“Blue sky thinking”, “feeling blue”, “wild blue yonder”, “bolt from the blue”. What does blue mean to you?

Trend forecasting agencies and commercial companies such as Dulux are predicting blue as colour for 2013. Whilst Dulux promote Indigo as their colour of the year, colour trend forecaster Global Mix observe the migration of blue from turquoise and sky blue through to a deep petrol blue.

Often cited as the worlds’ favourite colour, blue can appear to have calming reflective qualities. Strong blues stimulate clear thought, a useful colour where intelligence, logic and communication are required. Lighter and softer blues calm the mind.

Trust and efficiency are qualities often associated with blue and perhaps therefore why it is a colour that is so often synonymous with corporate branding.  The lighter, brighter blue of Barclays bank logo seems friendly and appealing, but is it the right kind of blue which tells us that they can be trusted with our money?  The strong mid blue of the NHS logo and darker Boots blue look more business-like and efficient.

  

Blue can also be accused of appearing cold and unfriendly. Ideally I think using more than one colour in a brand logo offers an opportunity to communicate more than one message. For example, I like the Robert Dyas logo. Here a deep teal blue is used with a more vibrant green and lighter blue. There’s something both reassuring and trustworthy about this combination given by the brighter, friendly green and earthier blue.

 

 

Would you like to find out more about colour? For design profressionals or colour enthusiasts – 3 new course dates for 2013!

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Exploring colour in your world – one day workshop 26th January Guildford, Surrey

Earlybird booking by 21st December – save £30!

Colour psychology for graphic design and communication – 2 day course 17th & 18th January Guildford, Surrey

Earlybird booking by 14th December – save £40!

Colour psychology for interior design – 2 day course 21st & 22nd February Guildford, Surrey

Earlybird booking by 18th January – save £40!

 

 

Chocolate firm Cadbury has won a part victory in a High Court dispute and successfully applied to register the colour purple as a trade mark for their chocolate.

Thinking that customers would associate eating its chocolate with a rich and indulgent experience, the company adopted the colour in 1905 and has remained very protective of it since!

Before more modern dyeing and colouring processes the colour purple was difficult to obtain and therefore usually only worn by royalty, the higher echelons of the church and the very wealthy. Considered a ‘regal’ colour purple is a symbol of authority and rank.

The ‘Cadbury purple’ (Pantone 2685C) sits firmly in a group of colours whose characteristics are clear and saturated and communicate  excellence and sophistication. They work well visually with other similar strong, contrasting colours in a palette.

 

As well as communicating quality and luxury when used in branding or product design, purple can convey vision, purpose, truth, and authority. Its appeal would be in the offering of something that’s possibly decadadent, a product which we would aspire to have and own.

The colour palette above illustrates how he ‘Cadbury purple ‘ looks at odds with these other variations of pink and yellow, the colours don’t relate and the potential design is in danger of making the brand  look inferior. To promote its most positive qualities whether in branding or product design, create a palette around the chosen variation of purple using colours sharing similar characteristics.

You might also be interested to read about:

Pink branding – it’s not just for girls!

Which colour turns you off?

Going for gold

3 Quick tips for using colour in branding

Catching sight of some of the TV advertising and media for McDonald’s recently, I am fascinated by the latest strategy of the brand to place itself in the market as a more wholesome option for ‘fast food’. A sponsor for this year’s Olympic Games, McDonald’s aims to promote balanced options for its ‘Happy Meals’, including fruit, vegetable and dairy choices.

The last few years has seen McDonald’s image suffer as a result of unfavourable publicity and claims that alerted the public to its food being a leading cause of obesity. McDonald’s has since been working to rebrand itself as more health conscious by offering more healthy food options.

The two colours we associate with the global brand are red and yellow.  The combination of red (energy, speed, activity) and yellow (emotions, confidence) directly communicates to us that in McDonald’s restaurants we can be instantly satiated; get, eat and go. So far, so good.

Except…that it might not have escaped your notice but McDonald’s have also been busy updating their restaurants and have been changing the familiar red shop fronts to a very dark green. Presumably the thinking behind McDonald’s decision to get (heavy handed) with the green in their restaurant design is to influence our perception of the restaurant as offering wholesome food?

