How do you want others to see you? Do you want others to see you or your organization as creative or trustworthy? Alternatively, should your image convey elegance, safety, or power? Color is part of the answer. Color conveys a message about who you are. In the course of millions of years, we have accumulated instinctive assumptions about color. And, they can be different across civilizations and cultures. International organizations have to be sensitive to those differences. For example the color white, which we associate with purity, is the color of death and mourning in India.
In her book Little Black Book on Law Firm Branding and Positioning, Paula Black gives a simple summary of what particular colors covey to the general population of our country.
I chose the color purple for the title of the book The Language of Excellence. It is the color of royalty. It belongs to that small percent of individuals or enterprises that have risen to the very top. It is the color of greatness and excellence. That is what The Language of Excellence is all about—giving readers the capacity to move from what the author Jim Collins calls Good to Great.
One of the Two Certainties of business and life is that others always judge us. We are what others see us as. The Model for Excellence, for example, makes it clear that excellence must be earned through the eyes of others. Color can no more make you than “clothes can make the man,” but color, like clothes, can help or hurt. The point is both need to be consistent with how you want to be seen. So what is your color?
In her book Little Black Book on Law Firm Branding and Positioning, Paula Black gives a simple summary of what particular colors covey to the general population of our country.
Red: strength, power, determinationThe Creative Blog goes into more detail and includes this more detailed chart:
Orange: enthusiasm, creativity, success
Green: growth, harmony, safety, money
Blue: depth, loyalty, trust, stability
Black: elegance, prestige, discretion
I chose the color purple for the title of the book The Language of Excellence. It is the color of royalty. It belongs to that small percent of individuals or enterprises that have risen to the very top. It is the color of greatness and excellence. That is what The Language of Excellence is all about—giving readers the capacity to move from what the author Jim Collins calls Good to Great.One of the Two Certainties of business and life is that others always judge us. We are what others see us as. The Model for Excellence, for example, makes it clear that excellence must be earned through the eyes of others. Color can no more make you than “clothes can make the man,” but color, like clothes, can help or hurt. The point is both need to be consistent with how you want to be seen. So what is your color?
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Tom Collins’ works include his book on leadership, TheLanguage of Excellence, and his mystery series including Mark Rollins’ New Career, Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker, Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer and the newest mystery, The Claret Murders. For signed copies,
go to the author's
online store. Unsigned print and ebook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. The ebook edition for the iPad is available through Apple iTunes' iBookstore.
online store. Unsigned print and ebook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. The ebook edition for the iPad is available through Apple iTunes' iBookstore.