Many times in a day, you consciously—and sometimes unconsciously— stop when the signal goes red.

So what? Red means stop, doesn’t it?

Red actually triggers alertness to the human mind; this is the reason why stop signs and fire engines are red in color. However, the color, when used with green represents Christmas and the blissful holiday season. Similarly, you never stop on a green light because your mind knows it means to go.

There’s no denying the fact that colors do have some impact on how we see and experience things. They surround us all, every day, every time! If you see a sign in red you instantly know it’s a danger sign. So we can say that in a way colors can communicate with us and deliver a message.

Did you know that even infants have favorite colors? Or that seeing orange and yellow can grow hunger? Or that men and women see colors differently? Or that colors constitute 62% of our first impressions? All these little color curiosities emphasize on the power of colors to turn ordinary into extraordinary.

The color psychology when it comes to persuasion is an interesting, yet controversial aspect of branding. Lots of research and data acquisition has been done on this topic and there are many theories out there which clearly reveal that choosing right colors can lead to a huge business success.

Here are some of the color calculations you should know when deciding your branding color in order to make informed decisions.

Color calculations: Which color to pick?

Your brand’s color is your representation; it owns the power to communicate with your consumers. The challenge of choosing the right color is already insurmountable, while the culture gap, demographic variance and age difference has made it more daunting than ever. Seems like you can never choose the perfect color but working a little will get you closer to choosing a suitable one.

In France, for instance, yellow represents jealousy, betrayal, and weakness. Back in 10^th century, French used to paint the doors of traitors yellow. Meanwhile when it comes to African regions, yellow is for people with noble or high ranks, due to its close resemblance to gold. Thus, it is recommended to analyze your targeted audience, their preferences, location, and culture, before making a decision about your branding color.

Color Calculations: RGB versus CMYK

RGB is an additive color mixing model. Combining various intensities of red, green and blue can cause different colors to occur. Whereas, if you blend all three colors, you’ll end up with pure, white light.

What is CMYK? In our childhood, we have been taught about the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) that we used to make different other colors. These colors were later replaced with CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow & key/black) and their combination allows printers to produce different colors on paper.

RGB

CMYK

Why it matters?

Since TVs, projectors, and screen use RGB color model to reproduce different colors, your logo may appear in a different color on the screen. To avoid such situation, professional logo designers use RGB when designing a logo, particularly for digital purposes. Similarly, when designing a logo withflexographic printingintentions, it is recommended to use CMYK. Using RGB for prints will not just ensue inaccurate prints, but it might give you a mini heart attack by a heavy bill as well.

Color Calculations: Color wheel basics

The color wheel is usually constituted by three primary colors(red, yellow, and blue), three secondary colors (green, orange, purple) along with six tertiary colors (a combo of primary and secondary colors, like red-violet or blue-green).

The wheel can be separated by warm colors (reds, oranges, and yellows) representing energy, brightness, and action, and cool colors (blues, greens, and purples), identifying calm, peace, and serenity. Understanding the temperature of the logo can help you pick the right color for your brand.

Color Calculations: Color schemes

Designers use the color wheel to develop the right color scheme for their marketing materials. Here are some of the schemes to follow:

• Monochromatic: This type of scheme is subtle and conservative. It comprise of multiple shades, tones, or tints of a single color, for example, a range of blue extending from light to dark.

• Analogous: This scheme is versatile and a nice pick for design projects. It consists of colors that are side by side on the wheel.

• Complementary: Contrary to Analogous, complementary scheme chooses colors that are on the opposite sides. These colors have high-contrast and high-intensity, and can be tricky to use in a balanced, harmonious setting.

• Triadic: This scheme is constituted by any three colors, with even distance on the wheel. A triadic color scheme produces a visual contrast and harmony at the same time, making each item pop while making the entire visual stand out.

Conclusion:

Agree! Colors matter, but why should you care at all? If you want to make your brand distinguishable and communicative to your audience, it is important to pick the right color. Selecting poor colors will eventually lead to poor sales, and that is why understanding the color theory is significant. Period.