The Science of Color: How to Optimize Your Marketing Materials

The Science of Color: How to Optimize Your Marketing Materials

When designing your marketing materials, you may instinctively use colors that look good to you. But did you know the colors you use can have an impact on how your audience reacts to what they are seeing? Keep reading to learn more about how to choose colors that will optimize the marketing materials you print.

How Colors Affect Us

You may not have thought about it before, but when you see a specific color, it may invoke positive or negative feelings. This also applies when it comes to marketing materials, and you will want to put some thought into color choice when planning. Listed below are colors and some of the feelings often associated with them. 

Colors and Their Meanings

Black: Authority and strength

White: Peace and safety

Red: Sense of urgency and friendliness

Blue: Stimulates productivity and promotes trust

Green: Nature and health

Purple: Wisdom and intrigue

Yellow: Happiness and joy

Orange: Optimism and caution

 

Overusing Colors

When using colors, you need to be mindful of not letting a color be overpowering. With any color, it is possible to overdo it, which can have the opposite effect of your intentions. For example, using too much black may come across as being aggressive, while using too much white can cause a person to feel empty. Red is a color that should be used to get a person’s attention, but should be used in moderation, as overuse can lead to negative responses. 

Complementary Colors

Plan to keep your marketing material color schemes simple by not using too many colors, as this can be a distraction and cause confusion. You may find it useful to use a color wheel to find complementary colors, such as blue and orange, or yellow and purple. A good suggestion is to select a primary color and one or two accent colors. Using the colors equally may cause your audience’s eyes to be strained, so a good ratio to aim for is 7:3. 

Contact Reproductions, Inc.

If you’re ready to print high-quality marketing materials, our team of print experts at Reproductions, Inc. in Tucson, AZ is ready to help. For more information on our full color printing services or to request an estimate, call (520) 622-7747 or send us a message at [email protected].