Rally Cap Consulting

Color Trends
The evolution of color trends occurs for one reason: People want change. We all eventually get bored with the status quo and feel like moving on to something new. But what? That’s the big question.

The economy and consumers’ buying habits are always important. The general thinking is that the better the economic times, the more “color risk” consumers are willing to take; In periods of uncertainty, in contrast, people gravitate toward timeless neutrals.

So, how important is determining appropriate color for a product’s design and target market? Very important. It’s often the deciding factor in many purchases.  Obviously, the first consideration is technical, as color reproduces differently on fabrics, paper, plastics, etc. The psychology of color, however, can be equally important, not only in how people initially react to colors on an emotional level, but also in color preferences based on age, gender and geography.

Color and Age

Today’s teens are growing up overwhelmed by changing images on the Internet and video games, so they’re not only open to the latest color crazes, they welcome it. Younger consumers are also more optimistic and adventurous than their parents and make more gutsy color choices. Baby boomers pay close attention to color trends as well. They are slightly less traditional than Generation X, preferring to welcome colors that calm and soothe.  Seniors prefer brighter, cleaner colors because the ability to distinguish hues diminishes with age.

Color and Gender

It’s a fact that men don’t perceive color the way women do, and they have a higher frequency of color blindness. Therefore, men favor simple, monochromatic color schemes,—especially in blue or earth tones—while women like more complicated schemes.  When it comes to making household color decisions, men are generally happy to relinquish color decisions to the women. The color of their cars and other toys, however, is an entirely different matter.