FAQs About Color in Marketing

8% of men and 0.5% of women worldwide are colorblind. If you’re one of them, this newsletter isn’t going to be your favorite!

Color is massively important to the rest of us, whether you realize it or not. Color can affect our moods, our buying habits, and our level of trust. For marketers, this is vital information to consider.

I spent the majority of my 4.5-year college career in Clemson University’s Graphic Communications department learning printing fundamentals that I still use often in my business today. Color theory was one of my favorite topics—the science of it combined with the artistic results possible just fascinates me!?I've answered some common questions in today's newsletter.

Why Doesn't My Monitor Match My Print?

We see different wavelengths of light as different colors. The visible spectrum is between 400-700 nanometers, ranging from violet to red. In color theory, we say light is additive. The primary colors of light are red, green, and blue (RGB)—you mix them in various amounts to create all visible colors. When they are added together equally, they make white.

TVs and computer monitors use light to show colors, so they’re traditionally made of sub-pixels that are red, green, or blue. Each sub-pixel combines RGB in different amounts to create one color in a pixel. Then the pixels create a mosaic that, when you zoom out, creates the desired picture.

Printing inks, however, are subtractive. The more ink you apply, the less light comes through. The primary colors of ink are cyan, magenta, and yellow—you layer them in different amounts to create a gamut (range) of printable colors. Notably, not all colors of visible light can be printed! When the primary ink colors are added in equal amounts, they make... a gross dark brown. That's why black is the other essential ink color, creating the CMYK model that printers use.

There are lots of different printing methods for different uses. They all use dots of ink to make up the final picture, in a similar mosaic to the pixel process. One big difference is that printers aren't required to put dots in a specific grid like pixels are, so they can increase the quantity and/or frequency of dots in different areas.

Looooong explanation short, monitors don't match printed items because they use two different color models. It's possible to come close, but you're dealing with a pretty big difference.

What's the Deal with Pantone?

Pantone inks are specially created formulas that can help bridge the gap between the visible spectrum of light and the gamut that CMYK builds can achieve. The Pantone Matching System (PMS) was created in the 1950s by a chemist to keep stock of different ink colors available. PMS swatchbooks show the exact same color to printing companies, designers, and print buyers around the world. But why go to all this trouble?

Picture Coca-Cola red. Have you ever seen it look a little orange, or a little pink? (The answer is very definitely NO.) This is because the Coca-Cola company keeps strict control over their brand. They make sure that all printed items—from packaging to ads to billboards and more—are exactly matched to a custom color between PMS 484 and 485. They also have impeccable quality control checks!

Today, Pantone is the authority on color throughout various industries, from printing to fashion and interior design. Their experts also release the "Color of the Year" each year, which influences global color trends.

How Does Color Affect My Marketing?

OMG y'all, colors have so many different moods, emotions, and other psychological indicators attached to them! Here are some of the characteristics of colors, backed by historical, cultural, and scientific studies:

White: orderly, neat, simplicity, purity, honesty, modern. Brand inspo: Apple, Calvin Klein

Red: extroverted, assertive, attracts attention, can make buyers stop and reconsider their purchase, stimulates appetite. Brand inspo: Coca-Cola, Target

Pink: tranquilizing, romantic, sweet, calming, slows people's endocrine systems and tranquilizes tense muscles, can lead to easier parting with cash. Brand inspo: Barbie, Victoria's Secret

Orange: enthusiastic, warm, gregarious, associated with fairness and affordability. Brand inspo: The Home Depot, Nickelodeon

Yellow: cheerful, energizing, increases appetite. Brand inspo: McDonald's, Shell

Green: serenity, stability, approachability, associated with eco-friendly options. Brand inspo: Starbucks, Whole Foods

Blue: calming, trustworthy, dependable, can improve customer loyalty, may reduce criminal behavior. Brand inspo: Bank of America, Ikea, Best Buy

Purple: unconventional, creative, associated with royalty and luxury. Brand inspo: Yahoo!, Wonka

Brown: reliable, responsible, may have connotations of wealth. Brand inspo: UPS, Louis Vuitton

Gray: coolness and composure. Brand inspo: Audi, Nestle, LG

Black: strength, seriousness, sophistication, mystery. Brand inspo: Adidas, Prada

How Do I Build a Color Palette?

The color wheel was created by Sir Isaac Newton in the 1600s after he looked at light refracting from a prism. Since then, everyone from painters to fashionistas to graphic designers has used it to build palettes of colors that work together. These palettes generally fall into four categories:

Monochromatic: Built from light and dark variations of the same color, like a paint swatch at Lowes.

Complementary: Built from opposites on the color wheel, like red and green, blue and orange, and yellow and purple.

Analogous: Neighbors on the color wheel, like red, orange, and yellow.

Split Complementary: Built from two analogous colors and one complementary color, like red, orange, and blue.

Whew! That was a long lesson... time to go do some work. If you want to talk color (or anything else), feel free to reach out! And if you want to do some more reading, check out the Silverbrook blog. ??