When Colours Talk, Women Listen!

This month of March, we pay tribute to the women in all their hues. After all its International Women"s Day on 8th March. Let us also add a splash of colour by secularly celebrating Holi. And to top it all, its World Consumer Day on 15th March. Interestingly, it is all interconnected.

A mother about to deliver is always in a quandary of Pink or Blue? That"s how early in life we are influenced by colour. Whew!

Have you ever noticed how important a role colour plays in our lives? Colour can affect the sense of temperature, size of a room, and how food appears.

I came across some very fascinating studies on how colour actually impacts people"s reception to advertising and brands and even food!!

A study showed that when the background colour of food packaging was red, people formed more favourable evaluations of products. However, when the background was blue, the opposite pattern of results emerged. It was also found that people were more receptive to a brand of toothpaste that focused on negative messages such as “cavity prevention" when the background colour was red, whereas people were more receptive to aspirational messages such as “tooth whitening" when the background colour was rendered in blue.

Colour of food does matter. Of all the colours in the spectrum, blue is an appetite suppressant. Weight loss plans suggest putting your food on a blue plate. Or here's another tip: Dye your food blue! A little black will make it a double whammy. Seeing the colour yellow-green may evoke taste sensations of sourness; pink may evoke sweetness, grey may evoke sensations of smokiness. Notice how many fast food restaurants use red, orange, and yellow. This is to attract the customer to the establishment and to make the food look better. Red also has a positive effect on your appetite!

Colour and usability does matter. Think about the last time you were in a train station or airport. How easy was it to find your way? If you didn't speak English (or the native language), were there recognizable symbols to guide you? Bright yellow signs capture the attention of even the most weary traveller. Icons communicate where languages fail. Colour is the critical factor in the success of the visibility and readability of these signs.

The smaller the object, the more difficult it is to find the right way to use the device. Buttons, buttons everywhere. Which one for what? Take for e.g. our remote controls, a washing machine, a food blender, our ATM machines; each device has a control panel with a wide variety of button controls which is colour coded. Capiche?!

Colour and energy does matter. Consider this: Would you be cooler wearing a light shirt or a dark shirt on a hot sunny day? If your science teacher or parents didn't convince you, the scientific fact is that white reflects the radiant energy rays of the sun and black absorbs them. The same principle has a significant impact on a house. Even a light grey hue is better than a blue or green. Colours can be divided into cool or warm colours. Cool colours give the impression of space and calmness; unobstructed and receding into the background. Whereas, warm colours are associated with sun and fire and brings out feelings of passion and energy.

Researchers at Brown University have discovered that men and women have different skin colours. Men are red, and women are green. Wow…"Green with envy" has finally found its root!

Women may choose car colour keeping in mind how it will enhance her hair, eye and skin colours. That is how important colour is to women. You can wear your emotions on your sleeve, literally; or on your car, the walls of your home, the cover of your next presentation, etc. Let your hues cry!

The right colour is worth a thousand words…so when colours talk…women listen. Are you tuned in men?