businesses where cleanliness is imperative, such as dental surgeries and medical centres, but these businesses need some green or pink to assist in healing and to create a calm and caring atmosphere for patients.

Using White in Business: White is probably the best color to use as the background color for websites. It allows all other colors to reflect from it and makes all colors except yellow and pastels to be very readable. Using white for negative space on your website makes it look clean, open and uncluttered.With its suggestion of simplicity, cleanliness and safety, white works well for businesses promoting hi-tech products, kitchen appliances, bathroom items, infant and health related products and those promoting order and efficiency. Depending on the business, it is advantageous to add other appropriate colors which will reflect the individuality of the business as, on its own, white is sterile and cold.

Source: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/

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