From apples to zebras, colors tell us a great deal
about what a thing is and whether or not it will
appeal to us. When it comes to what a color
means,
however, things are not simply black and white (or
brown, or blue or …).
Up to 60 percent of a consumer’s first impression
of a product comes from its color, so selecting
your shade may be the most important decision
you make—more important, even, than deciding
what the product itself actually does. Color is
such an important part of branding and brand
identity, in fact, that in the 1995 case of Qualitex
v. Jacobson Products, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that a particular shade could serve as a
legal trademark.
Since many cultures and countries have different
traditional perspectives when it comes to certain
colors and combinations, the color conundrum is
compounded when a given product or campaign is
taken to other countries. From IBM to UPS, international
corporations spend a great deal of time and
money choosing and licensing the colors for which
they are known. Before companies do so, however,
they not only have to examine how their color of
choice will be perceived in their home country, but
elsewhere as well.
WHY COLOR MATTERS
“Color is extremely important,” says James Smith,
principal of Smith Design in Carmel, Calif. “It’s a
powerful communications tool and can be used to
create compelling messages.” According to Smith,
the right balance of color, typography and other
graphic elements makes the difference between
“good design” and unsuccessful efforts. “People have
strong feelings about color,” he says. “Color has the
power to differentiate a brand from its competitive
set, plus send nonverbal cues to consumers.”
Smith warns what works in one area may not
work in another. “Color/meaning connections do not
always transfer across cultures,” he says. “That’s why it
is important to do your homework when embarking
on international brands and in global markets.” The
same color in one culture and country may carry different
connotations than in another culture and country. In fact, some colors can be
seen in what may appear to be diametrically opposed
ways. “White can be a symbol of purity in Western
culture, but symbolizes death and mourning in others,”
says Smith. “Bright yellow, playful and fun to us,
can be highly offensive in other cultures.”
Even within some individual cultures, colors
can be seen in very different lights. To take yellow again, for Europeans it can mean either hope and joy
or cowardice and weakness. While these may not be
opposites, they are certainly connotatively divergent.
“Historically in Western culture,” Smith adds, “black
has been associated with death, while at the same time
[it] communicates … sophisticated [and] affluent.”
In the realm of Feng Shui, blue represents both
calm and adventure, and black symbolizes both success
and evil (and are traditionally related to money).
Smith’s vice president Martah Seidner notes that,
with so much concern for the environment, green
has also become a more popular and prevalent color,
as evidenced by its use in their packaging for Breyer’s
organic ice cream.
WEIGHING COLOR’S WORTH
While this may lead some to think there are multiple
color lines in the world, according to trend
strategist Kathy Lamancusa’s article “Emotional
Reactions to Color” (Creative Latitude, 2003),
“Colors … convey messages that go beyond ethnic,
racial or gender boundaries.” Lamancusa says certain
colors suggest similar themes no matter where
you go. For example, she sees red as “symbolic of
highly charged personal feelings”—such as aggression,
passion and love. She suggests brown “connects
us with the earth and provides a feeling of substance
and stability,” and observes blue is not only “peaceful
and tranquil,” but also “dependable … and cool.”
One explanation for this color confusion could
be the separation of different shades of a specific
color. “Change the value, hue and tint … [and] you’ll
alter its meaning and emotional response,” Smith
says, offering by way of example the commonly
perceived differences between lighter blue—which,
he says, can communicate such things as “refreshment”—while darker shades are often associated with
“seriousness, stability and trustworthiness.”
Not only are such shadings suggested, they are
often demanded. Brendan Murphy, principal at
Lippincott Mercer in New York, says, “In one recent
identity program implementation, we had to control
the volume of [color] we used in the retail environment
to stay within local government guidelines.”
CHECKING YOUR PALETTE
Since choosing the wrong color can apparently lose
you more than your client, it is important to at least
be educated about the markets into which you are
trying to move a product or service. Bart Crosby,
principal of Crosby Associates in Chicago, suggests
consulting with local design and marketing firms,
and even pretesting your program prior to execution.
By preparing a presentation that includes all
possible venues or media for a proposed logo (e.g.,
print, billboard, etc.) and all the possible font, image and palette variations, Crosby and his colleagues
are able to get a better sense of what will or will not
work for a given client in a given region.
“We put [our] presentation out to the marketing
managers and communication directors of the
company in all the other countries,” Crosby explains.
“We get their comments back on all the various
aspects of these elements and applications, so we are
sure that we are not violating any tradition in any
of these cultures.” So far, Crosby says, such practices
have led to the desired results. “We have gotten some
comments back from doing this,” he says, “but very
little is negative.”
Suggesting that “the majority of ideas are not
color-dependent,” Murphy offers another approach.
“We typically show solutions in a range of colors
so an idea is not discounted solely based on color,”
he says, noting that a competitive color map can be
quite useful as well, both for educating the client and
for making the final sale.
Smith agrees that, though some cultural bugaboos
about color still exist, they have diminished
greatly in recent years. “There were lots of taboos in
many countries at one point,” Crosby recalls, “but
… world culture is changing, especially on the commercial
and retail level, so a lot of things are just
not taboo like they used to be.” In the interest of
international trade, many corporations are leaving
behind their old ways and embracing those of the
larger market. “The walls are coming down for the
sake of being international,” Crosby says. “Many
companies are becoming more open-minded in that
regard.” In fact, Crosby notes, many companies hire
his firm to design “Western” logos for them so they
can better fit into the international—and especially
the American—markets.
LOCAL COLOR
Though some European, Latin American, Pacific
Rim and especially Middle Eastern countries are
still holding on to traditional perspectives, many
designers note that, even within the U.S., there
are differences of perception and opinion that can
make or break a campaign. “The cultural challenges
tend to be more industry-specific than geographic,”
Murphy says. “Particular industry segments such
as banking will be quite conservative, [while] technology
firms, particularly start-ups, can be quite
expressive with color.”
According to Murphy, what matters most is
matching not only the color, but the entire approach
and execution to the desires of the client. “The key
in research is to balance perceived ‘likes and dislikes’
against what the brand is trying to say from a messaging
and positioning perspective,” he says.
