According to KISS metrics, a customer intelligence and web analytics company based in San Francisco, 93% of the reason we choose to buy something is visual appearance. This is a significant figure, and one that many companies and marketing firms have been trying to utilise. Will carrots with a blue label sell more than those with an orange one? Let’s find out.
A huge determining factor when deciding how to market a product is the target audience. Most of Apple’s products are white, or brushed aluminium because their audience is looking for high-end technology. Apple have associated their brand with clean, industrial design, and it would be difficult to argue that it hasn’t worked. If you’re trying to decide what colour a label should be, a good starting point is a colour associated with your brand.
Different colours elicit different emotions; yellow products give the perception of optimism and youth, whereas red is associated with energy. Red is used by supermarkets in clearance sections because it’s associated with impulse buys, whereas navy is used by banks because it offers reliability. Choosing a colour that represents what your company does is a wise move – for example, if you sell trampolines, yellow might be a clever choice.
Know Your Customers A big decision to make when choosing a printed label is if you commit to one colour, or have several. On the face of it, this is purely a design decision, but people judge the quality of a product by the image of a company. Having a bright multi-coloured logo might be what your customers are looking for, but at the same time, a simple black and white one might achieve more sales. It’s important to know who your customers are, and why they are buying your product.
What’s clear is that it’s important to give careful consideration to the colours you use on your labels if you want to establish a brand. The smallest details can be the difference between selling something, or not. However, there is no guaranteed recipe for success. Carrots might sell well with a blue or orange label, but Apple always sells better with white.
