PLAN for (To What Extent) Can Colour be used as a Visual Cue to Increase Purchase Likelihood? Introduction Background of colour ‘Our modern conceptions of light and colour begins with Isaac Newton’s colour theory’ Isaac Newton, Goethe ‘Unlike Newton, Goethe's concern was not so much with the analytic treatment of colour, as with the qualities of how phenomena are perceived.’ Newton = optical spectrum Goethe = phenomenon of human colour perception Developing paints - rich colour = wealth Fauvism - All the Fauves were intensely preoccupied with colour as a means of personal expression. http://www.theartstory.org/movement-fauvism.htm Cubism - not to distract the viewer from the artist's primary interest - the structure of form itself. — according to Cubists, colour has the tendency to distract — can marketing teams use this to their advantage (distract from the cost of a unit/service)?
Main Body All supporting evidence 1. Studies 2. Theories - follow up studies 3. Analyse piece(s) of design
Any disagreeing evidence, or other tools of persuasion? 1. Power words 2. Price/value 3. Quality 4. Popularity/trends (colour trends?!) 1. Physiological reactions - Birren (1997) reported that red colour increased blood pressure and pulse rate of participants in a lab setting. (Discuss -- the physiological impacts of colour that this displays, but also the limitations of an investigation in a lab setting - eg. artificial, pressurised participants) Colours have biological impacts which could then induce particular outcomes e.g. purchases. Belizzi + Hite 1992 - tested previous claims that red = tense and blue = cool + positive. More positive retail outcomes in blue environment. ‘More simulated purchases, fewer purchase postponements, and a stronger inclination to shop and browse were found in blue retail environments. The positive effects of blue and the negative perception of red may have influenced the results’ (Bellizzi, J.A. and Hite, R.E. (1992) ‘Environmental color, consumer feelings, and purchase likelihood’, Psychology and Marketing, 9(5)) 2. Psychological reactions - - Explain psychological links with colours Subconscious persuasion impact our perceptions
Color as a tool for visual persuasion. 3. Representation Representation is the portrayal of something in a particular way, and it is through representation that people organise the world. Objects and people don’t have a constant meaning, their meanings are fashioned by humans in the context of their culture. (Hall, S.) Aristotle considered each mode of representation, be it verbal, visual or musical, as being natural to human beings. (Vukcevich, M 2002, "Representation", The University of Chicago, viewed 7 April 2006) Plato, however, considered that literature is a representation of life. He warned that representations can create worlds of illusion, distracting one from the ‘real things’. (Hall, S (ed.), Cultural Representations and Signifying Practice, Open University Press, London, 1997.) Through the history of human culture, people have grown to become dissatisfied with certain means of representation, such as language, and have therefore designed new modes of representation, meaning to understand reality. Is colour a representational system? 4. Visual Merchandising - Store fronts and displays of items, persuading you to step inside, trust them - Websites - Store environment - Shun Yin Lam
Shun Yin Lam http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/
5. Cultural Differences Yin Lam - ‘Consumers in different societies may show different preferences regarding environmental elements because these elements may produce different connotations in different cultures.’ Different meanings attached to different colours in different cultures - for example colours of a countries flag in turn means people associate those colours with their home, country and identity. Patriotism. Or perhaps with political events - in recent events purple and yellow have become associated with UKIP (http://www.ukip-websites-style-guide.info/Colours). It communicates a halfway point between red and blue, Labour and the Conservatives. The collection of colours, fonts and images became the brand identity. 6. Other visual cues Power Words Price/value
Quality Popularity/trends - - - Associations with colour. 7. Propositions for future investigation? Where are the gaps? Conclusion Summarise concisely How did this answer the question? Refer to question Don’t repeat phrases or examples, just explain how the evidence above has answered the question. Unbiased and balanced.