Chapter 9

The psychology of colour

Colours alter the meanings of the objects or situations with which they are associated and colour preferences can predict consumers’ behaviour.

DR. MUBEEN ASLAM, MARKETING1

What does the colour orange signify to you? If you’re reading this book in Europe or the USA, roadworks and traffic delays might spring to mind, but if you live in Asia you’ll most likely associate this colour with spirituality and celebration. If you’re Zambian, you may not even consider orange to be a separate colour at all.2

A single colour can have a multitude of different and often contradictory meanings, which, to a large extent, depend on their cultural context. Popular media can often portray colour meanings in rather simplified ...

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