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Color theory is a concept that most designers and advertisers know the basics of. Color is important because it affects the entire outcome of branding and advertising. Consumers' brains use color to recognize products and the brands that make them.

Color psychology is based on the association that our brains make with certain colors. Understanding this association allows designers to match the right colors to the right products. When you look at products within a certain industry, you will see many of the same colors being used over and over again. This is no coincidence. Those colors connect the right audience with the right brand based on consumer expectations.

Here's what designers know about choosing the right color palettes.

What Each Color Conveys in Advertising

Red

The color red is associated with energy, love and passion. It is attention-grabbing and vibrant. Red may also be associated with danger, anger and confidence. Dating companies may use red in their branding to emphasize love and passion. Restaurants may use red to signify warmth or spiciness.

Orange

Orange is most often associated with a friendly, cheerful atmosphere. It has a few of the same characteristics as red but tends to also remind consumers of youthfulness and vitality. Orange also signifies affordability, friendliness and humor. Children's businesses may use orange as a way to attract kids and to evoke the feeling of fun.

Green

Companies wanting to associate themselves with nature and the environment may use green in their branding. Green has a lot of different associations in color psychology including health, wealth and balance. Green is seen as soothing and a sign of renewal. Many eco-friendly businesses use a shade of green in their branding.

Blue

Likely because of its association with water, the color blue is known to evoke feelings of calmness and tranquility. Blue can also signify peace and relaxation. Certain shades of blue may trigger feelings of sadness. Blue is also commonly associated with trust, therefore you see many banks using blue in their branding.

Purple

Because purple is not commonly seen in nature, it has a more mysterious association. Purple is often associated with royalty and luxury. Mystery, wealth and spirituality are also psychological connections people make to the color purple. Financial planners may use the color purple in branding to evoke feelings of wealth.

If you are interested in how color plays a role in consumer choices, join the Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Graphic Design degree program at Grand Canyon University to get first-hand experience with branding.
If you're interested in pursuing a career in animation, learn more about the programs within the College of Fine Arts and Production and check out our website or click the Request More Information button on this page.

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Color theory is a concept that most designers and advertisers know the basics of. Color is important because it affects the entire outcome of branding and advertising. Consumers' brains use color to recognize products and the brands that make them. Color psychology is based on the association that our brains make with certain colors.

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The immediate goal is as simple as the campaign's design: fun. With a focus on empowerment and sexuality-affirming messages, the brand is strengthening the connection between sex and overall wellness and happiness, subjects frequently on consumers' minds these days. PinkCherry embraces the fact that women aren't as shy about sexuality as society would have us believe.

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Mattias Hulting and Peder Wikstrom know more about sex toys than most married men in their 40s.

The two Swedish entrepreneurs are the brains behind Smile Makers, a new range of 'friendly' vibrators that are being sold in Superdrug, not in sex shops.

The £34.99 vibrators, an anthropomorphic collection of ergonomic, pastel-coloured vibes based on traditionally lusted-after characters - fireman, Frenchman, millionaire and tennis coach - sit alongside shampoos, lipsticks and loofahs because, according to Mattias and Peder, sex toys are a day-to-day essential that should be purchased free from shame and stigma and displays of PVC gimpwear.

The creation of the vibrators comes with stacks of data - 66% of women who have not used a vibrator are curious to try one. 75-80% of women are in the market to buy one. The majority who haven't say it's because they can't find one easily or are embarrassed to go into a sex shop.

And, as M&P put it, is there a product 75-80% of men are interested in that is hard to find? (Actually - don't answer that).

The brand has been called the 'Apple' of the sex toy industry thanks to its disruptive approach - they set out to be deliberately different.

They want to rid masturbation of its taboos, to open up a dialogue about it. To get people comfortable with buying and talking about sex toys.

As they put it, it's not the way women masturbate they want to change - it's everything surrounding it.

The fact that while 50% of women have a sex toy and an additional 30% want one, they are still only available in specialist sex shops that many find daunting to enter.

That 93% of women in conservative Singapore say they are in favour of owning sex toys - yet most don't.

That just as many women masturbate as men - but while men have multiple words for it, women have words that are either clinical or crass.

Masturbation, particularly female masturbation, is a taboo topic in even the most enlightened of countries while for many men, it's not uncommon or uncomfortable to talk about it.

