A majority of people can easily guess up 85% of your company’s products and clientele before ever setting foot in the actual corporate office. How is this done, you ask? Through the use of effective, promotional outdoor signs.
Think about it. The sign posted on your building and website is the first thing people are going to look at when trying to understand your company, and it’s the first item they see when browsing through the millions of corporate options available. Therefore, since it’s such a strong advertisement accent, it is important to get your business’s sign right the first time.
However, with so many options available, it is rather difficult to choose the precisely perfect combination of colors to convey the message of your entire franchise in a single lined title. No pressure there.
Nevertheless, choosing the correct line of marketing for your company’s outdoor sign is possible, and quite fun, if you know how to use colors effectively.
Luckily, we have the tips and tricks to help you and your business thrive in the most important element of your franchise along with the do’s and don’ts when it comes to mixing and matching profile-raising texts and tints.
The Basics of Color
Color is said to be one of the strongest elements of aesthetic appeal when it comes to the identification of any object. In simpler terms, color speaks to us and clues us in on emotions, values, and even safety of items around us.
We can associate feelings with certain shades and combinations. Immediately, we think of Christmas, and thus feelings of joy and merriment, when shades of red and green are placed next to each other, and likewise most of us equate gold with the feeling of victory and high achievement.
To say the least, color is important, so it is essential to choose the right few when advertising your franchise.
Understanding the Color Wheel
For starters, lets begin with the Color Wheel. This ingenious tool will instantly solve a majority of your colorful conundrums and combination questions because the device perfectly demonstrates the relationships that shades have with each other. Such relationships are:
- Primary vs. Secondary Colors: Primary colors are colors that are found in nature that cannot be mixed in order to be created. These colors are red, yellow, and blue, and they are said to be the three most vibrant, distinct, and favored colors of all. On the contrary, secondary colors are the hues that are made by mixing the primary colors together. For examples, orange is a mixture of red and yellow, green is a combination of yellow and blue, and purple is a medley of red and blue. When looking at the Color Wheel, secondary colors are placed between the primary colors that make them, like orange is placed between red and yellow on the spectrum.
- Warm vs. Cool Colors: Warm colors are a class of shades that are said to psychologically emote the feeling of “heat” due to their vibrancy. These are red, orange, and yellow. Meanwhile, the opposite side of the spectrum, green, blue, and purple, introduces cool colors, which are said to emote temperatures of “cold” because of their deep intensity. On the Color Wheel, warm colors are grouped together in the first half and cool colors are lumped together in the second half. It is said that each temperature spectrum is harmonious with the colors in each because of their similarity in aesthetic appeal and vibrancy. For example, blues and greens tend to match nicely together while yellows pair well with oranges.
- Complimentary: Complimentary introduces an intricate relationship between colors that fall opposite of each other on the Color Wheel. These opposing parings are red with green, orange with blue, and yellow with purple. When the two colors in each pair are presented side by side, they are said to make each other drastically stand out because of their conflicting vibrancy. However, when mixed together, the colors tend to dull and combine into a muddied brown. That being said, complimentary pairings are difficult because people tend to either adore the contrasting tension, or cringe at their dissimilarity in appearance.
Colors and Emotions
Now that we understand color relationships, we can look into what colors are helpful when deciding the identity of your company. Believe it or not, colors tend to have a trademark tint attached to them and can be used effectively when presenting your market.
- Red: Red typically conveys feelings of anger, wrath, war, strength, and danger but can also represent passion, love, and desire on the other hand. Red also has a high visibility, which is why most franchises that use red are trying to grab immediate attention and convey a sense of urgency (this is why fire trucks and stop signs are red). This color also tends to bring text to the foreground and stimulates people to quick decision-making.
- Yellow: Typically, yellow emotes feelings of warmth, joy, cheerfulness, happiness, and liveliness. This color is also associated with food because its vibrancy tends to make people hungry and feel appetized. Yellow, like red, is an attention getter and stands out the most when contrasted with black.
- Orange: This hue is typically associated with comfortable warmth, fascination, creativity, success, encouragement, and determination. When used in marketing of food, orange tends to convey health and fall harvest. Children and youth tend to be drawn to orange, which is why it has been successful when advertising toys and other childlike brands. Be aware that the spectrum of aesthetic appeal for orange is limited compared to other colors, meaning this color appears ugly and revolting more often than it tends to look pleasing.
- Green: Green tends to be associated with good health and nature because of its abundance in wildlife. Therefore, this pigment tends to be associated with freshness, harmony, growth, and fertility and is often the most calming to the eye, which is why it often means safety and comfort when used in industrial practices (think of traffic lights and money).
- Blue: Blue is said to be the most beneficial to the mind and body, as it tends to reduce stress and give off vibes of serenity. This hue is often associated with stability, wisdom, trust, faith, loyalty, and heavenliness because of its tranquil factors and cleanliness. Avoid using blue when it comes to advertising food because its peacefulness suppresses appetite; however, when combined with a “warm color” the paring is said to be powerful and highly impactful.
- Purple: This pigment is often related with feelings of luxury, nobility, ambition, wisdom, and dignity. Studies show that purple is pleasing to a majority of pre-adolescent children and preferred by women, which is why many feminine designs tend to choose purple as their leading color.
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White: White is most obviously associated with purity, goodness, godliness and cleanliness because of its lightness in hue. In advertising, white can convey simplicity in high-tech products while signs of safety and knowledge are associated with white when it comes to healing, which is doctors and hospitals tend to stick to it when aesthetically choosing their design.
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Black: Black is often associated with darkness, quite obviously because of its deep intensity. However, black is not something to avoid in advertising; it is often associated with high-class, strength, and elegance, which is why many social events choose black-tie as the wardrobe and high-end car companies use it to showcase their vehicles. Because of its high contrast with all other colors, black is a great way to make texts and advertisements stand out.
Putting the Right Colors to Good Use
If your company specializes in sleeping improvements, such as medical enhancements, pajamas, or mattresses to list a few, use cool colors. Because of their “relaxed feeling” these pigments will induce moods of calming restfulness, and specifically blue because of its ability to convey tranquility and peace. Avoid using reds and yellows because of their tendency to stimulate the mind, which is not helpful when trying to relax and fall asleep.
Feeling confident and ready to start designing your company’s sign? Good! You should now that you are aware of the power color has on your audience and how it can be used to convey the successful advertisement of your industry.
In summary, think about the values you have towards your company and what you want to openly express with others. Are you looking for energy? Do you want cleanliness? How about your stance in the environment? A color can help emote a thousand words, so definitely take the time to choose the proper one to represent your company. It will be the face of success!
If you have any more question, comments, or concerns regarding your outdoor sign, or are in need of more helpful hands when it comes to design, please contact us at America’s Instant Signs or call us at 800-305-1105. We have an incredible staff of highly trained experts in the field of marketing who would love to meet with you in order to discuss a plan of success for your budding company. We look forward to hearing from you!