Color & Design Guidelines In Visual Merchandising

What is the overall color of your store? Does your store use a range of color or does it have predominant colors with which it can be identified or associated with? Colors are a visual stimulant and also connected to the nervous system and can influence one’s state of mind. However, colors differ from culture, countries, and gender to others.  For example, while white is the color of innocence in some cultures, it signifies death and bad omen, in certain Asian cultures. Other colors tend to be associated with seasons and holidays such as green and red with Christmas.

For example, while white is the color of innocence in some cultures, it signifies death and bad omen, in certain Asian cultures. Other colors tend to be associated with seasons and holidays such as green and red with Christmas. Choosing a color carefully can help boost your brand image and associate your brand with a certain quality as signified by your predominant colors. Indeed studies have shown that most customers prefer a color coordinated store where visual impact is achieved by creating a foundation having analogous colors that have a high accent color contrasting the base.

When it comes to color, personal preferences, age, experiences, contexts and cultural differences can affect the effect of colors on different customers. However, there are some colors which have been universally used to evoke certain emotions for example:

• Yellow evokes a happy feeling but should only be used in stores that rely on quick purchases as too much of it for a while causes anxiety and can add to stress in your customers.
• Blue, on the other hand, has a calming effect and is associated with trustworthiness and can be used to increase customers’ dwell times as well as retain customers.
• Red is a color used to evoke feelings of energy and passion but overexposure and too much of it can cause aggression.

However, color marketing can only be successful if you know your target market. This will help you employ techniques of visual marketing that will evoke great emotions and improve their state of mind making them more willing to spend more in your store. Color targeted at your customer base helps your products stand out by creating a pleasing visual impact that creates interest in your customers.  Therefore, whether your business is artistic, a clothing store, restaurant, fast food outlet or an entertainment business, the first step of any successful visual merchandising and especially color marketing is knowing your customer base. This involves considering your target market’s demographic, geographic location as well as psychographic characteristics.

Physical location: This refers to the local, regional or national location of your potential customers. Once you identify the location, you can use the most effective colors as related to your brand appeal to evoke their interest and loyalty without insulting the ethnic cultures.

Demographic: This helps you identify potential customers through choosing the characteristics of your demographic target market that your business targets. These characteristics include age, income, gender, education, family size, profession, hobbies and interests. Based on these characteristics you can choose a color palette that will not only be visually stimulating but also inspire your customers to buy your products as well as keep coming back for more.

Psychographic: This identifies the attitudes, emotions, and beliefs possessed by your customer base. This includes their lifestyle, their idea of fun or entertainment, whether they are trendy or conservative as well as if they have more spending money or desire status. Again knowing the habits and attitudes of your customers helps you develop a color pattern that is specifically suited to the emotions you would like to evoke in them during their shopping experience.

• It can help your store look inviting such as using warm colors in cold locations. In hot climates, cool color can have a soothing effect and also look inviting to your customers.
• Certain colors can uplift the customers’ moods and emotions and increase their willingness to linger and buy your products.
• Some colors keep your customers stimulated which may inspire their purchase decision. However, monochromatic colors have the opposite effect.
• Colors create eye-catching product display that creates interest in the customers. A visual display helps draw attention to your products attracting the customers’ interest.
• A good color palette can create a focal point and direct your customers’ attention to a specific location.
• Great color combinations for your windows and interiors as well as on your storefront can look inviting and lure new customers in.
• Since bright colors are eye catching make the most of this by placing monochromatic or neutral-coloured products against a brightly colored background.
• Use the 4-colour wheel to help you come up with sophisticated combinations.
• Adopt the latest color trends and achieve the right balance in your store to create the mood you want.

However, when in doubt as to your choices of color combinations for your store, engage the services of a professional in order to ensure that you do not miss out on the benefits accrued from visual merchandising marketing techniques of using color. This, in combination with other techniques, results in an overall increase in sales, customer loyalty and brand image.