My son just finished a little science project last week about the power of color on influencing our perception of taste. In his experiment he had test subjects eat a small serving of yogurt. All of the yogurt was vanilla flavored only, but some of it was colored red to look like strawberry, blue to look like blueberry and pinkish orange to look like peach. The subjects were then asked to mark on a piece of paper what flavor they tasted. Many people thought they tasted flavors based on colors, but what amazed me were the people who would try multiple colors and not realize they were the exact same flavor. Color definitely has powerful influence on what we perceive to be true.
When I was in school I did a science project on color as well. My take was more on the symbolic meanings of color. Purple related to royalty, blue - police, red - fire, orange/yellow - caution, red - stop. Even within architecture how frequently hospitals, assisted living, nursing homes, doctors offices and other places are frequently painted or decorated in soft, comfortable light blues and greens. These are generally calming colors. Last but not least from my experience living in Indianapolis where they host a pretty big race each year, the meanings and usages.
Color is all around us. I'm sure you see it, but do you really notice those colors and think about the impact they have on your decisions and mood each day?
Color Influence on Conversion Rates"
Now I see an interesting infographic from Kissmetrics talking about how color can impact the results of our conversions on calls-to-action from our websites. After my recent experience, I've got to say no real surprise here, but the facts and data are definitely an interesting and enlightening read.
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Source: How Colors Affect Conversions Infographic