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Happy Brand Tip Tuesday Everyone!
The eyes can distinguish approximately 10 MILLION different colors. Sight is the most powerful of human senses making it an extremely important part of creating a successful brand.
The eye picks up rays of light and light is a type of energy we call electromagnetic radiation. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation include radio waves, microwaves, ultraviolet rays, and X-rays.
Each type of wave and ray has a different wavelength. For example, gamma rays are smaller than atoms but radio waves can be miles long! The light that humans see is called visible light. Visible light is somewhere in the middle of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Although #visiblelight is a very small portion of the #electromagneticspectrum as seen above, there are numerous variations of wavelengths. We see these variations as colors. Red light has the longest #wavelength and is on one side of the spectrum. Blue/Violet light has the shortest wavelength. White light is a combination of all colors in the color spectrum.
The primary colors of light like red, blue, and green combine to create secondary colors like yellow, cyan, and magenta.
All colors can be broken down into different combinations of these three primary colors. When mixing materials like paints, primary colors are red, blue, and yellow but for light, the three primary colors are red, blue, and green.
Colors are very important because they are a consistent visual representation that leaves an image in the mind of the consumer and can create an #emotionalconnection that is felt unconsciously.
Colors actually stimulate your brain and trigger the release of different chemicals such as cortisol and melatonin.
In a research paper conducted by Stephen Westland at the University of Leeds in the UK, they explain that our visual sense is actually similar to our ears and sense of hearing which control audio and a sense of balance.
Our eyes do more than pick-up images! Light-sensitive cones in the back of the #retina send signals to two parts of the brain, one part of the brain called the #visualcortex where images are formed, but the other part of the brain is called the #hypothalamus, this part of the brain controls the secretion of hormones that affect the regulation of body temperature, sleep patterns, and hunger.
An example of this process is when the #brain picks up sunlight in the morning which is primarily blue light with some green light.
This triggers the release of the hormone Cortisol, which stimulates the brain and is in charge of waking us up. It is also the chemical that is released when we feel the "fight or flight" response.
It also inhibits the release of the chemical melatonin. I am not sure if you have ever tried a melatonin pill or gummy but they make you super sleepy very quickly and personally they knock me out cold!
This physiological mechanism in the brain is the reason in which colors and lights can directly affect your consumer’s alertness, mood, impulsivity, and even heart rate!
With this information, I hope you can better understand the importance of the different colors that are used in #branding and #marketing. When people talk about how colors evoke certain emotions we now have a deeper understanding of how and why certain colors and types of light evoke certain emotions and feelings.
We can get a better understanding of why things like seasonal depression happen. It is literally how our #brains have been wired to work! This is why you need to have a consistent #brandcolorguide in which you choose one palette and stick with it using contrasting colors to create the visual mood you are aiming to give off to your #consumers.