We associate particular variations of green with balance and health. However, my thoughts are that the colour green used for the new shop fronts is far too dark and heavy, and there’s far too much of it. The colour is not attractive enough to draw us in, as like a dark green sludgy pool, it looks entirely unappealing.  The McDonald’s yellow ‘M’ logo along with ‘McDonalds’ name in white (hygiene, purity) now look entirely incongruous.

Who are McDonald’s now? What do they want to be known as – a fast food restaurant offering healthier alternatives or a wholefood restaurant? Interestingly, the food promotions page on the website http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/promotions.html show a palette of colours that work far better to convey a more wholesome message, and has fresher appeal whilst still keeping in the ‘spirit’ of the brand. Using some of these colours in the design of the shop fronts would have updated it successfully whilst still working with the red and yellow logo.  The ‘healthier’ values of the brand would have been maintained whilst keeping visual integrity.

By sacrificing the well-recognised  red and yellow shop fronts, will McDonald’s be in danger of losing the public perception of the brand as a bright, lively place to get fast food?  Instead, increasingly unrecognisable, will it eventually become overlooked on the high street altogether?

What is colour? Why does it have an effect on us and how can we use it to influence the world around us?

Exploring Colour in Your World – A one day introductory workshop in to colour psychology with Bernay Laity Saturday July 21st 2012  Click here for more information and to book

Continuing the theme of ‘red’ I wanted to talk about the effect of colour in branding and design.  When we think of ‘Mega-brand’, Virgin, the colour we will associate with any of its products, is red. But how do we perceive this colour in relation to the brand – does red accurately convey the values and qualities of the Virgin ‘empire’, the third most recognised brand in the UK?

The Virgin Brand

Diverse and independent, Virgin’s businesses are licensed and branded under the Virgin group banner. The customer franchise is strong and applied to a vast range of businesses across sectors including music, finance, leisure, travel, communication and cosmetics.

Customer service oriented and fun, the Virgin ethos believes in delivering quality, innovative and value products whilst being authentic. The company values are listed as such:

• Fun – enjoyment and humour
• Value for money – simple not cheap
• Quality – attention to detail, not expensive for the sake of it
• Innovation – challenging convention, but not for the sake of being different
• Competetive challenge – responding to consumer needs, not being irrelevant
• Brilliant customer service – delivered by empowered, professional people

Colour cohesion is important in brand design to communicate authenticity. Research in to the relationship between marketing and colour has found that colour increases brand recognition by up to 80%. Taking a look at some of the logos for different Virgin branded products and services, it’s apparent that as much diversity exists in the colours of the different brands as in the Virgin group itself. Criticism exists that Virgin’s multi brands don’t make a comfortable fit visually or culturally. Are we becoming confused as to who Virgin are anymore?

Because overall the ‘business personality’ of Virgin would appear youth-orientated, fun, confident and with its roots based in music, communication and travel; I would be looking at hues from a light, clean, fresh palette of yellow based colours to mirror these qualities (spring).  I would choose different hues within this group to express the individual qualities of the brand products maintaining both visual and brand integrity.

While the colour red fits the bill for expressing any qualities in branding relating to action, courage, movement and energy;  the qualities of fun and value for money are best represented by the colour orange, a hue combining red and yellow linking physical colour red’s action with yellow’s confidence. Orange relates to our feelings of comfort and enjoyment. There seems to be confusion in what the Virgin red is? (Slightly orangeish Pantone Warm Red C would work best).

‘Quality’ is best represented by the colour purple, and ‘innovation’  best represented by turquoise blues. Some gravitas is required within these brands, particularly in Virgin’s finance venture – Virgin Money. We want to trust that this fun, forward thinking brand can be trusted with our money, so slightly stronger (spring) blues ought to be considered to communicate trust and efficiency!

Learn more about how colour affects branding and our daily lives in our one-day workshop – click ‘Exploring Colour in Your World’ Satuday July 21st 2012