Colour And Psychology In Print 

When creating your perfect roller banner design, it is important to take colour and psychology into account. Different colours speak to different meanings in our collective consciousness, so you wouldn’t want your colour scheme to be contradicting your message or target audience. Follow our handy guide to colour and psychology in print to avoid any colorful mishaps! 

Colour basics

First things first, it’s best to be aware of some fundamental colour tips:

• Don’t use too many colours in your design. Too many different colours can create a confused and unpolished look.
• Don’t forget your logo – whatever colour your logo and company branding are, make sure that you complement them and don’t overpower them.
• Ensure that your text colour and background colour are suitably different. A burnt orange font on a red background, for example, won’t stand out well and you may run the risk of people glancing over your design.

Colour and psychology

Colour is a powerful thing. Various colours have societal associations that, whilst somewhat arbitrary in nature, are really ingrained in our collective subconscious. 

Red is associated with danger, passion and love. It also evokes the idea that something is wrong – think of the Covid slogans we’ve had over the past 18 months. Stay Home – Protect The NHS- Save Lives, was written in red font or with a red border and arrows, immediately signally STOP! Conversely, Stay Alert -Control The Virus- Save Lives replaced the red with green, symbolising ‘Go’ (albeit cautiously). 

Green is associated with nature, eco-friendliness and ‘Go!’ Green is a fantastic colour to use for anything that is promoting your company’s ecological stance.

Blue is associated with water and calmness. Use blue to evoke a relaxed response. Blue is also associated with confidence and trust, so is a good choice for an established brand. 

Pink is associated with femininity and fun. Interestingly, pink began its life as a masculine colour. As late as the 1920s, pink was associated with boys – as a lighter form of the ‘masculine’ red. Nonetheless, nowadays pink is synonymous with ‘girlishness’ and as such is a powerful colour to use for promoting products aimed at a female audience.

Black is associated with seriousness, sobriety and alternativeness. Whereas this makes it ideal for promoting something somber, like a funeral home, it also speaks to the alternative cultures of goth, emo etc. Use black to promote products aimed at these demographics and you can’t go wrong!

White is associated with purity. White is a good background colour as it forms an inherent contrast to most other colours.

Yellow is associated with sunshine and joy. However, beware of using yellow text, especially on any background that isn’t black, for it might not show up. 

Purple evokes luxury and royalty, as it was historically the most expensive colour to produce.

Colour and psychology – tones and subtleties

But it’s not just colour itself that has societal connotations. The tones of the colour also evoke certain ideas. 

Pastel colours, for example, often evoke something homely, gentle and ideal for small children. By contrast, bright bold colours evoke something adult, adventurous and innovative, and neon colours are interlinked with fun and excitement. Choosing your tones can have a huge impact on your message. For example, would you create a banner advertising a night out in pastels? Probably not. But pastels for your new Mother’s Day range- absolutely. 

Should you need any assistance with colour design for your roller banners, don’t forget we offer an in-house design service, who will create the perfect colour scheme for you! Simply get in touch to find out more.