The research on color and meaning of every logo is the truth behind every brand.

The rules of colors are infact the truth well explained. Unlike the importance of colors more multilateral strategy works on Womens wear. When it comes to Mens collection we tend to have similar colors. Ex. Chinos . Very Directional choice of colors. Also some brands like used colors on different fabrics ex. Linen. Marks and Spencer have their tag on every season with Linen products and amazing colors. The basics of color and concept was well explained. Looking forward for an exciting topic next

I likes the concept of directional and Multilateral strategy. Many times these strategies are well exhibited to demonstrate the brand focus.Overall concept of Color is well articulated.

Hi Anindya , The conclusion on sales loss would definitely require an root cause analysis. Every EOSS has numerous reason and which I find would one to be the choice of colors. We might thought those as the best sellers and aren't. This will improve the designers capabilities and correlate to customers choice.

Color speak the occasion too.Many stores brand up the representation of colors.The story behind colors was really nice thought.

Clothes are like a second skin. Most likely you feel good when you wear your favorite color. Since today’s topic is COLOUR we need to restrict ourselves on it. The blog started with the colours of the logos which speak about the brand, business, target consumers. In an increasingly competitive and saturated market, communication needs to be carefully targeted. Few companies have a brand that is powerful enough to generate a quasi uniform perception world-wide. For most companies it is important to understand what the impact of communication and colour use will be on the targeted group. In the Internet age these differences are particularly relevant to online advertisers since colour is the first thing that you notice on a web site or banner, even before you can understand which language is being used or what the message says. But how to use colours cleverly and what is colour? These are built from some basic building blocks: 1. Primary colours. Red, blue and yellow are the basis of all other shades and can’t be created by combining other colours. If all three are mixed together in equal amounts, they will make black. 2. Secondary Colours. This is the term used to describe the three colours that are created by mixing two primary colours together. There are three secondary colours: violet (made up of red and blue); orange (made up of red and yellow) and green (made up of yellow and blue). 3. Tertiary Colours. These come from mixing one primary with one secondary colour. These are six: saffron (red and orange); lime (yellow with green); lavender (blue with violet); purple (red with violet); amber (yellow with orange) and turquoise (blue with green). Now it is not easy for the brand to predict the colour palette. Colours mean different things to different people. A single colour can have many different meanings in different cultures. In India orange is a positive, spiritually enlightened, and life-affirming colour, while in the US it is a colour of road hazards, traffic delays, and fast-food restaurants. Colours can symbolize a rite of passage, differentiate a premium from a discount brand, and distinguish between fun and serious, young and old, male and female. In addition to all the traditional meanings associated with colours in various cultures (those linked to birth, weddings, funerals), there are also those layers of meaning brought about by international marketing and communication: for instance Coca-Cola red. Concentrating on webvertising, context for a banner is given not only by the cultural context for which it is developed, but also by the Web site on which it is hosted. A clash of colours or meanings between the web site content and the banner could annihilate or even damage the objectives sought by the advertiser. Context is everything: a group of people wearing. What about the color worn for weddings and funerals? White is the traditional color for a bride's wedding gown in the U.S. and most European cultures. White symbolizes purity and innocence. In Asia, white is the color of death. This arises from the belief that death is seen as a beginning and that white represents the purity that the deceased brings into the next life. Therefore, brides in Japan and China wear red in traditional wedding ceremonies. White is also associated with death in India, where widows wear white. Consequently, red or pink saris are the most popular colors for brides. Black symbolizes death and is the traditional color of mourning in Western cultures. Black clothing is associated with powerful forces in many parts of the world. Bad and good. Witches, the devil, ninjas, cat burglars, Darth Vader, Cat Woman, and Batman wear black....and so do priests, nuns, judges, mimes, Mennonites, Bedouins, and monks. Climate and Colour- Even the climate in which we live influences our colour preferences, those who live in climates with a lot of sunlight prefer warm bright colours; while those from climates with less sunlight prefer cooler, less saturated colours. Gender and Colour- Considering gender differences in colour perception could seem unrelated to cross-cultural localization. A closer look, however, will reveal that these can be found in every society, each with some specific characteristics. It is found that women were more likely than men to have a favourite colour. Women tend to shift towards bright and soft colours. Age and Colour - In early childhood colours are used more subjectively than in a naturalistic objective way. From the age of three to six children strongly prefer colour to shapes (the opposite is true at a later stage of development). Bright red can be used by children to express anger, desire to destroy, while the black of the night can be fraught with all the depressive anguishes. The yellow of the sun can stand for a happy desire to communicate and express themselves. Younger children are attracted by strong, warm, and intense colours. As time progresses colours become less violent and softer shades appear: colours “cool down”. This process continues throughout life, with older people finding, subdued colour more attractive. During one of my presentation to kid’s apparel buyer in Belgium, I realized that a mistake has been made in carrying a line for presentation. Here, I came across an example of colour symbolism in clothing. As the meeting progressed, I came to know that it is a custom of using pink for girls and blue for boys ... but it wasn't always this way. As I researched, I came to know that this tradition emerged at the turn of the 20th century. Since pink was thought to be a stronger color, it was best suited for boys; blue was more delicate and daintier and best for girls. Did you know that in 1921, the Women's Institute for Domestic Science in Pennsylvania endorsed pink for boys, blue for girls. Even more interesting is the fact that pink is the colour for baby boys and blue is the colour for baby girls in Belgium today. My advice to all is to first do an extensive research on the country, brand, customer before going for any presentation. Another interesting fact about pink, which I stumbled upon during my extensive sale trips to UK, is that pink is a very masculine colour in Bermuda. Also, British bankers and barristers have worn pink shirts for decades. Pink goes in and out of fashion in other parts of the world. Now we come to Effect of Colour on Choice. This was also learnt over the years of doing international business, during numerous business meetings and presentations that colours are associated with certain images. For example, blue is associated with wealth, trust, and security; grey is associated with strength, exclusivity, and success; and orange denotes cheapness. One more interesting fact which emerged during my trips to various countries. Chinese and Japanese associated blue with high quality and red with love. Purple is associated with expensive for subjects from Japan and PRC. In contrast, people from the United States associate purple with inexpensive. Black is consistently associated with expensive and powerful across cultures. Colour symbolism every country and culture attach certain symbolic values to colours. The Meaning of Colours in Religions It is important to remember that religion is an important part of culture, and that in every religion colours have their associations. An inappropriate use of colour can be perceived as offensive. For Shiite Muslims green is sacred, and its use should be undertaken very cautiously. White is the colour of mourning in China. An overabundance of white space around a small isolated image or lettering might hint at funerary meanings.  This short analysis shows just how colour can be a critical factor in clothing, communication and the power that it can exert on perception in various cultures.

