The Colour of Perception
I’d like to talk a little about colour.
Plain-old, good-old-fashioned colour.
RGB. CMYK. Hues of all types, from pink to blue, silver to scarlet, eburnean to phlox.
We tend to think of colour as an equally shared experience. If you see a shade of a colour, chances are I’m seeing something very similar to you, unless you’re colourblind of course, in which case your world is very different to mine. Nevertheless, there’s a pleasing commonality to the idea of us seeing the same thing, but perhaps unsurprisingly, it goes a little deeper than surface level.
To best highlight this, I’m going to need a bit of audience participation.
I’d like you to imagine something for me.
Picture, if you will – some kind of countryside idyll, a nice little bolthole of a place to gather your thoughts. Comfy cushions, a real fire, little drops of rain tumbling softly down the windowpane, a view outside into the distance with not a single person in sight.
In your mind’s eye, I’m sure it’s alive with colour. Did you picture fields of green? A dark forest? Bronzed grass scorched in the summer sun? I was very careful not to mention anything that would colour your perception. But nevertheless, I’m sure you pictured something.
When we show our ‘true colours’ – we talk about showing our true selves. 18th century pirates would often fly under a false flag, only revealing their true identity and intentions immediately prior to attack when escape for the victim was no longer an option.
Back then your colours spoke before you did.
In many ways, that’s not really changed.
What is colour? Colour is personality – we add it to everything we do, when we doodled on our exercise books at school, when we buy a car, clothes, an electric guitar or paint our nails – we transmit the soul of ourselves through colour.
It is the prism we use to colour the way we view the world and the way we are viewed in turn. Harnessing that is no easy task – perception varies wherever we go, cultural nuance drives a lot of that experience, but you might be surprised at how diverse that can be as we travel the world.
White is commonly associated with notions of purity, cleanliness, peace – in the West, but in Asia it is associated with mourning and humility, where white is the colour worn at a funeral, not black.
Red typically fills us with ideas of passion, excitement, danger and love. But couple it with green and it suddenly becomes festive, and we picture Christmas trees and decorations. But combine it with white instead in Latin America and we now have heavy religious connotations. Shift the colour red to India and it’s a colour that represents purity, often seen worn by the bride in wedding dresses. Red evokes luck and good fortune in China, but caution and danger in the Middle East.
Black is sophistication and elegance, and also power – hence its use by luxury brands but tilt the lens slightly and it’s heavily linked to death and mourning. In India it’s the colour of evil, rebellion and negativity, but good health, stability and prosperity in China. In Latin America it conveys a masculine power, whereas in Japan it represents feminine energy and mystery, as the designer Yohji Yamamoto once said: “Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. Black is lazy and easy - but mysterious. But above all black says this: 'I don't bother you - don't bother me”
And bother people we mustn’t. Colour and what it means to us as individuals is largely unconscious and highly subjective, but there’s a knee-jerk reaction buried somewhere within those cultural mores. After all, we’ve certainly all become hyper-aware of digital interlopers in our midst, with advertising and marketing clamouring for our attention via our inbox, Instagram feed, LinkedIn messages etc. so much so we are all (rightfully) a little more discerning when trying to ascertain whether something is genuine or not. So, if it’s not appropriately attired, we are already suspicious or worse, hovering over the delete key.
As much as it seems a little overkill at first glance, the wrong hue can seriously damage the landing power of creative. The aim of any piece of marketing is to fit in, so perfectly that no-one can see the strings that join it back to core creative originated globally. But like with so many things, what we see and consider at first glance isn’t always what others see. The mirror of culture refracts into a multitude of shades and depth, and in a world where looking beyond what’s on the surface rules the day, we need to be extra careful where we place our feet.
So, if you’re unsure, umming and erring over your creative’s ability to travel into new territories but still want it to perform its absolute best, then rest easy, get in touch with us here at Tag – and we’ll ensure you are stage-ready, wherever you might be headed, and in whatever shade you choose to wear.
