I’ve been working with social media, developing designs, brands, and communities around media brands, and analyzing how major legacy media brands behave on social media. I’ve noticed that many legacy media companies lack precisely this fundamental area considering the power of colors. Here are my 5 reasons why you should consider your colors on socials and what preferences GEN Z has on colors.
1: Colors affect us physically and psychologically
Light travels at a speed of 300,000 km per second, and wavelengths are what we perceive as colors. We perceive colors before shapes. You must consider how colors affect the reader and who will see the colors when you decide on color usage. It's said that women can perceive 10 million color shades while men can only perceive one million. (This is because women have two X chromosomes, while men have one X and one Y.) The field of Color psychology is all about the individual properties and impact of each color and how it affects us subconsciously. For example, the color red can increase your heart rate and raise your blood pressure, the color blue can make you stressed, and the color beige can lower blood pressure and make you sleepy. The brain is stimulated by colors on a conscious level when we associate colors with emotions, places, brands, cultures, etc.
2: People associate things with certain colors
The cultural context, upbringing, and personal preferences influence our interpretation of colors. In all cultures, colors have an inherent value. In the West, green is associated with being an "environmental color" and can be linked to environmental organizations, healthy food, etc. In Muslim countries, green is the holy color since it symbolizes the cloak of the Prophet Muhammad, which is why all Muslim countries have green in their flags. Media companies should remember to check what people associate with the colors red, green, turquoise, yellow, etc., in their country, culture, subculture, etc., before deciding on a palette.
3: Choose the right color for Gen Z
Recently, the Gen Z cohort has embraced a unique range of colors that bridges the gap between the nostalgia of the technological past and the visual style of the contemporary digital era. This preference has gradually diffused from viral social media campaigns into brands targeting Gen Z, and eventually, it has permeated the broader population, forming a seamless cycle where marketing and trend pursuit reinforce each other. This prompts us to ponder: What influences the formation of generational preferences?
Each generation develops its own distinctive color palette, and within those colors lies a narrative. During the 1950s, soft pastels dominated both interior designs and fashion, symbolizing an idealized prosperity. In the 1960s, the vibrant hues of psychedelia became intertwined with youth culture. The 1980s showcased intense neon colors as a representation of youthfulness and positivity, while the early 2000s brought forth a surge of techno-optimism portrayed through lively pastel shades. The reappearance of pastels in the 2000s demonstrated how the same color palette could be reinterpreted to align with the values and aspirations of a new generation. While pastels in the 1950s might represent a longing for stability and prosperity in a post-war world, in the 2000s, they symbolized the excitement and possibilities of a rapidly advancing technological landscape.
This phenomenon highlights how color trends are not static but evolve and adapt to reflect the changing cultural, technological, and social contexts of different time periods. It also underscores the power of color to convey meaning and capture the spirit of an era, even when the palette itself may appear similar on the surface.
Laurie Pressman, the vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, shares her insights on Gen Z in an interview with Fast Company. She describes Gen Z as being associated with vibrant and cheerful yellows, a color palette that symbolizes their positive and optimistic perspective. This hue represents qualities such as sunshine, warmth, and hope for the future, embodying the generation's positive outlook.
NRK P3, the subbrand of Norwegian Broadcast Association (NRK) aims at people from 18-29 y/o with quality content. Their design profile is centered around black & yellow, and P3 uses black and yellow because they think it’s a “nice and clear color and catches the eye”.
Black and yellow create a strong visual contrast. The juxtaposition of these two colors can make design elements, text, or graphics stand out prominently. This high contrast can be particularly effective in conveying important information or drawing attention to specific elements in a design which is highly beneficial when you are a PSM company. Yellow text or graphics on a black background or vice versa can enhance readability and visibility. Yellow is often associated with energy, positivity, and optimism. Black, on the other hand, can convey a sense of sophistication, mystery, and elegance. Combining these two colors can evoke various emotions and associations that may be suitable for certain design purposes.
Gen-Z yellow (a bright and sunny color) was seen as being labeled as the next trend that will rival millennial pink.Similar to how Millennial Pink gained popularity, Gen Z today has its own set of preferred colors, with Cyber Lime and Digital Lavender taking the spotlight.
These shades are forecasted to make a significant impact in 2024. Notably, these colors also embrace the value of inclusivity. Caroline Guilbert, head of creative content at Coloro, WGSN’s sister agency, an expert in the field, says in an interview with Fast Company that Cyber Lime, for instance, possesses the ability to resonate with a broad audience, which aligns perfectly with Gen Z's sensitivity towards inclusiveness.
4: The Power of Color
In a comprehensive study on the impact of colors in marketing, researchers found that 62-90% of snap judgments made about products are based on colors alone (Singh, 2006).
Colors are used, both proven and unconscious, to convey ideas, perceptions, social status, or (political) attitudes. One must be aware of the psychology and symbolism of colors when designing graphic content, and these choices should not be random or based on trends. To make informed choices, you must understand the characteristics of colors and have read books by Johannes Itten, Goethe, etc.
5: Be disruptive
Do your research in the field of color theory and color psychology and test colors on your target audience. Further, I highly recommend being disruptive, ballsy, and not trying to look like all the others. If you try to look like all the others, no one will notice you, but if you do as, for example, MTV did and turn all your channels into black mode for a while, everyone will notice you. You simply look different (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)»
