Emotion of Color. Article by the Executive Director of RUNWAY MAGAZINE Guillaumette Duplaix.
In one of my previous articles, we were talking about communication with color and importance of use the colors in marketing and branding.
In this article I’d like to talk about EMOTION OF COLORS.
We can talk about the colors with the specialists : a scientist or an architect , a photographer or a fashion designer. After a few minutes, we quickly understand that we are not talking about the same thing. Each of us has own definition of every color linked to our emotions and memories.
RED
Each of us has a personal association with the colors based on a story, a memory…
Ask a little boy what color he wants his truck …… He will answer RED !!!
WHY ?
Red color in cultural history represents the will to win and passion. Boy who’s born in certain cultures, like Europe and USA for example, will identify it immediately because these associations were given to him by his parents and environment. That’s why he wants RED because he wants to be a winner.
RED represents energy and dynamism. It’s typical for children who already realizing a competition in social life given by environment from early age.
It’s interesting to observe a color choice of our children under 6 years, because a child is capable to identify on instinctive level your cultural, social and human values. That is first step of knowledge .
In most English-speaking countries, RED is a powerful of passion.
In Eastern cultures, RED is associated with good luck.
In China, it’s a color of new life.
In India, it symbolizes purity.
In Russia, it’s associated with beauty.
BLUE
Jeans – Everyone knows , Everyone wears !
But let’s talk about BLUE !
BLUE is a popular color in different cultures.
Did you know that this color stimulates the tranquility and concentration in European cultures ? It also inspires… Or gives feelings of inspiration !!!
In Iran, BLUE is a sign of mouring. In China – sign of immortality
When the jeans became popular, they were blue. Not dark blue, not light blue – medium blue with a touch of gray.
Today we have all palette of blue and other colors for all kind of customer, for all kind of emotional demand and culture :
« Acid washed », « Black », « Bleached » , « Brut », « Stone washed », « Stone bleached », « Surteint », « Used », « Bio » etc …
That is why jeans are so popular , and perfectly sellable in the different markets !
GREEN
GREEN is very complicated color. Create a pure green demands total control of color in calibrage.
Green has also different interpretation in all countries. In France today we use GREEN as communication color, but this interpretation of GREEN exists not for long time. It’s considered evil in the world of theater. Why there was such association with the GREEN color ? Simply because at that time light in the theaters was very bad and had this green-ish tone.
In anglo-saxon countries, GREEN associated with ambition and prestige.
In China, it’s the color of death, lies and exorcism. For example, if woman wears GREEN hat that means she’s been left by her husband.
In Ireland, GREEN is the most cheerful and happy color representing riches and glory. It is the National symbol, also associated with the certain shape : four-leaf clover, symbol of luck.
WHITE is a symbol of unity in the west and perfect balance and harmony.
In Japan and China, WHITE is a symbol of death.
BLACK is the most complex color – an emotion, a story.
Widely used in fashion to like symbol of ultimate elegance, a notion of immediate prestige.
FASHION
I work in Fashion. I’m one of the professional ones who goes on the fashion shows and watches amazing work of the designers, not for blogging but for analysis which I present afterwards to a designer.
When I watch a fashion show, I know that behind there’s a several months of a hard work, not just on silhouettes, but mainly on the color codes adapted to the “actual” and “desirable” markets of a designer. My first intention is to understand a strategy of the designer, what he tries to express with the color codes he proposes in his new collection.
And after I present him my analyze, modify his strategy if needed in order to make it more precise and better adapted to his market.
I know exactly why he used particular fabric and color, what part of his personal emotional history and cultural heritage inspired him, what he tried to achieve and who he tried to involve in his dream, his emotions – what market he is touching.
My analyze is “Dream Works” in Fashion. I’m the one who’s analyzing if the color codes are the right ones for the chosen market. It is very important for the designers who are marketing their houses in different countries, and not in the country of their origin. I work with the designer, I accompany him in his choices, bringing his choices of the colors close to buyers of every market designer has or planning.
Today I’m working with many Haute Couture houses in Paris and Luxury Pret-a-Porter houses in USA presented in Europe.
Different countries, personal and common history, culture take their color definitions in each and every situation. Designer by bringing red, blue, green, white, black unfolds personal emotional work for every culture or county he studied and had his inspiration from.
WE ARE SENDING A MESSAGE WITH OUR COLORS
WE CREATE A DREAM.
My article has only one purpose : to explain with some examples that the choice of colors is not done as simply as we imagine, it based on personal and social history.
To market what we do we have to listen, feel, be attentive to your partner ; to other country.
My article has 3 key stones :
1) Memory, history, emotion
2) Information
3) Interprétation
Each and every marketing strategy has to be based on this knowledge and scheme.
Get back to me and get your COLOR MAP if you want to know more about what you do and what you want to explore.
This podcast is the series of the articles written by Guillaumette Duplaix, Color Specialist, Executive Director, Global Editor-at Large at RUNWAY MAGAZINE, and dedicated to the color expertise, trends, history and values of the color in different periods.
