 Show
Your Colors!
The Silent Message in Your Business Cards
By Donna Dahl of Coffee For The Health of It
Audience grabber. Attention captivator. Emotional connector. Colour is all
of these things and more. Colour is the silent messenger that connects the
visual experience with the feeling that is stirred by its vibration.
First impression? It counts. You hand someone your business card and a chain
of events begins. This chain lasts as little time as it takes to say your
name or as much as twenty-seconds. You are being sorted. Everything that
went into the design and printing of that business card is being measured,
weighed, felt and evaluated.
Let Your Colour Speak - Colour is the silent visual
power-byte. No sound byte is necessary. Nothing need be said. Colour travels
through time and space and works for you without intervention. Zip those
lips and allow the receiver to take the time to let the colour be absorbed
and deliver a response. This brief moment in time is sponsored by you and it
gives your visitor a chance to begin building a relationship with you and
your business.
Colour Arouses Emotion - Colour impacts our lives every day in
many unspoken ways. Colour is observed and the body responds. Some sleep
better in a room that is painted blue. Some hire Feng Shui experts to
introduce energy-enhancing colours to spaces that have been dormant or
characterless. Retail sales persons often inquire as to the colour you are
looking for. Getting the colour “right” increases the possibility of closing
the sale. Why not introduce colour to your business card to increase your
business advantage?
Colour Communicates Your Brand - Which company comes to mind when
you think of red and white? Blue and orange? What colour is your brand? What
does your colour branding communicate about you and your business? If you
are not sure, ask your clientele about the message they get when they are
treated to a visit with your business card. If you have not yet chosen your
colours, ask your clients what colours they might choose to represent your
product or service.
Colour By Association - This is, perhaps, the most difficult
arena in the use of colour. While some colour associations are cultural,
some are gender-biased and some are created. Many are simply emotional. You
react at some gut level to what feels good and looks good. It is perfectly
okay to perform colour choice by instinct. While large corporations may
spend thousands of dollars to have a design team develop their ideal
corporate image, the extent of your colour research may be completely
sufficient with the employment of a good graphic artist combined with your
interview campaign. Whether your business is large or small, your business
card is your foot in the door…your introductory handshake. It is a
reflection of your corporate image and it deserves your caring attention.
How Much Colour is Not Enough? - Black is not a colour when it
is printed on white. Black is the colour of type, not of the business
necessarily. A white background alone may be too expressionless when putting
your silent foot forward.
How Much Colour is Too Much? - Myriads of hues are well-suited
to selling things that demonstrate a complete range of colours. Three
colours is probably the maximum for most businesses and many will work quite
well with two-colour branding. Keep in mind that a dark colour like black or
navy blue tends to be more readable for the print portion of your message
when using a pale background. This print is somewhat superficial noise while
colour issues are being sorted through but it does eventually become part of
the total package.
Colour Preferences Change Over Time - Take a look around at
the colours of the vehicles today. Popular colour choices do change over
time. Even shades of silver and other neutrals vary from year to year and
from region to region in the global marketplace. Is colour wear-dated?
Perhaps it is. Colour may not only be suggestive of a particular age group
but also of a particular time period. Is it time to change your colour
coding?
Shopping For Colour? - Visit a colour palette. A paint store
is a good place. Every colour in this year’s rainbow is there. Also places
that offer digital printing can help you choose just the right shade of
lemon green or lavender blue. Colour choice is no longer limited to the
basic colours of ink supplied for offset presses. Pick a colour. Pick two or
three. Play with the combinations.
So Who is Your Target? - Colour is a highly researched
product. Entire books are written about colour and its potential influence.
Certain colours tend to appeal more to men than to women. Certain colours
are intellectually linked to your business and certain colours are
emotionally linked. Would you be more likely to visit a restaurant that had
a rich rustic red or a milky muddy brown environment? Would you buy a
lime-green limo? Consider your perfect customer. What colours attract this
person?
What is Your Message? - What do you want your business card to
communicate about you and your business? Take a few minutes now to write
down all the words that you would associate with you and your business.
Beside each word write the colour that you would associate with each of
these descriptors. Perhaps this list of words will help get you started:
bold, vibrant, alive, calming, soothing, relaxing, energetic, reliable,
creative. Circle the three labels on your list that you believe best
represent what you do and start there. This may seem elementary but the
clearer you are about your message, the clearer it will be to your client.
Go ahead. Draft your visionary ideas. Add your colours and pool your graphic
arts resources to create and support your new dynamic reality. Marry your
new business card to a complete stationery design and promotional literature
package. Share your new image. The first twenty seconds could dramatically
enhance your business.
Donna Dahl has been an independent distributor of products for twenty
years. She has participated in tradeshows for over a decade. Reach her at
mrsddahl@telus.net |