And while women scrabble around for words to talk about their solo sessions, men have dozens of euphemisms (and dysphemisms) at their disposal - and they've been using them since they were school boys.

With the health benefits of masturbation well documented, Mattias and Peder are on a mission to spread the love.

We spoke to the men themselves to get the lowdown on Operation Masturbation.

1. How did the journey begin?

Mattias: Peder and I had worked together at Procter & Gamble in Stockholm working on consumer goods brands like Olay, Wella, and Always.

Peder moved to Shanghai to start his own business around the time I was sent to Japan with P&G.

During my business trips to Shanghai, I used to stay on Peder's couch and it was during those trips that we started talking about setting up a business together.

What we wanted to do was create disruptive brands and great products in categories where no one seems to being doing it right - categories that are either being ignored or mistreated.

Vibrators was the most obvious place to start.

2. Why vibrators?

Peder: It goes back to a personal experience I had many years ago when I went in to a sex shop to buy a vibrator for my girlfriend at the time. I remember walking into the shop and feeling very uncomfortable.

Many of the products were downright vulgar, some of the images and communication were ranged between crass and offensive.

It was just an unpleasant experience. I thought that here is a product that is probably the most intimate feminine product in the world, and it's sold in the most un-feminine way possible.

If I feel uncomfortable here, how would my girlfriend feel? I thought someone should do something about it. Little did I know that someone would later be me.

MORE : Finally, someone has come up with a word for female masturbation

3. What did you know about vibrators before you embarked on this project?

Mattias: Not much at all, actually, so we had to start by doing quite a bit of research.

Doing research by going into sex shops was both uncomfortable and the wrong starting-point, so instead we looked at surveys done, medical research, and talked to women we knew.

The business opportunity was amazing - in the developed world, about half of women have used a vibrator, and another third are curious to try but haven't found a product they like in a place they like to shop.

Is there another legal category where there is the same gap between supply and demand?

What was also surprising was how open and honest women we spoke to were about their views.

But perhaps having worked with products like Always and Tampax had given us some practice in discussing intimate topics with women without coming across as imposing.

4. What was your overall opinion of sex toys and vibrators that were available.

Peder: Most vibrators sold in sex shops looked like they were designed by men, and made for men to buy for their partners.

We had seen some stylish, high-quality brands come up in the past ten years - brands like Lelo and Jimmy Jane - but they were very expensive, primarily sold in adult stores and sometimes also very high tech, so probably not for first-time buyers.

Our idea was to take focus on design and quality to a new level, but make it affordable for everyday women to buy in their everyday stores.

5. What was right with the sex industry and what was wrong with it?

Mattias: It's not that we think there is a right and wrong when it comes to sex toys and sex shops.

But we do feel that a sex shop is a specialty shop for specialty items.

When it comes to a regular vibrators, if more than two-thirds of women are either using or wanting to try one, then it's clearly not a specialty item. It's an everyday item that belongs alongside other everyday products, like skincare and make-up.

We don't object to sex shops, we just don't feel comfortable in them.

We want to make Smile Makers available in mainstream retailers for people who - like us - feel more comfortable in a health & beauty retailer.

MORE : Macy Gray has written a song about her sex toy and it's the best masturbation tune you'll hear today

6. How do women's attitudes to and preferences for sex differ from country to country and generation to generation?

Peder: In addition to all the research we read before starting out, we have been doing our own surveys through established companies like TNT all over the world now, from Belgium and France to Taiwan and Singapore.

What is surprising is how similar attitudes actually are. In some countries, a lower percent have used a vibrator in the past, but that doesn't mean they are less open to trying.

It's more that there has traditionally been less availability in some countries.

Our surveys show that consistently 7 to 8 out of 10 women have either used a vibrator or are curious to try one (we call them 'vi-curious').

Also similar is that attitudes to vibrator use in general is extremely positive.

For example, we recently did a survey in Singapore - a very conservative country - and a full 93% said they would view other women owning a vibrator as being something positive; in their view she would be a woman who takes charge of her own sexual wellbeing.

People in Singapore themselves were surprised at how open they were. This highlights the opportunity everywhere - because we don't talk much about women's self-pleasure, we think everyone else is more conservative than they actually are, so we make decisions on buying, trying, talking, and selling based on the wrong assumptions of what others will think.

The reality is that 9 out of 10 either view it positive or don't care, so what's the big deal?

