Color Perception

Did you ever hear about the concepts of ‘selective attention’ and ‘change blindness’? These are something weird, fascinating, intriguing. And above all: very real. And it probably influences how consumers behave in a shopping environment. Making it relevant for packaging printing. CONTENTS: Selective attention, change blindness | Selective attention and…

What is the decisive element that makes you recognize a brand? Many in the printing industry will say color. But I would like to differ: it’s shape, over color. A small test I did shows this. As well as many (in)famous rebranding efforts, by well known companies. CONTENTS: A Small…

Kellogg’s red has had my attention for almost two decades. I have used examples of Special K boxes in seminars for a very long time. But I have also made pictures during that period and when comparing those, you can see that the Kellogg’s red brand color has had very…

After having seen how my color memory messed up with a package of Kellogg’s, I thought that it happened again when the cans of Coca-Cola seemed much lighter and a bit more yellowish than usual. So, I thought I had another nice example of how my color memory failed. Until…

Are professionals better at judging color? Your immediate response will probably be: “Of course, they’re professionals!” It would seem no more than logical. But based on some tests, the answer might not be that straight forward… And I guess not everybody will like what I’m going to show you in…

When I went shopping some time ago, I noticed that a box of Kellogg’s Special K Fruits looked very different to me. The red in the logo looked much lighter than usual. So – contrary to what the average consumer would do according to some people – I would certainly…

Kellogg’s is launching new packaging for several of its products. Well, at least in my country. With both old and new types of packaging next to each other on the shelves, it’s an interesting topic for a new episode of ‘brand colors in real life’. And the redesign is also…

The package of a product is important: it not only ships and protects products, it also conveys the identity of a brand. Brands are very proud of their unique brand image, they demand no less than perfect packages on the shelves in the supermarket. But how do consumers look at…

The publication of the groundbreaking color study did generate some attention. Especially my plea for a more realistic, less fanatic approach to color tolerances in real life seemed provocative to some. I e.g. got a mail from somebody who is quite familiar with Milka, stating they would never tolerate a…

You can find them in attics and basements: unknown treasures. At the campus of the AP university college in Antwerp, there is such a treasure. A groundbreaking study on the perception of color deviations. The results are intriguing: almost 1 out of 3 professionals (and 1 out of 4 in…

Right after I had published the article about real-life factors influencing color appearance in packaging, I opened my mailbox and found another very nice example. This one with a number of factors influencing color appearance in marketing. It is so nice that I have to share it with you.  CONTENTS:…