How Consumers Perceive Color - The Color Psychology of Brown

Color psychology is a broad subject — every color has its own psychological effects on the brain and pertains to specific ideas we connect to each color. The color brown is no different, but its interpretations may be different than you expected. 

Colors represent different things to different people and in different cultures, but there are many commonalities in the feelings, thoughts, and ideas that a color provokes. 

Today, we will take a dive beyond the basics of our perception of the color brown and psychology of the hue. Let’s take a look.

The History of the Color Brown

Brown was first explicitly used in the year 1000. People incorporated the word into languages after green, red, black, yellow, and white. It’s been an essential color in many artworks since prehistoric times. 

The Psychology of the Color Brown

Brown is often connected to resilience, due in part to its earthy tones. People view this color as a signpost of security, safety and dependability. This color reminds us of what is most important in life: our connection to the earth, family, and home. It sends a message to appreciate the little things in life. 

Brown isn’t about luxury, but rather symbolizes the fundamental values and necessities of life. It’s known as a natural color, inspiring comfort and warmth. Its dark shades symbolize wood attributes, and its light shades symbolize earth. 

This color doesn’t stand out, but blends with other colors to form pleasant and calming palettes. It’s a color that helps keep onegrounded.  

The Color Brown: Personality Type

When someone is described as a brown personality type, it means they are typically down-to-earth and confident. Sometimes they may come off as arrogant, but this is not necessarily indicative of  who they actually are. The brown personality type embodies  high self-esteem and the unwillingness to let people push them around. 

When they are hurt, brown personality types are quick to stand up for themselves. They are reliable, responsible, punctual, and expect the same from others. Brown personalities prefer structure, predictability and don’t particularly go out of their way to seek adventure. 

Negative Perceptions of the Color Brown

There are, of course, negative perceptions of the color as well. Brown is often thought of as dull, despite how dominant it is. Brown is rather predictable, there aren’t any surprising effects about it. It is sometimes thought of as lacking liveliness and energy. It has also been associated with passivity, despite the personality-type connotations we discussed earlier.

The Color Brown in Business

Brown promises trust, loyalty, maturity, and strength. If you use this color to represent your business, it means you are reliable, confident, sincere, responsible, and you don’t have any room for false promises. You promise people they won’t be disappointed as they have been in the past. 

The Color Psychology of Brown in Marketing and Branding

Since this color is related to nature and wholesome, natural, and protective aspects, it’s a great color for brands related to natural products, food, nature, and sustainability. It’s a good choice for established brands because it doesn’t promise profits over responsibility. On the bright side, the positive associations of the color, like reliability, resilience, and loyalty, can enhance brand-consumer relationships. 

What the Psychology is Based On

Despite the generalities we make about colors, in the end, we associate colors with how we have experienced them. This depends significantly on upbringing, individual personalities, and environment.

One study showed that more females chose brown than males as a favorite color. The color was also in the top three least favorite colors of people, overall. For clothing, however, the color was the fifth favorite color out of 18 total colors. 

These types of studies help professionals interpret how the overall population determines colors and their psychology.  

Branding, Custom Made For You

At Carbon Digital, we specialize in developing effective branding. As part of our work, we've analyzed the ways people respond to colors in branding. With this knowledge, we help businesses like yours to utilize these responses to influence consumers and build a brand that converts.

Incorporating the psychology of color in your branding and website design is essential. Carbon Digital specializes in partnering with organizations to meet their branding and design needs. Our goal is to increase customer loyalty and conversions for your business, and brand and color play a significant role in this strategic plan. 
Contact us today and let’s get started!