Play with color
Color has always been a part of Apple’s product philosophy. The iMacs of the 90s came in a rainbow of bright colors, a tradition the company carried through to the iPods, iPhones, and various computers that came later. Today, Apple doesn’t need to release a whole new product to generate real excitement among its customers; issuing the same phone in a new colorway is enough to send people running to the nearest Apple Store.
At this year’s Apple Event, the company announced two additions to the Apple family: iPhone 13 in green and iPhone 13 Pro in alpine green. The phones themselves were released last year — the announcement was just about the new colorways. iPhone 13 phones now come in red, starlight, midnight blue, pink, and green, and iPhone 13 Pro phones come in sierra blue, graphite, gold, silver, and alpine green. Making these minor announcements — same phone, new color — center stage at the Apple Event shows just how good Apple is at leveraging color psychology.
Color psychology is the idea that colors can evoke an emotional response. For example, red is associated with passion and urgency, orange with playfulness, yellow with happiness, and green with growth. If you run your own beauty brand, chances are you’re more familiar with the concept than you might think. Did you choose paints, fabrics, and accessories that worked together to evoke a specific vibe in your salon interior? How about your branding; did you select colors for your logo, signage, or even your website that would communicate what your brand is all about to clients at first glance? That’s color psychology at work.
Apple understands that a splashy announcement of an attractive new colorway is enough to send consumers into a tizzy, even if they just bought the same phone in a different color six months ago (guilty as charged). What does this mean for beauty businesses? Play with color! Everything from your retail selection to your own brand merch can benefit from a punched-up color scheme. Think about seasonal releases that reflect the time of year in your area, or tap into the zeitgeist by working with the colors that dominate the fashion and beauty worlds in any given month.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to inspire clients to shop; sometimes, you just need a fresh coat of paint.