Remember the first time you noticed that the biggest fast food chain restaurants all had red and yellow in their logos? If you’re at all like me (which you may not be..) the excitement of this discovery was quickly overcome by the realization that originality often comes at a premium in this world. And that sometimes successful business meant borrowing, and borrowing some more.
Well another similar color pattern has emerged in our consumption-driven economy. Blue and orange have seemed to end up wherever mass business transactions appear on the mighty internets, with eCommerce giants Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Sears, and Zappos all incorporating the colors into their pallets. There’s no doubt color can have a strong impact in design, but while physiological studies claim to tie the colors red to appetite, it’s not so clear that blue and orange equate to “buy” as much as this is just another game of follow the leader.
The implications of the new blue and orange internet take-over aren’t so clear. Much like restaurants and fast food, many reputable eCommerce sites don’t use these colors – but the largest ones all seem to. It would interesting to take a look at how the color coordination of fast food affected the greater restaurant and food-consumption market. (Volunteers?)
Here’s one prediction though: wearing blue and orange clothing together will become less fashionable by the day …making you look more and more like a website. Kind of like wearing red and yellow tends to make you look like a giant hotdog. Speaking of food..
Excellent breakdown of colors on the internets, check it out: http://www.colourlovers.com/business/blog/2010/09/15/the-most-powerful-colors-in-the-world