Did you know that your eyes have three types of cones, each of which are receptive to a different area of the color spectrum, Red, Green and Blue?
From these cones, color makes its way to you brain in 3 separate channels, a red/green channel (For all you Canadians, I’m not talking about the TV show with the guy that likes duct tape), a blue/yellow channel and a black/white (luminance) channel. The presence or absence of colors from one or more of these channels produces what you perceive as color, it’s the reason the color wheel looks the way it does and these limited channels are also why you can’t imagine “reddish green” or “yellowish blue”, whoa!
But how does all this relate to Direct Mail? Well, maybe there is no connection and I just find color absolutely fascinating. However we do know that color can be used to evoke emotional responses and draw attention to the important parts of your message. When designing your next Direct Mail package keep in mind the tone that colors convey to your customers.
Red is easily recognized and is great for drawing attention. It also evokes the feeling of energy, passion and desire. Red is a great color for your call to action but you should use it sparingly or it can lose its dramatic effect.
Yellow creates feelings of happiness and warmth. When used at full strength it’s great for grabbing attention, think taxi cabs or school buses. It’s a great color for promoting children’s or leisure products.
Blue is most associated with stability and trust, great for conveying a business like image. Blue is also a clean and pure color, which is why it’s used to promote water and vodka (though I wouldn’t say I feel particularly “clean” the next morning).
Green is natural and symbolizes harmony and growth. Green is strongly associated with safety so it works well when paired with medical or earth friendly products.
Color is a powerful tool. Copywriting and design experts know this and have been exploiting it for years to evoke the emotions they want. See, isn’t color amazing? It’s like a subliminal avenue to your customer’s brains, use your new power wisely.
