A study conducted by the Institute for Color Research proves that most consumers make an assessment of the product, location, website, etc. based on color.

Thus, using the right colors and combinations can mean a difference between a one-time visitor and a repeat customer. Aside from attracting customer's eyes, color can significantly increase brand recognition. But not just any color will do. Understanding the psychology behind colors, how colors affect people, and how consumers react are vital aspects to be considered.

Role of Culture and Context

There is a certain psychology behind colors, but it is not an exact science. It depends on two factors - the consumer's culture and the context to which is it presented.

• Culture
Colors can symbolize contradicting things for different cultures. Take for example the color yellow. It signifies courage for the Japanese culture, but it is associated with cowardice in the Western culture. The color yellow is sacred for the Hindus, but it is attributed to jealousy in France and sadness in Greece.

Here's another example - people from northern countries respond favorably to cool colors while those from the tropics prefer warmer ones.

• Context
Context provides additional meaning to colors. For instance, yellow is used to indicate caution, thus, it is used in warning signs and traffic lights. In this context, yellow can be associated with danger and caution, rather than cowardice.

Warm and Cool Colors

Colors are classified as warm and cool, where each temperature range has a psychology of its own.

• Warm Colors: Red, Orange, and Yellow. These evoke feelings of excitement and energy.
• Cool Colors: Blue, Green, and Purple. These give feelings of calmness and possibly melancholy.

When it comes to digital signage, understanding how to use the psychology behind colors can work to your advantage. Given the right context and color combinations, an e-commerce message can convey an emotional response.

Colors and Their Attributes

Colors play a pivotal role on whether a customer will do business with you. It defines the personality of your company and directs the people's eye to areas in your store or website that need to be emphasized. Using certain colors can prompt visitors to browse your website, click on the call-to-action button, or make a purchase.

One critical aspect in figuring out how to use colors in your e-commerce strategy is to understand the various meanings of each color.

What do colors mean and what are the messages they bring across?

Red: Love, life, confidence, excitement, energy, passion, aggression, strength

Red taps into the deepest emotions of shoppers. This is one reason that red is used in the context of Valentine's Day and Christmas Day, as the color is associated with love and passion. This is the best color in promoting sales events, discounts, markdowns, and every time you need to create a sense of urgency.

Use this correctly to direct attention and to convert potential buyers into long-term customers.

Orange: Optimism, joy, ambition, energy, warmth, enthusiasm

Orange is friendlier than red and stronger than yellow. It also signifies originality, fresh beginnings, and positive excitement. Pair orange with blue to give off a positive and exciting vibe. These two colors combined are known as complimentary colors.

Orange is best used to add engagement to a site and in creating a "Buy it Now" call to action. Alternatively, to create excitement or adventure when combined with blue.

Yellow: Hope, cheerfulness, happiness, optimism, energy

Yellow is a playful and youthful color but is often associated with caution. This tends to grab customers attention which is best in areas where you want customers to explore. Use it to give life to your site and keep your offerings fresh.

Use this in moderation as some perceive it as a deceitful color and too much can turn customers off and strain the eye.

Blue: Trust, integrity, security, calmness, intelligence

Blue conveys feelings of peace, trust, and loyalty. Most financial institutions use this color in their website and marketing campaigns as this signifies a safe environment for conducting business.

The hues are to be considered as well. The lighter shade is friendlier while darker shades of blue denote more sense of security.

Though, the hospitality industry and restaurant businesses should not use this as a prominent color as it tends to decrease one's appetite when used in restaurant menus, logos, signage, etc.

Green: Nature, growth, life, wealth

Green has a natural aura and is closely tied to nature and the environment. It is the easiest color on the eyes as it denotes a relaxing feeling, safety, harmony and positivity. The shade of mint can also be associated with wealth.

This is popular with environmentally-focused businesses and organic products. Putting this color on your e-commerce site will lengthen the stay of your visitors.

Pink: Romance, femininity, gentleness

Pink has a soft and soothing effect that can be used to offset bolder colors such as black, red and orange. Since it is romantic and feminine, pink is the way to go for e-commerce stores targeting girls, young women, and mothers.

It can also appeal to men since it exudes kind-heartedness, calmness, romance, and love.

