By Did you know Halloween is actually short for “All Hallows’ evening”? It is widely celebrated on the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. You probably associate Halloween with haunted houses, pumpkins, elaborate costumes, and trick or treating. What you also must have noticed is that there is a particular theme of Halloween colors. Why are orange and black seen as Halloween colors and what do they mean? Read to understand the meaning and color psychology behind these colors so you can use them for your Halloween banner ads and designs.
What is Color Psychology and Color Association?
Color psychology is the study of different hues and the effect that they have on people. This is as different colors are shown to cause different emotions or feelings. However, this is different from color association is what people associate a certain color to. Color psychology is uniform across genders, cultures, and places, While color association can vary across different cultures and places.
Hence, while some Halloween colors may have their meaning because of Color psychology, a part of it is also color association. People who have never experienced or celebrated Halloween may not associate colors with the festival in the same way as someone who has celebrated it.
What are the Halloween Colors?
The most popular Halloween color palette is orange and black. Moreover, these are probably the first two Halloween colors that pop into your mind. As soon as someone talks of Halloween, you probably imagine the orange carved pumpkins and dark, spooky costumes and decorations. However, some other popular Halloween colors are purple, green, and red, which are also commonplace in costumes and props.
Why are colors so important in branding and design?
Using the power of color psychology and color association is a skill that marketing and design teams use to create a subconscious image or association. Brands use certain colors to create a brand image or to create an association with certain emotions or feelings.
Using the Halloween color palette the right way in your designs and ads around the festive season is important if you want people to connect with them. Using the Halloween orange and black is the easiest way to create an immediate connection to the festive season. This is something your viewers and customers will enjoy too.
What do the Colors of Halloween represent?
The Halloween color palette is widely used for designs, posts, and ads around the festive season and is a combination of color psychology and color association. Here are some of the most popular Halloweens colors and what they represent.
Black
Black is one of the main Halloween colors and symbolizes darkness, death, and fear. This makes it a common component of the Halloween color palette, fitting in with the spooky theme of the festival. It also makes for a feeling of mystery and is a great contrast to the other brighter colors used for Halloween banner ads and designs. It is also the color of the night when Halloween is mainly celebrated with trick or treating and is the time when ghosts are said to come out.
Purple
While purple may not have always been among the Halloween colors, it has now become more common in Halloween banner ads and costumes. Associated with wealth, royalty, power, and exclusivity, purple has become a part of the Halloween color palette. It also signifies the mystical and magic nature of the festival. Witches and other supernatural beings are often seen in purple. Thus making it an increasingly popular and pleasing color for the festival.
Orange
The second major color of the traditional Halloween orange and black color theme is the color of the jack-o’-lantern or pumpkin. The carved pumpkins are a common feature of Halloween banner ads and decorations and this makes orange a big part of the Halloween color palette. Orange also represents the fall season when Halloween takes place and represents fire or warmth which contrasts the darkness and spooky nature. This makes Halloween orange and black a perfect combination for the festival that complements each other.
Red
Red has always been associated with fear, aggression, and danger, making it fit in with the Halloween colors. The Halloween color palette often features red in its designs as it is an extremely popular color, and its association with danger fits with the ominous feel of Halloween. Red is also the color of blood, which is a common feature in Halloween designs and costumes as well.
Green
This color is another common part of the Halloween color palette, commonly being associated with zombies, aliens, Frankenstein, and sorts of creepy monsters and otherworldly beings. This makes it a popular color in the elements of spooky banner ads, designs, and costumes. The association with monsters and scary beings makes it fit in well with Halloween, with its supernatural and evil nature.
5 Examples of Halloween banner ads and designs
Here are some great examples of Halloween banner ads from some big brands. Choose from a huge library of templates, assets, and resources with Simplified to create stunning designs and Halloween banner ads for your brand.
1. Mc Donald’s
Mc Donald’s creatively used this design where two fries stick out from a box of fries, making them look like the teeth of a monster. You can also see a bit of ketchup on one of the fries, making it look like blood on the teeth of a monster.
2. Toblerone
Here, you can see Toblerone use pieces of their iconic triangular chocolates against an orange background. This creates the look of a jack-o-lantern.
3. Burger King
In this ad, burger king released a special burger with a black bun. Thus, taking inspiration from one of the major Halloween colors.
4. Apple
Here, you can see that Apple has creatively edited its usual logo. The usual logo represents an apple with a bit taken out of the side. The logo is made to look like a pumpkin, with the stalk of the apple being replaced with a pumpkin stalk. You can also see the use of the common Halloween orange and black colors.
5. Volkswagen
Here, Volkswagen has taken inspiration from the jack-o-lantern decoration commonly used during Halloween and carved its logo into it. It also features the Halloween orange and black colors and is an obvious reference to the popular festival and decoration.
Creating your own Halloween themed designs
Now that we’ve gone over the different Halloween colors, what they mean, and some examples of Halloween-themed designs, you’re all set to make your own. So, get started with your designs with Simplified’s free templates and make your design and marketing workflow a breeze!
Simplified is your one-stop solution for all your marketing needs. From designing to editing photos, video, and copywriting, Simplified.com has everything you need to take your marketing game to next level. Whether you are a design newbie or a whole marketing team, Simplified has tools to make your workflow faster so you can focus on being creative!
