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Color Psychology for Your Presentation Design

Color is more than just choosing what visual elements go with your branding. It spices up your design, unifies your elements, and gives life to your deck. It’s also a powerful psychological tool for PowerPoint pitches.

Colors have the power to subliminally influence your audience’s decisions and emotions. And if there’s one way the audience’s heart, it’s through their emotions.

This is why banking on the convincing power of color and choosing the right combination is crucial for your presentation design. Here’s how the five most popular colors affect your viewers.

Red

Red is a color that demands attention, representing energy and intensity. Scientifically, it’s said to stimulate a faster heart rate among viewers. This makes the color ideal for restaurant-related businesses.

Use red if you want to give your offering a sense of urgency in your pitches.

Green

Green represents nature, a color that gives off a relaxing vibe. It’s second only to red, as the color our eyes are most sensitive to. Some studies have even suggested that green colors help viewers retain memories, establishing it as a good all-around color.

Using green in your slides would be ideal for talking about your important points.

Yellow

Yellow is the color representing happiness. Because of its brightness, this color tends to stand out from the rest. Seeing yellow releases a chemical called serotonin in our brain, making us feel good.

Adding this to your presentation designs can make your slides shine with an optimistic mood. Lift your viewers’ moods and ease any tension in the air with an engaging color like yellow.

Blue

Blue is the color of tranquility. Being the color of the skies and the oceans, this makes it highly familiar and comfortable to view. It can also mean loyalty, making it a crucial color for business presentations.

If you want to build trust with your audience, then blue is for you.

Purple

Purple is the color of sophistication. For centuries, it’s been the preferred hue of monarchs, and has come to mean wisdom and respect. It’s also thought to increase brain activity for increased problem solving.

Using a touch of purple can add an air of elegance to your deck design for high-end brands.

In Summary

Different colors can impart meanings to your design, and help communicate your message clearer. Red imparts urgency, while green offers comfort. Yellow communicates optimism, while blue offers trust. Finally, purple can add a touch of sophistication to your brand.

There are many other colors out there, and several variations also exist for the ones we discussed. Hopefully, we got you started on the basics so you can deliver your speech with a winning deck.

If you want our presentation geniuses to give you a head start, contact us now for a free quote!

References

The Psychology of Color.” Psychology Issues. Accessed August 12, 2015.
Dzulkifli, Mariam, and Muhammad Mustafar. “The Influence of Colour on Memory Performance: A Review.” The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: MJMS. Accessed August 12, 2015.
Color Me Happy: Use Color to Impact the Mood of Your Home.” The Art of Simple. February 17, 2010. Accessed August 12, 2015
Precision Intermedia.” Psychology of Color. Accessed August 12, 2015

Featured Image: Colores en la sociedad” by Constanza.CH from flickr.com

Applying Color Psychology to Your PowerPoint Designs

Color plays an important role in PowerPoint design. By choosing the correct palette, you can pull individual slides together and create a coherent design. Color also allows you to add a bit more life and interest to your slides. More than that, it can also be a subtle way to convey emotions and strengthen  your message. Following the basic principles of color psychology, you can create PowerPoint designs that automatically connects with your audience.

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What is color psychology?

Color psychology works around the premise that color has the ability to affect our feelings, moods, and behaviors. It follows these six basic principles:

  • Colors can carry specific meaning
  • Color meaning is either based on meaning that’s learned or biologically innate
  • The perception of a color causes evaluation automatically by the person perceiving
  • The evaluation process forces color motivated behavior
  • Color usually exerts its influence automatically
  • Color meaning and effect has to do with context

Applying color psychology to PowerPoint design

When deciding on a color scheme for your PowerPoint slides, consider these colors and what they mean:

Red: The color red exudes intensity and energy. It’s also said to stimulate a faster heart rate. What else would you expect from a color associated with both passion and danger? Don’t use too much of it, or else you’ll risk overwhelming your audience with such a loud color. Try to temper it with more neutral shades like white or gray.

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Blue: Like the ocean, the color blue gives off a feeling of calm and relaxation.  Aside from its associations to tranquility, it also symbolizes loyalty. This is especially crucial for business presentations. If you want to build the trust of your audience, the color blue can help enhance your message.

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Green: Often associated with nature and the environment, the color green symbolizes abundance and life. These characteristics are important to convey during finance and investor presentations. The color green helps you convey a more positive outlook. It’s also said to be the color that’s “easiest” to the eyes. Some people also suggest that green can help jog their memory.

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Purple: Associated with royalty and luxury, this color portrays a feeling of dignity and exclusivity, which could be helpful for presentations in retail and real estate. It can also be appropriate for presentations in the creative industry.

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Black: Black is a powerful color, giving off a sense of sophistication. For presentations, make use of black when you want to deliver a more conservative and conventional message. As a background color, black can also serve as a great way to emphasize other colors in your slide. Because it’s neutral, you can pair it with other colors.

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Featured Image: albastrica mititica via Flickr

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