As children, we are often asked “what is your favorite color?” We believed that our choice of color says a lot about who we are, and that the questioner will immediately understand its meaning.
But colors, like words, do not have a universal meaning. We all have different reactions to various shades and hues based on how and where we grew up, our past experiences with it, and our set of preferences, which, like children, can change inexplicably.
The fact is that colors have a lot of meaning, but that meaning varies drastically across languages, cultures, and national borders. Knowing some of these differences can help you avoid embarrassing cultural errors in referring to and using colors among colleagues, friends, and customers, and help you market your product effectively in global markets.
Here’s a simple guide to five colors around the world.
BLACK WHITE
In Western cultures, black is associated with death, evil, and eternity. In some Eastern cultures, however, it often has the opposite meaning; In China, black is the characteristic color of young children and is used in celebrations and joyous events.
White, on the other hand, symbolizes age, death, and misfortune in China and many Hindu cultures. However, in both the East and the West, white typically represents purity, holiness, and peace.
RED
Red is one of the most powerful colors and its meanings in most cultures run deep:
- porcelain – Celebration, courage, loyalty, success and luck, among others. It is often used in ceremonies and, when combined with white, means joy.
- Japan – The traditional color for a heroic figure.
- Russia – Representative of the communist era. For this reason, extreme caution is recommended when using it in Eastern European countries.
- India – Purity, so wedding suits are usually red. Also the color for married women.
- USA – Danger (think “red light!”) and use in combination with other colors for the holidays, such as Christmas (green) and Valentine’s Day (pink).
- Central Africa – Red is a color of life and health. But in other parts of Africa, red is a color of mourning and death. To honor this, the Red Cross changed its colors to green and white in South Africa and other regions of the continent.
BLUE
Blue is often considered the “safest” global color, as it can represent anything from immortality and freedom (heaven) to cleanliness (in Colombia, blue is equated with soap). In Western countries, blue is often considered the conservative “corporate” color.
However, be careful when using blue to address very pious audiences: the color has a meaning in almost every major religion in the world. For Hindus, it is the color of Krishna, and many of the gods are depicted as having blue skin. For Christians, blue evokes images of Catholicism, particularly the Virgin Mary. Jewish religious texts and rabbinic sages have noted that blue is a holy color, while the Islamic Koran refers to evildoers whose eyes are glassy with fear as زرÙ,zurqwhich is the plural of azraqor blue.
GREEN
Until natural food companies began marketing green drinks as healthy and good-tasting, many Westerners thought green foods were poisonous. Today, green is considered a more positive color. American retailers are taking advantage of the environmental movement to sell green products, often using green-themed packaging or advertising campaigns to indicate a product’s compliance with “green” standards. Not so in China and France, where studies have indicated that green is not a good choice for packaging.
ORANGE
If the Dutch have anything to say about it, the World Cup will be awash in orange this summer. (Orange is the national color of the Netherlands and the uniform color of the country’s famous soccer team.)
On the other side of the world, however, orange has a slightly more sober meaning: within Hinduism, orange has religious significance as a color for Hindu swamis. Throughout Southeast Asia, Theravada Buddhist monks also wear orange robes.
So before your inner child raves about your color preference to foreign friends or colleagues, you may want to learn more about that color and its cultural significance. Also, consider color choices in relation to the text and graphics of your company’s campaign, whether it’s print material, a website, or an advertising campaign. Know your target market and their respective color conventions so you don’t inadvertently send the wrong message.