Purple: Royalty, luxury, mystery, wisdom, status, dignity

Purple is usually associated with power and affluence. Using this color intelligently can help customers make a definite purchase. It is best for online stores offering high-end products or services and those marketing to older consumers. Since it is also soothing and calming, it is prominent in retail and beauty shops, particularly those catering to anti-aging products.

White: Purity, cleanliness, clarity

White has a connection to purity and cleanliness. As it exudes a sense of wholesomeness and clarity, adding "white space” around your content and in your website is essential as it can make your space more open and inviting so that customers will not feel "boxed in."

Black: Power, strength, prestige, luxury, elegance

Black is often associated with dominance and luxury. Using black in e-commerce sends a strong, confident message to customers. However, be weary of using black or dark backgrounds.

This color works best in combination with other colors. For instance, luxury products can add gold and silver. Think of credit card companies who offer black cards as their most prestigious credit card.

However, excessive use can seem void of emotion, give off a gloomy ambiance or even symbolize death, so use it sparingly.

Grey: Authority, seriousness, and conservative mindset

Grey is commonly used as a background color since it is devoid of any warmth. Using the right shade of gray will be great to compliment vibrant colors such as royal blue and orange.

Though, some e-commerce stores use this color to reflect the high quality of their offerings.

Grey is a very neutral color and can often be used to make user-interfaces seem professional.

Gold: Wealth, prestige, energy

Gold is often used to emphasize luxuriousness of a product, and bring excitement.

Silver: Prestige, excitement

Silver has a lower luster than gold. It is often used to add highlight.

Influence of Colors for Best Viewer Impact

Each color and color combination has a subconscious meaning to the viewer. Consider their application in your website and your brand. Choose the best combinations for creating your website and marketing campaigns based on the color theories outlined above.

The right color selection depends on the interests of your business, your products, and your target customers. Also understand their behavior and lifestyle. For instance, use green for frugal shoppers and softer palettes for traditional buyers.

How you use colors speaks volumes about your business and your products. Consciously and consistently using color psychology will result in greater impressions, increased website readership, stronger brand identity and boosted sales.

The perfect color blend is out there for your brand, and you simply have to understand and discover it.

Whether you are hiring a designer to work on your signage, website, marketing materials, or doing the design yourself, the key to creating an engaging result is understanding how content drives design. Content refers to text copy, imagery, and other media such as audio and video. Design refers to the arrangement of these components in a way which is pleasant or simple to use.

Common Design and Content Assumptions

We see thousands of examples of content being created and consumed in the digital space. There are two main assumptions being addressed when it comes to content and design.

1. All sites and materials should be similar.
This is not necessarily the case. Remember that there is no one-size fits all solution. This is especially true in digital signage. Some designers use standard style elements for all their clients without considering the content. This might not be the most effective way to attract viewers since the content format and needs of the customer change from project to project. It is important to understand the nature of the content so that it fits the design. No square blocks in round holes.

2. Having content first is not essential to good design.
Sometimes a project must begin before the content is fully developed. By first recognizing essential content elements, such as the objective or scope of the content, designers can create templates and framework for delivering said content before it fully exists. There are well-designed sites which began without any content. Sometimes dummy content can be substituted until the content is ready.

Content Before Design

The simple truth is that viewers come to your website or read your digital signage because of the content, not the layout.

Putting content before the design is the best way to direct the message. Content is the reason that a design should exist in the first place. However, that does not mean the design is not equally important. The point is to understand the best way to use content and design together.

What happens if the content does not fit the design? One option is to start the design from scratch with content and design congruency in mind. Another option is to alter the content to fit the existing design. Otherwise, the content and design may be put at odds with each other, and the result can suffer. Such outcomes can be frustrating and time-consuming to fix. Therefore, it is important to plan for the most intuitive presentation.

Context Matters

There should be cohesion between the content and the design. This is where context plays a significant role. It is the essential step in designing around content. Context refers to the intent of the content, a statement or idea. It allows a more responsive design to be developed. Consider how the audience will view the content and how it should be presented to maximize influence. Ask yourself: What is the message I need to deliver in my content? The answer to this question gives context, and context helps a designer understand how content can be displayed.

Content-Centric Design Strategy

"Content First" is about making content the priority over every other aspect of the design process. By developing content first, you are laying out information, optimizing the space and ensuring that the message reaches the viewers effectively across all devices.

If the design does not match the content's tone, then it will be ineffective, and may even be confusing A design without substance does not get a second look.

