Pantone Colour of the Year 2021 was announced last last month, and as usual the story behind the chosen colours is as fascinating as ever. 

Pantone has selected two colours: a bright yellow, called Illuminating and Ultimate Grey.

The choices represent a positive and forward looking response to recent global events and in our view are more about encapsulating the emotions of society at the current time, than they are about trends in design, art and culture. 

This is summed up nicely by Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director at Pantone who describes “the union of enduring Ultimate Grey with the vibrant yellow Illuminating as a message of positivity supported by fortitude” that “gives us resilience and hope“. 

It’s not the first time Pantone has made a social statement with their selection and chosen a colour to represent an emotion, you can read about its choices from the last two decades here.

In a similar vein, Dulux announced Brave Ground as its colour of the year; a colour that evokes the natural, earthy elements around us.

We all know that colour can be hugely evocative but it’s the psychological effects that colour can have that really interests us from a behavioural science perspective.

The psychology of colour

Lots of studies have looked at the influence colour has on the human brain, all of which reach a similar conclusion; that our feelings and reactions towards colour are often unconscious.

As creatives there’s a variety of reasons why we might choose one colour over another in the creative work we do for our clients – especially because we’re always trying to influence behaviour in some way.

There are certain rules we might follow though – red is synonymous with ‘sale’, orange tends to indicate ‘value’ and so on. But if we rely on picking from the same toolbox of colours for every task, the effectiveness of what we create gets diminished. 

Here’s some of the psychology behind Pantone’s colour of the year 2021.

YELLOW

Yellow is the colour most visible to the eye. It’s why it’s so frequently used on signs and in promotional material as a way to ‘stop the scroll’. 

According to Leatrice Eiseman at Pantone, “yellow is thought of as joyful, outgoing, open, and friendly. Psychologically, yellow is the strongest colour. It is associated with comedy, a happy mood, and playfulness. Yellow ribbons have been used as a sign of hope and optimism since the nineteenth century.”

GREY

Grey is often associated with low mood and depression. But being the colour between black and white, it’s also associated with neutrality and balance. You’ll see a lot of brands make use of grey, as it’s a standard, non-offensive shade. It’s usually the colour used to balance a brighter, statement colour.  As it’s the colour of concrete, steel and other industrial materials, it evokes strength and resilience. 

Putting colour in context – the science bit

In 2012, Elliot and Maier created their ‘colour-in-context theory’, which drew from social learning and biology.

In short, they learned that our response to a specific colour is based on a repeated pairing of that colour with personal experiences. For example, bright yellow sunshine is warm and inviting, and grey clouds are cold, rain-filled and moody.

This is all very well, but how what does it mean for brands and marketers?

What does your brand colour make people think when they see your advertising, website or store?

What does colour psychology tell us about about how to optimise campaigns?

Brand personality and colour

Your brand has its own personality and customers will often seek out products that have a personality that matches their own. So it’s incredibly important to truly understand your brand’s personality and ask yourself, does its colour live up to it?

These questions are good starting point for establishing your brands personality.

Gender: Is my brand traditionally masculine or feminine?

Tone: Is my brand playful or serious?

Value: Is my brand luxurious or affordable?

Time: Is my brand modern or classic?

Age: Is my brand youthful or mature?

Energy: Is my brand loud or subdued?

Colour and emotion

If you have an established brand colour, does your brand illicit these emotions in your customers?

Or, consider how to optimise future campaigns using this colour/emotion guide:

Red – Excitement, youthful, bold.

Orange – Friendly, cheerful, confident.

Purple – Creative, imaginative, wise.

Blue – Trust, dependable, strong.

Green – Peaceful, growth, health.

As a creative agency that uses behavioural science to make marketing more effective, our team of behavioural designers apply a deep understanding of the meaning behind colour to develop work that is more compelling and impactful.

We deliver everything from insights and strategy development for brand building or big ideas right down to tactical campaigns and execution.

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you to apply behavioural science creatively then please get in touch.