Over the Easter weekend I took a trip up to London. Playing at being a tourist for the day, a friend and I decided to visit perhaps the most famous ‘corner shop’ of all – Harrods.

O.k., it’s still glamorous and as ostentatious as it always was and we had a great time having a look round, but I didn’t feel that I was in a store that represented the best of shopping in London, but rather at times a museum of Egypt!

What has happened to Harrods the brand? The ornate and glamorous interiors that we expect of the store are there but have no common thread or theme between them. One minute you’re faced with sphinxes and grandiose faux ancient Egyptian architecture, the next the glossy black and white of the perfumery halls or the opulence of the Arts and Crafts style food halls. It’s still an exciting and interesting place to visit but after a while I felt quite overwhelmed. What or who is Harrods?

If our homes are an extension of who we are, then the interior décor of a business, retail or corporate environment should also be designed to reflect its personality and values. (NB. not necessarily that of its’ owner).

Can you be all things to all people?

Harrods list their brand values as: quintessentially British, eccentric, pioneering, decadent, exclusive, excellence, cutting edge, luxurious, sophisticated, aspirational, elite, value, innovative, iconic, sensational, sublime.

My goodness, that’s aiming at a lot of things for a lot of people! If I left a bit dazed and disorientated, feeling as if I’d just stepped off from some theme park carousel ride. I wondered, do many people stay long enough to fully appreciate this ‘sublime’ shopping experience? Maybe that is now the attraction of Harrods – a high intensity sensory fix, a beautiful if slightly surreal fairground.

The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique—All Things for All People, Everywhere. But is that always the best and most successful approach?

Colour and branding

It is the ‘Harrods green’ which alludes to a sense of tradition that’s quintessentially British, added to which the colour gold gives it a luxurious element. But that familiar and successful combination sadly seems mostly discarded in favour of black, white and grey which feature heavily on the Harrods website and its shopping bags; colours that many other luxury branding retailers choose.  Whilst those colours certainly communicate cutting edge sophistication, I sense confusion about the brand which is reflected throughout the store.

Don’t confuse the customer!

Colour is emotive and will persuade your customers to buy in to your brand. To create a great brand message that follows from the logo through all communications including a business or retail environment, consistency of your brand colours are vital to create trust. Or how can you expect your customers to understand who or what you are?

 You might like to read my ‘3 quick tips for colour and branding’!

Do you revel in red; feel keen for green or mellow to yellow?

Everyone has an opinion on colour, it’s one of those subjects that can unite or divide, invite emotion or create dispassion. Is a colour blue-green or green-blue? And almost everyone has a favourite colour they like and usually one they definitely don’t!

Colour Survey

A small colour survey I conducted turned up some interesting results on colour attitudes and preferences. Blue and red were commonly chosen as favourite colours and both of course, are very different in their effect. Red is a very ‘physical’ colour, whereas blue is the colour of the mind. Colour psychology might interpret these two colour choices as representing two different personality types; one that is an active ‘doer’ – red, and one that is a planner, thinker and strategist – blue. (Any football fans might want to give this aspect some thought…Red vs blue – which is the winning colour?).

Yellow was by far and away the colour most people felt uncomfortable about wearing or using. But hang on a minute. When asked, most people will describe yellow as “uplifting, outgoing and cheerful” and good for our self-esteem! What’s going on? Yellow reminds us of the sun of course, something that here in the UK we don’t benefit from too much of. Perhaps there’s also a little touch of ‘G.B.R’ – Great British Reticence too? Our naturally more inhibited traits mean we’re not usually given to drawing attention to ourselves with displays of overt behaviour and there’s no doubt about it – yellow is the sunny, confident, ‘here I am’ colour!

Which is your favourite colour?

Colour can shape our attitudes towards people, place and things. I hear many interesting stories from people about colour and I’d like to hear yours. Which colour floats your boat? Should red and green ever be seen? Do you detest a colour because you had to wear it for school? I’ve even heard a story about an aversion to a particular colour because it reminded someone of their mother-in-law! I’d love to hear your stories and comments. The best one will be welcome as my guest on the next ‘Exploring colour’ workshop on April 13th. Do drop me a line/post a comment – I’d love to hear from you!

The colours that seduce!

 

In his theory of evolution Darwin suggests that birds choose the most striking males to mate with and that (ahem) ‘male ornaments’ are thought to be a genuine indication of the male of the species’ vitality.

