The Psychology of Colour in Print Marketing: Influencing Emotions and Behaviours

Whether you’re a solopreneur or part of a larger business, understanding the psychology of colour can give you an edge in creating effective marketing materials.?

Colour has a powerful subconscious impact on our emotions, perceptions, and even behaviours. And so it’s of no surprise that when it comes to marketing communications, the colours you choose can significantly influence how potential customers feel about your brand, and how they choose to interact with it.?

Here we’ll explore how different colours evoke specific emotions. Plus, I’ll share some tips for selecting the right shades for your campaigns. Let’s check out the emotional influence of colours.

Red: Energise and Engage

Red is a colour that commands attention. It’s often associated with energy, passion, and urgency.?

In print marketing, red can be used strategically to create a sense of excitement or importance, and is often a popular choice for calls to action. However, too much can be overwhelming, so balance is key.

Studies have also shown that red stimulates the senses and can even raise heart rates, making it an excellent choice for brands looking to energise their audience. But beware – it can also signal danger or aggression, so it’s essential to use it wisely and in the right context.

Blue: Trust, Calm, and Reliability

Blue is often seen as a calming and trustworthy colour.?

In print marketing, it can help to create a feeling of reliability, making it a strong choice for service-oriented brands. Many businesses, particularly those in finance and healthcare, use blue to build a sense of security and professionalism.

Lighter shades bring a feeling of tranquillity, which is great for wellness brands, while darker shades convey authority and dependability.

A fascinating thing about blue is its universal appeal. Research has shown that it’s favoured by both men and women, making it a safe choice for brands with a broad target audience.?

Yellow: Optimism and Attention-Grabbing

If you want to share optimism and positivity, yellow is your go-to colour. It’s bright, cheerful, and often associated with happiness and creativity.?

Yellow can be an excellent choice for print marketing materials aimed at grabbing attention – think flyers, banners, and posters.

However, it can also be a tricky colour, especially for the neurodiverse, see this post about Tony’s Chocolonely from Kaye Moors on LinkedIn. While it’s great for capturing attention, too much of it can cause visual fatigue. To use yellow effectively, think about pairing it with neutral tones (not white, see above) or using it as an accent colour. This way, it maintains its cheerful appeal without becoming overpowering.

Green: Balance, Growth, and Freshness

Green is synonymous with nature, health, and growth. It’s a versatile colour that can be calming, refreshing, or even luxurious, depending on the shade.?

In print marketing, it’s often used to represent balance and harmony. It’s also associated with wealth, particularly darker shades, which can lend a sense of prestige to your brand.?

Lighter greens, on the other hand, evoke freshness and vitality, making them a powerful choice for brands promoting health and wellbeing and/or eco-friendly credentials.

Orange: Energy, Enthusiasm, and Creativity

Orange is vibrant and full of energy, and often conjures up feelings of enthusiasm, creativity, and warmth.?

It’s a fantastic choice for brands wanting to create a sense of fun or approachability in their print marketing.?

Orange is associated with action and motivation, making it ideal for materials that aim to encourage customer engagement or participation.

In print campaigns, orange can serve as an eye-catching accent colour, and is perfect for call-to-action buttons, headlines, or special offers. It’s particularly effective for reaching younger audiences or those interested in adventure and innovation.?

While orange is lively and engaging, it’s best used in moderation because too much can feel overwhelming. When combined with complementary colours, orange can bring a sense of optimism and excitement that sets your brand apart.

Purple: Luxury, Creativity, and Mystery

Historically associated with royalty, purple adds a sense of prestige, exclusivity, and mystery to print materials.?

It’s a colour that appeals to brands aiming to convey sophistication, and is often seen in beauty, fashion, and creative industries.

In print, purple works well as a secondary colour, bringing depth and intrigue to your designs. Lighter shades, like lavender, create calmness and can be appealing in wellness contexts, while deeper shades like violet or plum bring a sense of opulence and grandeur.?

Purple also has a unique way of sparking curiosity, making it suitable for brands that thrive on creativity and innovation.?

If your brand wants to stand out with a hint of the extraordinary, purple might just be the colour that leaves a lasting impression.

Black: Sophistication, Power, and Elegance

Even though black is not technically a colour, it’s still the ultimate hue for sophistication and elegance.?

As well as signifying authority and confidence, black oozes a sense of luxury and exclusivity, making it ideal for high-end brands and products.?

But, be warned, black can also come across as heavy or serious, so if that is not your intention, it’s better used in moderation or balanced with lighter tones.?

Black is highly effective in creating contrast, drawing the eye to key messages or visuals. For example, pairing black with gold or silver adds an extra layer of sophistication, and is often used by brands wanting to project a superior image.?

Whether you’re targeting a luxury audience or looking to make a bold statement, black can provide a sense of depth and drama to your print materials.

White: Purity, Simplicity, and Cleanliness

Again not technically a colour, white is often associated with purity, simplicity, and cleanliness, making it a go-to for brands in the healthcare, wellness, and technology sectors.?

In print marketing, white is generally our base, most papers, banner and merchandise have a white base on which we create our magic in CMYK or Pantone colours. It creates a sense of space and openness, allowing other colours to stand out without overwhelming the eye.

When used effectively, white adds a modern, minimalistic feel, which can help your brand appear fresh and uncluttered, and you can use texture to appeal to the sense of touch that is exclusive to print marketing.

It’s particularly useful in creating a premium aesthetic when paired with monochromatic or subtle colour schemes. However, too much white can feel stark or sterile, so it’s essential to balance it with other colours or visual elements to maintain warmth and approachability.?

Think of white as the canvas that lets your message breathe, giving your print design a polished, professional look.

Tips for using the Psychology of ?Colour in Print Marketing

When you’re thinking about colours for your print campaigns, keep in mind the following:

1. Know your audience: Different demographics may respond differently to colours. Younger audiences may prefer brighter, more energetic colours, while older consumers might favour more muted or sophisticated tones. And do consider inclusion and accessibility at all times.
2. Cultural context: Colours can have different meanings in different cultures. While white is often associated with purity in Western cultures, it represents mourning in some Eastern cultures.
3. Consistency with brand identity: Make sure your tactical colour choices align with your brand’s existing colour palette, but don’t be afraid to play.,
4. Testing: Try out those colour combinations in small campaigns to see how they perform before rolling them out on a larger scale.
5. Think Ink: digital and print use different colour models – you may have to tweak some colours to get consistency across different channels.

Bringing it all together?

The emotional influence of colour means it can be used as a powerful tool for swaying how people feel about your brand and how they interact with it.?

By understanding the psychology of colour, you can create effective print marketing materials that not only catch your audience’s eye with a great aesthetic, but also resonate with them on a deeper level.

And, of course, there are many more shades than we’ve touched on here. Made by combining the colours we’ve covered and they take on the psychological attributes of both.

Colour consistency across your brand is really important, and when it comes to your print marketing, colour reproduction is something you’ll need to navigate. So, if RGB vs CMYK gives you the heebyjeebies pick up the phone and talk with us, because that’s where our Print Wisdom? will help you.