The Power of Color

We talk a lot to clients about the need to be consistent with colors in their branding. If we can help them find their color then it makes associations, and recognition much easier with their customers. We all know the big brands and the colors associated; Coke – red, Walmart – blue, (TIV – green!) the list goes on and on. While many brands can use the same color, or at least similar colors – what needs to be handled carefully is when a brand goes through a redesign and changes colors.This brings me to the real topic of the day – since when did recycling become associated so integrally with the color blue? I’m not calling recycling a brand per say – but it’s a great example of color associations. My practical brain knows that more and more recycling bins are blue. I see the blue trash can in our office. My large recycle bin at home is blue.  But, I really want them all to be green.When presented with the green and blue dumpsters behind our office – I always err when dumping the trash. The green dumpster is the first one. It’s separated from the blue dumpster with a thick cinder block wall. My mind is usually somewhere far away from actually thinking about the task at hand – and I almost always dump the recycle in the trash. I fairly quickly realize what I have done, spend some time fishing out the recyclables, all the while cursing the color green that I so closely associate with recycling.Maybe it’s the fact that the recycle symbol for so long was only in green – the famous three arrow image? Maybe it’s because green equals environment? Maybe it’s because composting has become so mainstream and we need green for that? But maybe, just maybe it’s because someone rebranded recycling and didn’t handle it with a comprehensive plan to educate people like me.-Blythe Carrillo