Color Red Effect

companies?

Introduction

One might not realize how much of an impact colors have on us on a daily basis. Nature is one of the best examples where the effects of color are constantly used. In evolutionary biology, certain species can mimic other models, to protect themselves, by having evolved in a way to mimic their appearance, behavior, sound, scent or location. The point is to appear like a dangerous species, when in fact they are not. The species live in the same areas as their model so it is almost impossible to distinguish them from one another. By mimicking the specific warning colors, these animals are protected by predators, which shows that even in nature, colors play an important role.

With this knowledge, the psychology behind such

Different shades of the color red –pink, for example, can have a completely different effect on the viewer. This has been shown clearly in research done by Alexander Schauss who experimented with himself in the late 1970s, by focusing on posters colored in a shade of pink called “Drunk Tank Pink”. His discovery was that his heart rate would slow, as would his pulse and respiration when viewing this color. It was found that this shade had a more profound effect on his body system than any other color or shade.

This idea was expanded at the University of Lowa when the school painted the opponents’ locker room at their football stadium, this exact shade of pink. It was purposely done to test whether it would decrease the team’s performance. The outcome indeed supported Schauss’ hypothesis, and the team exposed to this pink lost the games. One can now argue that this isn’t scientific proof and the home team was simply better, but according to the university of Lowa this was not based on

There is an entire other opinion out there making this a very controversial topic with many discussions and arguments disagreeing with one another. “Most of today’s conversations on colors and persuasion consist of hunches, anecdotal evidence and advertisers blowing smoke about colors and the mind.” As it often is in psychology, this topic is backed up with very little scientific data which gives results used as facts, and there are often other elements which question research and the reliability of their “facts.” This is because there are many other elements such as personal experience, cultural differences, upbringing, etc. which could cause different effects of colors in individuals. Therefor, many argue that all the information about each color having a specific effect on the audience is not accurate. Nevertheless, it is known that when it comes to colors used in branding and marketing, it does have an impact. In a study called “Impact of Color in Marketing” researches found that up to 90% of quick decisions made about products can be based on color alone.

Additional research shows that there is a real connection between a brand’s personality and its color. Certain colors can be associated with specific traits such as brown with ruggedness, red with excitement, etc. but it isn’t that simple when choosing a color for