The strategy of colours has been used from ages for developing brand logo and designing the stores, packaging, etc. as you have explained but not sure if apparel brands have been using this to define different ranges withing their collection at least in the Indian context. The thought of defining collections based on colour is exciting. Really looking forward to understand how brands can actually inculcate this colour strategy while ensuring brand positioning and customer segmentation.

Awesome Topic, very nicely explained.An Architecture of buying - selecting the blocks to make a brand to give it a personality, be it DIRECTIONAL or MULTILATERAL is the primary step in the visualisation of a brand. There is a science behind colours, and selling pattern - to study that is important and give us insights like blue is the new black or green sells!!!

Very insightful and well explained about Science and importance of colors. The stats provided in the form of Graphs and videos speaks truth and louder that 85% of the consumer believe color is the biggest motivator when choosing a particular product while 93% acknowledge visual appearance as the most persuasive marketing factor overall. The good thing,there is a method of the color madness which you explained very well in your blog. Truly said that the science of colors can multiply the sales exponentially and on other side can be responsible for loss of sales and a reason for huge inventory due to incorrect color strategy. Color choice can build the brand's aesthetic by bringing you closer to your target audience. So understanding the psychology of each color is very useful for creating Brand's identity. If we choose something that is out of box, we risk causing cognitive dissonance among target audience. Thanks for providing the great information.

Sir, it is very insightive and colourful article. Without colour there is no value OR meaning for beautiful. The colour plays more significant role in our life, it explains value of emotions. The Rainbow looks amazing, because it is having multi colours...

Very good selection of the topic, COLORS. Which actually defines the base for the designer Well said the, primary colors which actually sets up the mood board of any season launch. But it's all about the hue and saturation that actually makes the product appealing The understanding of colors is been studied by Pantone cards. The challenge is to achieve these colors in bulk manufacturing. Color consistency is one thing that brands would be looking at Example, a dark blue produced in Vietnam, Bangladesh, srilanka, India must match the Pantone shade. So that yhe stores represent with minimum shade variation when put up in rack. Another challenge when we have a mix of colors, the durability of the product with minimum color loss. The dyestuff used to achieve the consistency makes it a challenge for colorist. The topic covered the core values and very useful. Thank you for a great topic

Sir, Very informative.. My most time spent blogs of yours. Sometimes we go astray from basic rules and make expensive mistake on impulses. The soil wash away from below our feet to irreparable damage by the time realize the situation that we are standing at the deep non-returnable abyss. Yes, if color is the 84.7% of the deciding factor why don't we spend time on colors before producing non-saleable products!

Very well said .Color is one of the most important design element. The color spur emotions and express values. And a few things would need to keep in mind while developing the color strategies are psychology, culture and trends.

Sir, Particularly women & children consumer mindset which is full of mood swings is just as the white light which splits into VIBGYOR when it passes through the prism or it is as the 50 shades of grey. We (the brand's) must be the prism where a customer walks in with expectations & walks out with the flamboyant clothing they wish for. It is colourful article well explained covering the importance, acceptance, strategy & trend followed by the brand's & consumers. Looking forward to learn more from your next series of articles.