MORE : The history of sex toys and masturbation in 10 fascinating facts

7. How have these findings affected how you design and market Smile Makers?

In terms of design, quality, safety and reliability, Smile Makers has taken the vibrator category into a new realm.

But I wouldn't say cultural differences have affected how we designed the actual products.

Three of our product versions are based on existing types of vibrators - a g-spot vibrator, a clitoral vibrator, and a bullet vibrator - and one new, pretty innovative product that mimics a tongue.

How these work ergonomically is the same all over the world. Where we did take cultural differences into consideration was in choosing the final four characters. We started by asking women all over the world to tell us their top sexual fantasies and we came up with a fantastic list that included the plumber, the poolboy, the intern, the next door neighbour, and so on.

But in the end, a Chinese woman will not understand the American stereotypical plumber fantasy, and a Finnish woman might not necessarily get the pool boy. So we had to pick fantasies that were the most true around the world.

Finally, when it comes to generational differences, vibrator use - as opposed to, for example, condom use - increases with age.

So more women in their 40s use vibrators than in their 20s. Even in their mid-to-late 50s, about the same percent use vibrators as in the 20s.

The vibrators that have been sold in everyday stores so far have mostly been designed and branded for couples in their 20s, not for the main user group which is women 30+.

8. How did you test them?

Mattias: We tested absolutely every part of Smile Makers, from the strength of the motor, to the softness of the silicone, the exact Pantone colors, the packaging design, packaging text, the size of the product.

We had a group of people involved in the process all along the way, based everywhere from Sydney to Shanghai to Stockholm to Portland.

Most of the input we used came from 'vi-curious' women, those that had been curious to try a vibrator but had not done so.

It was important to create a product for them that would be a pleasant experience and not off-putting in any way.

9. Recently Sweden came up with a new word for female masturbation - Klittra - because they want to enable women to talk about it more freely.

Is this helpful? How are you trying to change the way women view and talk about masturbation.

Mattias: Sweden is an interesting case because all over the world, it's viewed as a very liberal country, but in reality it's actually very conservative.

Topics relating to 'down there' - especially for women - are still very taboo and uncomfortable, to the extent that despite massive success in the rest of Europe and Asia, we still can't get anyone to take a meeting with us in Sweden.

The campaign to create a new word for female masturbation was great because the terms that existed were either clinical or crass.

A few years ago, there was a similar campaign to come up with a new word for vagina, with focus on having a word that could be used when speaking to children. We had a very cute word to use for penis, but not for vagina, so it was harder for parents to refer to it.

Obviously, being more comfortable saying the equivalent of penis than vagina is a micro-cue to society's views in general, and it perpetuates the feeling of an uncomfortable topic.

The word they came up with - snippa - was brilliant because it sounds as cute and innocent as the male equivalent.

It has really allowed people - parents especially - to refer to women's genitals in a much more natural, comfortable way.

We hope they achieve the same result with the new word for female masturbation. A crass denomination for something will make the subject itself feel crass. A clinical term will make it feel clinical.

So having an approachable, even cute, word can potentially achieve wonders in the process of normalisation.

What we are trying to do with Smile Makers is first and foremost to open up the conversation of women's self-pleasure and how vibrators fit into that.

We want to bring the topic out into the open to enable people to realise that everyone else is not as conservative and judgmental as we fear they might be, and that almost everyone views it as naturally as we do ourselves.

It's starting the conversation that is the biggest challenge.

That's why we use humour in our approach, naming the products after stereotypical fantasies, having cute little cartoon characters on our packaging, describing the characters in pretty outrageous ways.

Humour is a good tool to disarm any uncomfortable situation. It relaxes everyone and puts you in a positive, light-hearted mood, and then you can take the conversation from there.

Our vision is that women's self-pleasure and vibrators will both be seen as normal and non-sensational. If we can contribute to that in any way, we'll be very proud.

MORE : The sex toy world has just changed forever (and not in a good way)

10. How are you trying to change the way women actually masturbate?

Peder: We don't have any aims to change the way women actually masturbate.

We want to make products available for those who want to use them while masturbating, and we hope to help her feel natural, comfortable, beautiful and positive about using them.

11. What is your brand ethos?

Mattias: Our brand's ethos is 'when you're smiling on the inside, you smile on the outside. And nothing is more gorgeous than that.'