Content is important as it communicates a brand's benefit and value to the viewer. The design must be efficient to fit the content properly. It is vital that the design complement the content, surround the message and reinforces the brand.

Here are two best practices:

1. Create user-focused content. Think about your audience or target market. What are their needs? Will the information provide answer their problems? What is the main message you want to communicate? These questions help to organize your message in a way that is easy to understand and gives viewers a positive experience.

2. Understand the content structure. Design a workflow for creating, editing, publishing and managing content. Will this support your brand's message and image? What kind of design elements will you include - text copy, images, video clips, animations, etc.? Are there future content changes that could disrupt this plan?

When a content strategy is formed correctly, you are on the way to producing the best results. A content-centric mindset creates interest more quickly. It converts website visitors into leads and digital signage viewers into customers. It avoids miscommunication that leads to costly design revisions.

The Bottom Line: Make Design and Content Work

Keep in mind that your goal is to deliver information efficiently. Always consider your message, your audience and the best way to communicate your content. Don't allow your content to suffer, nor waste time and money on excessive revisions. Do yourself and/or your designer a favor - create great content and complement it by planning a design to fit said content. Both design and content play a significant role in developing a website, creating signage, and physical materials. One cannot function effectively without the other.

Remember this: Message determines content. Content determines design.

Thus, the elements should work together and complement each other to create an experience which is centered on guiding the reader, client or consumer, through the information you will provide.

Because digital signage competes with several distractions, such as noise and stimulus, your content has to stand out. It is critical that businesses understand the importance of driving engagement,creating awareness and increasing sales via digital signage. More importantly, good media establishes a connection and motivates viewers to interact with the message. If a business fails to do this with their digital signage, the results will likely suffer.

As proven by the study done by Gallup’s 2013 State of the American Workplace, engagement has a greater impact on employees' performance, productivity, and satisfaction than anything else. Thus, it is vital to focus and make digital engagement the primary goal every time information is created and published on the screen.

1.Interactivity

Give your viewers the opportunity to participate and get involved. Always include a Call to Action, which will make them engage with the content and take part.

What do you want your viewers to do: respond, repost or share the information? Tell them directly. Alternatively, you can also prompt them to learn more about your message. You can use teasers as well. Sometimes the audience looks forward to teaser messages rather than over-crowded announcements.

Here are some simple ideas to try:

• Like Us on Facebook
• Follow Us on Twitter
• Visit our website and grab a coupon
• Check our online store for items on sale
• Share your photos with us in Instagram
• Text to earn more rewards

When your message directs them to take individual actions, it becomes easier for them to make a decision.

2. Personalization

Digital Signage creates more attention and drives retention if the content connects with viewers in a personal or emotional way. Make sure that what an audience sees on the screen strikes a chord.

Do this by:

• Customizing your welcome message, promotions and experiences
• Using words, fonts, and colors which connect well with your target audience
• Using emotional triggers that viewers will remember

Also, including personalized messages based on your audience's experience increases engagement and has proven to be the biggest driver of sales. More importantly, showcase your human side by being yourself. Communicate heartfelt messages so that viewers can feel a real person and not a company.

3. Grab Attention

People are attracted to visuals and motion, as these tend to speak in volumes. Images connect and animations captivate.

By including specific images, animation and videos in your digital signage, your content will become more compelling. These are great ways to transform your screen into an eye-catching message that drives engagement effectively.

To grab attention and increase retention for longer spans of time, try these:
• Use real life photos or images of products, services, and people
• Include short clips of customer testimonials
• Enhance engagement with animation
• Include relevant information such as news headlines, traffic situations, weather changes, etc. to add utility and keep your signage interesting

Since most viewers only glance at your content, make it relevant and keep it clean and concise. Remember not to clutter it with useless details, rather, use these elements to highlight your key message. Don't be afraid of using empty space, sometimes less can be more when the important information is surrounded by blank space.

4. Uniqueness

Viewers tend to notice when you allow your creativity and distinctiveness to stand out. Consider ideas which are out of the ordinary or fun.

Ensure that content creation results in an experience that viewers will notice, engage with, and remember.

As you keep the digital board relevant, have fun as well! One of the main purposes of having an interactive digital board is to inform and entertain, so better keep things enjoyable for you and your viewers. Show your brand's unique voice, identity and personality. This will increase engagement factor.

Digital signage means more, so keep in mind that driving engagement is your primary goal!