The Influence of color on purchasing decisions related to product design

Abstract

Designers, especially students studying to be designers, are not always aware of how important color is to the success of a product. Color choice is paramount and can affect the way consumers react to and ultimately choose whether to purchase a particular product. Their decisions may be based not only on the actual color of the product but also on the colors used in the packaging.

This thesis focuses on the importance of color in design and demonstrates that color must be successfully integrated into the design process to ensure product success. In order to test this thesis, I designed a survey to determine the shopping habits and the influence of color in the choices made by men and women of various age groups. The overall results are expressed in a series of posters which will be beneficial to design students as well as seasoned designers.

Prior to their participation, people who contributed to the thesis survey were unaware how much color affected their shopping and preferences for particular items. In general, survey results indicate that quality is not something that would ever be sacrificed for the perfect color and the item needs to function or fit well in order to be considered for purchase by the consumer. But beyond these considerations, color is a critical factor in choosing products. The posters accompanying this thesis highlight the responses and are of use to designers, particularly students, in understanding how consumers react to color.