Your business card is one of the most powerful marketing tools for you and your brand, so making a card that stands out is essential. And a black and white business card won't cut it - studies show a colorless business card is ten times more likely to be thrown away.
Using color to make your business card can be an incredibly powerful tool that stems from color psychology. In this article, we will cover what color psychology is, the importance of color on your business card, and how to pick the perfect color for your business card.
What is color psychology?
Color psychology is the study of color and how they affect human behavior and emotions. In 1666 Sir Isaac Newton discovered the color spectrum and began researching the wavelength associated with each color. Moving forward to the early twentieth century Carl Jung began studying the different effects of each color on the human mind. Jung used his research to develop color therapy to help patients express themselves through color.
How does color psychology affect marketing and advertising?
Today color psychology is used less often in the therapist's office and more often in marketing and advertising. This is because consumers often make purchasing decisions based on how they perceive a brand or product, and color strongly impacts that perception. As a result, marketers, and advertisers use the effects of color psychology to choose color palettes that invoke emotion in their ideal customers.
The next time you pull into Mcdonald's, it might be because of two carefully chosen colors: gold and red. Those golden arches were chosen because gold is associated with happiness and is the most easily spotted color, so the logo stands out anywhere. Mcdonald's also carefully chose red to help jumpstart your appetite and increase your heart rate.
Color isn’t only used to create positive emotions and draw consumers in. In the UK and Australia, the most hated color, a green-brown, likened to death, dirt, and tar, is being used to deter consumers from purchasing cigarettes. In fact, color has been seen to reduce smoking rates more than overt warnings and education on the dangers of smoking.
The psychology behind color is clearly strong, but to see the full benefits, you’ll have to choose the perfect color. While the meaning of colors can vary based on location and culture, most colors have a common definition to help you determine the perfect color:
Purple: justice and Mystery
Blue: trust and success
Green: prosperity and nature
Yellow: positivity and happiness
Orange: optimism and enthusiasm
Red: passion and strength
Pink: respect and gratitude
Black: elegance and sophistication
What is the best color for a business card?
There is no one size fits all color for business cards. Your brand is unique, and the colors you choose to represent it should be unique too. If you already know your brand colors, use them to maintain a consistent brand identity. If your brand doesn’t have colors, or you are making a personal business card, choosing the right color might depend on your industry, the goal of your business card, or your personal color preferences.
Picking the perfect color can be difficult, especially when designing a paper business card. Colors don’t always look the same on paper as they do on your computer, and if the color doesn’t turn out right, you are stuck with an expensive reprint. Thankfully, there’s a solution. Digital business cards offer the flexibility to experiment with different colors without the wait time or additional costs.
If you are looking for a digital business card to try, we recommend HiHello, the #1 rated digital business card app. HiHello offers ten perfect business card colors to choose from, or with a Professional subscription, you can choose a custom color palette to perfectly match your company branding.
How to change the color of your business card
If you signed up for HiHello, changing the color of your business card is simple. You can change the color of your card in seconds. To learn how to change the color of your business card, look below for instructions on choosing a custom color or picking from ten basic business card colors.
How to choose a basic color
All HiHello users can choose from the ten basic colors. Simply edit your card in the web or mobile app, select the preferred color from the ten options, and tap save.
How to choose a custom color
To choose a custom color for your digital business card, first upgrade your HiHello account to Professional, Business, or Enterprise, then edit your card in the web or mobile app. Next, tap the color wheel, use the color picker tool, or enter a HEX or RGB code and tag save.
When you choose custom colors for your digital business card, you can customize the primary and secondary colors and primary and secondary accents. Look below to see how custom colors look on a virtual business card.