What we mean by that is that sexual wellbeing is so important to your health, your confidence, how beautiful you look, how beautiful you feel, that you cannot ignore it when thinking about health and beauty. Rather, it's at the core of health and beauty, before supplements, foundations, and make-up.

Our mission is to normalise women's sexual wellbeing and reframe it as a natural part of life and beauty care.

What we are trying to achieve is a world where no one reacts to or sensationalises the sale of vibrators next to health and beauty products, and where women feel comfortable buying their vibrator in the same setting.

MORE : 12 reasons masturbation is amazing and women must start talking about it

12. What are women saying about your vibrators, and how will this affect what you do next?

Peder: We have had amazing feedback from women of all ages and nationalities. There is a lot of support for what we are trying to do, and we've had women really rally behind the mission.

It's been harder to get it past the men. We've had men refuse to work with us at insurance companies, translation firms, logistics companies, because they have felt threatened by our products.

It's bigotry and hypocritical, but all those experiences just make us more passionate to continue and work harder.

If we weren't feminists when we started the company, we certainly are now.

With regards to what's next, we'll have to tell you in a few months from now when we launch our new product line, which is not vibrators... [Ed's note: hint - they may be about to revolutionise the lube market too].

13. What science and data did you use to back up the health benefits of masturbation?

Mattias: There is so much data on this out there that it's perplexing why anyone would still think it's a contentious subject.

We work with sexologists and gynaecologists all over the world, and they have supported us with a whole library of data on the health benefits of sex and masturbation.

It ranges from direct, chemical benefits such as endorphin and oxytocin release, to more indirect links such as impact on mental and emotional wellbeing.

It's because of these indisputed benefits of masturbation and vibrators that the science community really supports what we are trying to do, and why we were invited to speak at the Congress of the World Association for Sexual Health this summer.
Here are some quotes from our partners:

'No matter if single or in a relationship, there is a direct positive impact on women if they have a happy and pleasant fulfilled sex life. According to a number of researches, sex at least one to two times a week will accelerate the increase of immunoglobulin, improve immune system, and prevent flu.

Furthermore, orgasm will bring human natural reaction and better improve mental and physical health.'

- Dr. Yen-Yu Chen, Taichung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics-birth Attending Physician

'Many people do not realise that sexual wellbeing is important for health, and when we are time-strapped it naturally ranks low on the priority list. Studies have shown that being sexually stimulated, whether through sex or self-pleasure, creates endorphins and oxytocin which in turn trigger positive feelings and wellbeing.'

- Professor P. Ganesan Adaikan PhD, Research Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, National University of Singapore

MORE : 'Everybody does it': Young Indian women are refreshingly open about masturbation

14. Are your wives involved in the business?

Peder: There are two acid tests for everything we do in our business. Number one, do our wives approve? Number two, would we feel comfortable showing our mothers? If anything fails either of those, it's scrapped immediately.

15. How do you feel talking about what you do, say at dinner parties, or with family?

Mattias: When it comes to dinner parties, the challenge is rather the other way around - how do we avoid this from becoming THE dinner conversation.

People are extremely interested and engaged, and want to get involved with ideas, thoughts, suggestions.

But as passionate as we are about it, sometimes it's nice to get a break, so we're learning to tone it down during off-work hours.

When it comes to our mothers, I echo Peder's comment. We have to be able to show them everything we do. My mother is the first to click 'like' on Facebook whenever I post anything work-related.

Peder's mother is a shareholder in the company so he has to fight off work-related conversations both with friends and at the Christmas table.

16. And finally... what else do we need to know?

Peder: Too many things to get on paper. We're sold at Superdrug. Our products are manufactured alongside high-end consumer electronics brands like Bang & Olufsen and Olympus.

Our clitoral massager The Fireman beat the iPhone at the D&ADs, the most prestigious design competition in the world.

For more info visit smilemakerscollection.co.uk and to buy head to Superdrug.

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These two men want to change the way you think about masturbation

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Mattias Hulting and Peder Wikstrom know more about sex toys than most married men in their 40s. The two Swedish entrepreneurs are the brains behind Smile Makers, a new range of 'friendly' vibrators that are being sold in Superdrug, not in sex shops.

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Best Silent Vibrators for Women & Personal Lubricants | Smile Makers

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Get our silent vibrators - sex toys designed for female orgasm! Also, don't miss our personal lubricants out for a better sex with or without partner!