The study of color is a huge subject. Researches have shown that certain colors affect us in different ways. Some of these are obvious; blue - the color of a sunny sky and a clear ocean - is a soothing color.
Red, on the other hand, creates excitement - and hunger. Just think about how many fast food logos use red. McDonald's of course, Wendy's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Checkers, KFC ...
The second most popular color in fast food logos in orange. Orange has the effect of making things appear to be value for money (example: Home Depot) Red also has the advantage of being highly noticable, this is why red is used for stop signs and so on.
One of the reasons that red tones, which include orange and orange/yellow) is because of the abundance of foods of those colors. Think of a farmers market with all those glorious tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, strawberries, corn, squash, apples, lemons, carrots ... you can see why these colors stimulate the appetite.
Blue, on the other hand, is supposed to suppress the appetite - and how many blue foods can you think of? (Blueberries, blue cheese, the occasional cocktail and that rather weird-colored Gatorade...) Is this the secret of weight loss? Wear only blue?
In short, red is stimulating and exciting; blue is soothing and calming. But do people really use this information to their advantage? Once you start thinking about these colors you notice where they are used and why.
Well, we know that fast food companies do but it goes beyond that. Don't think that the president of the United States looks into his closet every morning and wonders what he feels like wearing today. He wakes to find that his clothes are already laid out for him and the psychology of color plays its part.
Watch carefully and you'll see that when the president is in a situation where he wants to appear to be aggressive and forceful, the chances are that he'll be wearing a red tie. If he needs to appear to be concillatory, the tie and the suit will be blue. If you see him wearing a neutral color, you'll know that he wants to project neither of these images; he wants to show impartiality.
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