I have spent time wondering this question and thought maybe you too. Then I hit search and found, there is so much to understand and so much to know about colors other than of course liking them. For an instance, while I was writing this article I felt as if I am promoting or branding some colors (I am not). Trust me(or not and/or verify), if you go ahead and spend some time on colors research on it’s uses, it’s history and most importantly trends, you will be amazed to find out, how we are genetically programmed in so many years to tend to like some colors in particular, in general. If you dive deeper into the reasons you might feel voilà.
Building the sample space:
Now let’s look at these company logos:
If you tell me I am trying to be choosy to present my case, then fine look as these too:
Above are worlds popular share buttons inspired from the logos of their representative firms.
Some research and insights:
And now let’s look at these too:
Above are not logos; these are mere screenshots after searching for keywords Sky, Forest and Sea respectively.
Do you see a connection, yet? I am sure you feel something interesting out there or maybe you already know by now. Then let’s delve into something more interesting now.
A picture is worth a thousand words, is not a mere idiom, it is actually a scientific phenomenon. This great article (6 Powerful Psychological Effects That Explain How Our Brains Tick) on our tendencies of liking and disliking suggests that visual sense is strongest guide of our choices in life. And when we like something in appearance rest of our logic goes in attempting to gather more supporting facts and makes an innocent yet biased attempt to convince us for what we are already influenced by. Follow these great talks which suggest how we create reality around a fact:
https://www.ted.com/playlists/384/how_your_brain_constructs_real
Having said all that let’s see what our search trends suggest below is the color search trends in last 15 years worldwide i.e. since 2004. Below bars in chart represent Black, Red, Blue, Green and Yellow search from left to right. Please bear with the fact that the representation of color bars might be misleading and check the color names to map the color bar with actual color it is trying to depict.
How business’s do a psyche mapping when the design something:
Now let’s try to do a psyche mapping of these colors to see what it means in terms impact of these on people and when any particular color should be chosen or rather let’s say appropriateness of the color.
Below is another great-find; it shows some brands and the color they choose.
