Color Rule: Study (a little) Psychology

If your goal is to persuade, motivate, engage, or inspire people, then, in many ways, your goal is to better understand the psychology behind what causes people to feel the way they do. Reserach has repeatedly shown that color—among other factors, of course—can have a profound impact on people’s emotions. Knowing a little about the psychology of color can help you as you prepare photographs, color palates, slides, brochures, and data visualizations for any variety of persuasive communications. You don’t have to be a psychologist to design information, but it will be in your best interest to know a little color psychology if you aim to be persuasive.

Review the quick guide below—which is based on information compiled from the Los Angeles Film School—for how different colors may be used to spark different emotions.

(Do note, though, that the way people respond to certain colors isn’t necessarily universal. Color meanings differ widely by culture, though many do seem to to transfer broadly across many cultures. The guide below is just a general rule of thumb.)

In your study of color psychology, sometimes it’s worth evaluating the logos and other common designs you see around you. There is no perfect solution for color selection that will reach all people the same way. How do you think these companies did, based on the color psychology descriptions above?