My friend and former student Rhea tweeted a link to the infographic at the bottom of this page, reminding me of a design course I previously taught in which we addressed the meaning conveyed by colors. It shows why businesses select the colors used in their logos and marketing materials VERY carefully.
Take oil company logos, for example. Many of them make strong use of red to signalled power, energy, and boldness. Blue represents trust and loyalty, and the white stands for cleanliness and purity. Gulf's orange represents nature, confidence, and innovation. These colors support the image the company want to project, or at least did in years past, when the logos were created.
But British Petroleum uses green, signalling health, nature, and prosperity, with shades of yellow for optimism and happiness, and white for cleanliness and purity.
See also how the symbolism of these colors reflects how BP wants to be seen today? NOT as polluting and reaping windfall profits but rather as safe, clean, and worthwhile?
Colors are a powerful tool for conveying meaning in visual communications. They are "subtext," or meaning below the surface, and connotations. But the meaning is still there, serving the desired brand image of the company.
(The colors and meanings in the infographic are for Western culture. In Eastern, culture, there are some differences.)Next time you look at a favorite company's logo, check to see what meaning the color(s) convey.
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