Psychology of the color blue
From social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Tumblr to technology companies, including NASA, Dell, Sprint, and HP, blue is the most common color used in company logos.
In fact, 33% of the world’s top brands use blue. Why do so many companies use blue? Several psychology studies point to blue as being one of the most effective branding colors.
While blue is commonly considered a “boy’s color,” a study called Colour Assignment found that 57% of men and 35% of women claimed blue as their favorite color.
The study also found that blue was favored by 42% of all participants, making it more popular than any other color. Blue’s popularity was also consistent among all age groups.
The study also found that blue was the color most associated with reliability (43%), trust (34%), and security (28%). Blue was the second most popular color to be associated with high quality (20%) and high technology (23%). Black scored most favorably in both those categories.
Blue was also considered to be the third most courageous color (22%) behind red (28%) and purple (29%). Blue also expresses calmness and tranquility. For this reason, people have an easier time concentrating in a blue room, and weightlifters can lift more weight in a blue gym.
Blue functions as an appetite suppressant, unlike red which increases appetite. That explains why Weight Watchers uses a blue logo while McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, and other fast-food chains all use red.
Be careful how you use the color blue, however. Certain shades can evoke sadness and coldness. Just ask Picasso.