Having a creative outlet is a necessity for me.  When I say ‘necessity’, I mean it’s a fundamental need for me to decompress and stay sane.  Painting a wall is actually like spending an hour lying on the proverbial ‘couch’.  I love playing with colors to transform ideas from one aesthetic to another.  From one feeling to another.  From one type of energy to another.  Design changes the way we interpret things, and colors are a key factor in the perceptions that we ultimately land on.

It’s always interesting when we ask our clients what colors they are drawn to for their web site design.  In the produce industry, most often we receive direction to stick with colors that relate to the earth and their products.  In our business, branding is usually about green leaves, red tomatoes or brown dirt.

So when Colour Lovers posted this link to Web Color Trends, I could not wait to see what these trends would show.  Here is a small sampling from this list:

The term ‘trend’ was used loosely here, because what I found was quite a hodge podge of happy brand representations.  Bold color pairings and a fun, hip vibe is the focus now.  Companies are dialed into the fact that their brands must stand for more than a literal interpretation of their products, but must stand strong as a personality with potential to connect with the personalities of its consumers.  And color is key to that connection.  Color Matters says it perfectly, “…Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite.”  Color has the potential to impact us the way that a messy office space or negative co-worker can distract our focus and decrease our interest.  It can change our mood, our willingness to engage, our level of attraction to the products it is representing.

Color is a powerful tool.  It evokes memories, incites reactions, solicits emotions and births perceptions.  Color groupings embody a particular personality.  Some examples of groupings that upon first glance are instantly recognizable and evoke a full range of emotions are below.

So what? When you decided on your brand, did you base it around your products or build it upon the personality and perception that you want your customers to connect with?  Does your brand and/or packaging design utilize the powerful tool of color to communicate what your company stands for and to connect your products on a more personal level to your customers’ lives?

Posted by The Analyst (Marci Allen)

Tags: Business Colors, color branding, Color Matters, Color trends, Color Trends in Business, Colour Lovers, Corporate Colors, Logo Design, Web Color Trends

Posted Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 11:38 am and is filed under Branding & Messaging, Culture & Creativity, Marketing Tools & Trends.