Cross‐cultural Colour Comparisons: Global Marketers Beware!

Abstract

The Lüscher colour test is used to compare colour associations in China, South Korea, Japan and the United States. Respondents were asked which colour they associate with words such as expensive, happy, love and dependable. They were also asked to relate the colours to countries, such as Italy and France; institutions, such as restaurants and theatres; and product packages, such as a soft drink label and a box of headache remedy. The findings show that, while some colours seem to show cross‐cultural consistency, other colours, such as purple and grey, hold opposite meanings in different cultures.

Does the type of receptacle influence the crossmodal association between colour and flavour? A cross-cultural comparison

“…This crosscultural difference might well be attributed to the fact that the same colour red is repeatedly seen with different flavours in the marketplace of these two countries. Although red is associated with love and happiness in both countries [23], it is reported as being associated with 'good-tasting' in the USA, but not by those from China. It is therefore difficult to determine whether documented cross-cultural differences in the colour-flavour associations arise at a perceptual or at a more semantic level [10,24].…”

“…This difference might perhaps be attributable to the fact that raspberry is not a particularly common fruit in China. Interestingly, blue was rated as the most liked colour by participants from eight different countries, including the USA and China [15], and they both associate it with high quality [23].…”

Gender-Specific Colours of Textile and Clothing Products throughout History

“…By the late 1960s, strong colours and increased ornaments using verity of decoration techniques were taken over (Pandey, 2016).Published research work considered colour associations as blue with masculinity and pink with femininity (Laurence, Charles, Reginald, & Kyung-Il, 1991).In this decade, designers increased the range of men colours by adding bold colours such as navy, burgundy and green and illusive patterns to classical colours i.e. black and white (see Figure 17 and Figure 18).…”

The impact of the package opening process on product returns

“…However, these associations can differ among various cultures (Madden et al 2000). For instance, the color ''red'' in China signals auspiciousness, while in the western world, ''red'' is related to anger (Jacobs et al 1991).…”