Two things that definitely say “Asheville” are beer and Tourists’ baseball. Blue is an obvious fit for an area nicknamed “Land of the Sky” and located at the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In print media, PMS 661 is Asheville’s color – a dark, rich blue that leans toward the royal side. It’s no secret that Asheville itself has been a desirable destination both for tourists and new residents, and the city itself is branded with blue. So who chose blue in the Asheville area to speak for their business or organization? A lot of successful folks rely on the cleanliness, coolness and dignity of beautiful blue: Smart marketing uses this to advantage through consistent branding, establishing a positive connection and memory through color.

(For a clearer, more thorough discussion on that, here’s a great article about the importance and complexity of color in marketing.)Īll this can begin to sound like a lot of psychological hoo-ha (a technical term) except for the fact that as humans we react emotionally to color, and we recall a set of connoted meanings attached to that visual experience. But blue, when used in the appropriate context, can help successfully attach specific feelings and energy to the experience of a brand. It is never as simple as “blue = trust.” Blue doesn’t draw more customers then red to trust one company over another. AT&T, WalMart, Ford, and Boeing are also a few traditional powerhouses who have dressed in blue for many years.Īs we discussed in our quick look at the color red in Part 1: the challenge for marketers is to choose appropriate colors to work within the context of the larger message they hope to create and the product or service that represents. Whose brand invests in blue on an international scale? Well the tech world certainly embraced this color: Twitter, Facebook, Pandora, Skype, LinkedIn, Google Earth, intel, IBM, HewlettPackard, Samsung… whew! The list goes on. Generally speaking, dark blue can represent trust, authority, stability, intelligence – while lighter shades evoke feelings of peace, spirituality, infinity and calm. And while colors can shift meanings across cultures (blue in America can mean sad, while in Germany, drunk and in Russia, gay), the color of the sky and the sea is so integral to life on earth that it’s popularity in logo design is no surprise. Now about blue…īlue is a winner worldwide in the “what is your favorite color” category. Pondering color choice in the brands that surround us and the possible reasons behind those choices can be enlightening – so over a few occasional blog posts we will take a quick look at the local Asheville area and check out who feels blue, wants you to see red, and so on. Color is one of the foundational elements of graphic design and visual marketing both in print or online.

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