Far and wide in the animal kingdom from birds and mammals to fish, everyone’s flashing their colour credentials. Even the humble female Guppie fish go for the brightly coloured patterned males, especially those with orange spots! The male peacock of course flamboyantly displays his virility to devastating effect.

Now, with Valentine’s in mind I can let you in to a few secrets for your own ‘plumage’. The first thing that I need to tell you is that colour is a language, the first few seconds count! The colours that you wear give out their own message to be interpreted by a potential ‘mate’ – in certain colours you could either be ignored or have them falling at your feet.

So what are the colours of attraction?

Interestingly our Guppie fish may be on to something. Orange is a quite a ‘sensual’ colour. It communicates fun and sociability. Maybe less so a lurid tangerine, traffic cone or Outspan orange; but certainly think subtler pinkish, fleshy, orange tones.

Most people will associate red with passion and energy; it creates an impact and increases our courage. Red is our ‘drive’ – our get-up-and-go. Research suggests that men who wear the colour red are found to be more attractive or sexually appealing by women, signalling an ‘alpha male’ quality.

Pink is universally seen as an inviting and approachable colour. As the ultimate romantic colour, wearing pink signals your own loving, sensitive and caring qualities (great for guys too)! When we describe ourselves as ‘in the pink’ we feel happy and in the best possible health because pink is physically soothing, reminding us of skin.

Different pinks signal slightly different messages. Where lighter, muted pinks seem to softer and sweeter and perhaps more gentle; brighter, clearer pinks can be seen as more youthful and fun. Dynamic hot fuchsia or magenta pinks are stronger and more assertive. Deeper pinks or red-pinks can seem more passionate.

Now you know a few colour seduction secrets – which colour will you dare to wear?

Cadburys and Nestle may have been slugging it out over the apparent ownership of one particular colour purple – Pantone 2685c, but many chocolate brands are wrapping their products in other delightful and creative colour combinations.

I recently discovered this beautiful work of branding and packaging designed for ‘Chocolates with Attitude’ by Danish company Bessermachen Design Studio. The concept is based around 12 different personality types created by Stiig Helgens Binggeli that are expressed through an individual quote, design and type of chocolate.

This colour palette of mainly soft, cool, powdery, muted tones is evocative of romance, elegance and quality. The nostalgic styling works beautifully with the whole concept.

There are light colours and colours which are deep but not heavy within this kind of colour palette; the essence of which evoke particular feelings associated with the following kinds of qualities: understatement, aspiration, , grace, upmarket, timeless, soothing, gentle, conservative, dependable, orderly, formal,  sensitive, balanced, romantic, intuitive and aesthetic.

Other kinds of products, services or brands can also benefit from using colours drawn from a similar colour palette that communicates the above values to the prospective client or consumer effectively. Some of those for example might be: human resources associated services, charities, antique dealers, therapies, upmarket retailers, fine arts, crafts etc.

(Images courtesy Bessermachen Design Studio )

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Colour – packaging designed for wholesome premium foods

How does colour influence your customers’ purchasing decisions?

Most of us probably have our favourite mug for a comforting cuppa at home or at work and without which no brew would taste half as good, and now recently published research might explain why.

Studies conducted by researchers from Oxford University and the Polytechnic University of Valencia published in the Journal of Sensory Studies, have shown how serving food and drink in different coloured bowls or cups can alter the perception of its taste, aroma and appeal depending on the colour of receptacle it’s served in.

Volunteers were asked to sample hot chocolate from plastic cups in four different colours: red, white, orange and cream and found that drinking from the orange and cream cups had the best flavour.

They preferred the flavour of the chocolate when drunk from an orange cup finding it more intense and found that the beverage served in a cream cup appeared to be sweeter, with a better aroma. (My own preferred ‘comfort’ mug is orange)!

As this piece of research indicates, colour influences behaviour – and also our choice of product. Although more often used to package orange (fruit) juice related products, it is quite an apt colour for other food stuffs too, as used in the packaging for the cereals above. The colour orange itself appeals to our sense of physical comfort, sensory enjoyment and feeling satiated, and so can be a useful colour to consider including in the design for many food related products.

(Images courtesy Nestle, Weetabix, http://dylankendall.com)

Find out more about colour! What does your choice of colour say about you? How does colour influence you – from what you buy to how you live? Come and find out at this experiential day of colour and ‘Explore colour in your world’. SAVE £30 when to book by 16th January – BOOK NOW