Purple is a color that makes a statement. As a combination of two primary colors, it marries the power and status of red with the reliability of blue. Using purple in marketing is most often a way to convey either quality or creativity. This is a color that demands attention – whether through its elegance and high-class nature or its more fun and quirky side.
Here are the two main ways that purple is used:
Royalty
Purple has long been associated with royalty due to the difficulty in acquiring the pigments hundreds and even thousands of years ago. Sourced from mollusk shells in what is now Lebanon, it took many thousands of shells to make just one gram of the pigment. Because of this, only the wealthiest could afford to show off the color purple, and it became a symbol of royalty and status. As rulers were sometimes believed to be descendants of gods, purple also came to represent holiness and spirituality.
Respect, wisdom, elegance, and prestige are a few more words associated with the color purple.
Uniqueness
In more recent times, purple has more of a quirky quality to it, as well as giving off an impression of creativity or even mystery. Along the theme of spirituality, purple may be used as a mystical or supernatural color. It is also said to stimulate problem-solving.
Examples:
- Royalty: Hallmark, Cadbury, Monster (job search), NYU
- Uniqueness: Craigslist, Planet Fitness, Taco Bell, Wonka, Twitch, Syfy
- Both: Yahoo!, Purple (mattress company), Claire’s, Aussie
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