Red Heart
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An earlier series of a Newsletter included articles on how to culturally customize your website. The first feature article focused on the choice of color and their different meanings in different cultures.
As this subject interests most readers, I have completed the list of colors here to keep as a reference in the Multicultural Marketing 101 Guide found on my site along with other useful Guides.
The use of color plays a role in cross cultural communication.
Some Cultures Have Richer Vocabularies For Colors
First let's look at the different numbers of words in different vocabularies.
Some languages have a wider choice of words to describe certain colors. These words may actually refer to very different shades or variations of a color.
Different cultures pay more attention to the variations of certain colors. Here are some examples:
- Eskimos have many different words to describe snow and its color.
- In India the different variations of the color brown are described with precision.
Color Associations
Colors can be used to express emotions in most cultures. And these colors change and are associated with different colors depending on the culture.
Here are some associations frequently made with colors in different countries.
Black
- According to Wikipedia it commonly represents lack, evil, darkness, bad luck, crime, mystery, silence, concealment, execution, end, chaos, death, and secrecy
- Germany - Death, grief, rebellion, cool, hopelessness and formality
- Mexico - Mourning and respect
- United States - Death, sophistication and formality
- United Kingdom - Death, formality, doubt, ignorance, and uncertainty.
- Japan - nobility, age, and experience
Blue
- According to Wikipedia it commonly represents ice, water, sky, cold, calm, and sadness
- Germany - Loyalty and formality
- Greece - National pride
- India - Heavens, love and truth
- Israel - Holiness
- Scandinavia - Cleanliness
- United States - Justice and official business
Green
- According to Wikipedia it commonly represents nature, growth, hope, youth, sickness, health, go, Islam, environmentalism and envy
- Arab Middle East - Holiness
- Africa - 20 of the 53 African countries have Green in their flags, which is one of the Pan African colors
- Egypt - Fertility
- Germany - Hope and Conservation
- Ireland - Nationalism and Catholicism
- Malaysia - Danger associated with forest and diseases.
- United States - Safety and Money
Purple
- According to Wikipedia it commonly represents royalty, funk, nobility, and upper class
- Italy - Color of the church, authority
- Latin America - Death
- United States - Nobility, law and bravery
Red
- According to Wikipedia it commonly represents aggression, courage, guilt, energy, passion, anger, fire, socialism, sacrifice, sin, violence, negative, and warning
- Africa - Death and bloodshed - 24 of the 53 African countries have Red in their flags, which is one of the Pan African colors
- China - Communism, celebration, good luck, joy, courage, loyalty, honor, success, fortune, fertility, happiness, passion, and summer
- Greece - Love and good luck
- India - Birth, fertility, traditional bridal dress color, wealth and beauty
- Central Africa - life and health
- Mexico - Religion and vibrancy
- Scandinavia - Strength
- United Kingdom Authority, government and power
- United States - Warning, lust, passion, love, beauty, spicy, sin, courage and sacrifice
White
- According to Wikipedia it commonly represents lack, snow, purity, ice, peace, nothing, frost, and air
- Africa - Victory and purity
- China - Death, mourning and purity
- India - Death, rebirth, serenity, purity, sacredness, peace and mourning
- Ireland - peace between Catholics and Protestants
- United States - Virginity, peaceful intent
- Western cultures - Purity
Yellow
- According to Wikipedia it commonly represents age/aging, jealousy, cowardice, happiness, sunshine, the Orient
- Germany - Envy and jealousy
- India - Commerce
- Israel - Saintliness
- Scandinavia - Warmth
- United States - Visibility, caution, faith, jaundice and cowardice
Color Combinations
Certain color combinations have meanings too. Here are a few examples:
- Black on red - symbolizes happiness in China
- Red on white - symbolizes celebration in Japan
Color Associations With Other Words
Colors can be associated with people and different things.
Red
In Japanese red is associated with being:
- sincere of heart or "red heart"
- a perfect stranger or "red stranger"
- stark naked or "red naked"
Blue
In Japanese blue is associated with:
- "a blue-eyed outsider" is a white Caucasian
- "blue breath" is an anxious sigh
- "a blue things shop" is a vegetable shop
- "a blue tower" is a brothel
Black
In German black is associated with:
- "to drive black" is to drive without a license
- "a black seer" is someone who has a television but doesn't pay the TV license and it also refers to a pessimist.
- the color of prestige: for example, limousines are usually in black.
- "a black sender" refers to a private broadcasting station
Use This As A Basic Introduction To Color
Find out if there is a strong cultural association with certain colors in your target country.
The best way to verify the right use of colors is to have your website and cross cultural communication materials reviewed by an appropriate person in your target country.
Most of the time you will not need any further help with color associations. When in doubt ask for professional cultural marketing advice.
Source For This Article
This article is largely inspired by the book The Culturally Customized Web Site by Nitish Singh & Arun Pereira, published in 2005, with some of my own personal knowledge and online resources.
I am a little weary as to the value of current associations with some of the colors as referenced in this book. Color associations can lose their power, become out-dated and new cultural associations can be created.
Some of the color associations are not all-encompassing - you can still use these colors in other circumstances without an automatic association. But you should give particular consideration if you refer to a topic directly associated with a color. Look at the associations for yellow in the United States.
This book is the best reference source I have come across on the meanings of colors. I highly recommend reading it if you are interested in customizing your any of your communication to different cultures, online or offline.
Get Current Color Interpretations
Society evolves and so do color associations in most countries. Use this list of color associations as a very broad guideline.
If you are creating a localized website or culturally customized content for a specific country, it is always best to get appropriate professional feedback on your choice of colors.
There is more than the simple choice of colors. Different cultures have different tastes. What works well in one country may have disastrous results in another country - even if the colors are "right".
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Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural eMarketer & International Sales Specialist, aligning businesses with different cultures. She has over 25 years field experience in international business development and helps mid-sized business owners create international business development strategies that shorten time to profitability.
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