The power of color | Jean-Gabriel Causse | TEDxDunkerque

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

We see colors, but do we really understand how much influence they have on us? In a modern world that prefers neutral and faded shades, Jean-Gabriel, author of "L'étonnant pouvoir des couleurs" ("The surprising power of colors") enlightens us about colors.

I suggest, if it's OK with you,
that we start this conference

by replicating part of an American study,

and I need all the men
here today as test subjects.

Do you know another way
to say "test subjects"?

Guinea pig, like the animal.

That's nice, guinea pig.

So, gentlemen guinea pigs,
imagine that you're single

or that your wife is
definitely not jealous,

and imagine one of these charming sisters

offers to help you revise
the positions of the Kamasutra.

So, you have to choose one.

Let me remind you
that you're guinea pigs not pigs.

So, please, who would choose
the one on the right?

Hands up, please, quick, hands up.

We could maybe put the lights back on.

Yes, not bad, OK.

And now, who would prefer
to revise with the one in blue?

A few less.

So, exactly two thirds of you,
according to professor Elliot

of Rochester University,
prefer the young lady in red.

If I showed you this photo,

two thirds of you would have
also said the young lady in red.

Why?

Well, ladies, know that,
naturally, when you wear red,

you awaken within us
a desire, a strong desire.

25% more desire for men.

And, ladies, know that you know this,
maybe subconsciously, but you know.

In a study dealing with dating sites,

we looked at the color
of the women's clothes

on their profile pictures.

Women looking for the love of their lives

are five times less likely
to be dressed in red

than those looking for fun.

Yes, red is the color
that creates desire in men.

Know that you will get 25% more tips
at a restaurant when you wear red.

Know that men are more likely to stop
when you're hitchhiking, if you're in red.

Why?

Well, ladies, know that,
when you wear red,

you're actually telling men
that you're ovulating.

(Laughter)

Yes...

When our great, great, great
grandmother Lucy, was ovulating,

her genital parts and labia were red

to show her fiancee that it wasn't
the time to go hunting mammoths,

that he should stick around.

So, red makes you far sexier.

What about men?

Not really.

(Laughter)

No, we aren't any sexier in red.

No, no, Miss, we aren't any sexier in red.

However, we are much stronger.

Our heart rate is quicker,
our blood pressure is higher,

we also blink much more.

Red makes us stronger.

Sports prove this.

In England, three soccer teams wear red:

Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester.

They won 39 of the 69 last
championships since the war.

In Greco-Roman wrestling, since 1896
and the start of the modern Olympics,

know that 67% of the fights were won
by wrestlers dressed in red.

Same results in Taekwondo.

When you wear red,
you're physically stronger,

your opponent looks stronger,

even the referee, under equal conditions,
seems stronger when you wear red.

From a practical point of view,
wearing red makes you a leader.

And, if by chance, one of you

is later elected president
of the United States of America,

his communication advisers will suggest
that on the day of his investiture,

he arrive with his family
dressed like this.

It's not at all a coincidence.

Here is a family of leaders.

Here is a family we can trust.

Red has other qualities.

Red keeps us warm.

When we say
it's a warm color, it's the truth.

You'll overestimate
the room temperature by two degrees,

which means that at the top
of Mount Everest,

they have worn red for 40 or so years,

and they're right to do so.

You'll put twice as many ice cubes
in Coca-Cola as in Pepsi,

because Coca-Cola seems warmer.

Color also has
another advantage in marketing,

it's that it allows you
to recognize brands.

You recognized Coca-Cola and Pepsi
in this image in one-tenth of a second.

If I showed you this picture,
you'd have been lost.

80% of brand recognition, is its color.

So you understand that in marketing,
when we work on brands,

color is absolutely crucial.

Let me give you
the 200 million dollar example

that shows the importance of color.

In 2012, Google asked itself
if the blue of its trade links,

that we see in gray,

could have an impact
on the number of clicks.

So, all of us,

in 2013, we tested 50 shade of...

- gray -

of blue, it's a little bit gray.

And it turned out
they looked all over the world,

and they determined
which blue helped us click more.

It was close.

Is it a bit darker, a bit lighter,

a bit greener, more purple?

The fact remains that in changing blue,

the person that is the boss
of Google UK,

estimated that in changing blue

they earned an extra 200 million dollars.

Just by changing the color
of the trade link.

Studies on the importance
of color on our products

date back to the 50s,
with Procter & Gamble

that is undoubtedly one of the brands
that most invested in marketing,

and which asked if, in their detergent,
that was white at the time,

the simple act of adding colorful glitter
could have an impact.

Housewives tested the same detergent,

but with either red,
yellow, or blue glitter.

They came back two months later
and gave the same results.

Beyond the researchers expectations,
because, first conclusion,

none of the housewives realized

they were testing the same
detergent three times.

They all saw a difference.

The majority of them felt
the detergent with the yellow glitter

wasn't efficient,
didn't wash the laundry well.

Conversely, the detergent with
the red glitter was very powerful,

maybe too powerful
and damaged the laundry.

Which meant that some didn't dare
finish the detergent with red glitter.

The detergent with blue glitter,
however, was a great detergent.

Not only did it respect
the laundry, it washed well,

but, surprise, it smelt fresh.

Yes, by simply putting
blue glitter in the detergent,

the laundry seems to be fresher
and smell better.

A few years later, green produced
the same results as blue,

and here's why, since the 50s,

all detergents have red on them
to signalize their efficiency,

blue and green to signalize that they
respect the laundry and freshness.

Yes, we smell with our eyes.

All of us, even professionals.

I'm going to give you an example:
Bordeaux University,

54 oenologists tested
an AOC Bordeaux blanc,

that they obviously knew by heart,
with an odorless red coloring.

Out of the 54 oenologists,
guess how many were duped?

54.

They all tasted
strawberries, leather, etc.

In short, red wine characteristics.

The same one presented a little later,

without coloring, suddenly
tasted lemony, buttery, etc.

So white wine characteristics.

If we are duped by our sense of smell,

we are also strongly
influenced by our palate.

Know that we also taste with our eyes.

Every great chef in the world
works the color as much as the recipe.

If a plate looks nice,
the dish will be better, it's a fact.

A fun experiment that proves this
was conducted by Heinz

who wanted to know what was
the right color for spicy ketchup.

They realized that consumers

felt that the darker the ketchup,
the spicier it was.

The same ketchup.

And some people felt
they didn't like the spicier ketchups,

they said, "I can't eat
that one, it's too strong,

but the lighter reds are OK."

And those who liked
the spicier ketchups said,

"The lighter reds aren't for me,

I prefer this one,
it's really much better."

So we are really, fundamentally,
influenced by color.

Each color influences something.

An interesting study
was conducted in England,

they asked adults to play with Lego.

The instructions were simple,
"Do something that's never been done."

Some had these instructions
in blue, others in red.

The groups with the blue instructions

used the right hemisphere of their brains

and started making creative objects,

art pieces that didn't make sense.

Those who had the same instructions
written on a red board,

used their logical brain
and made functional objects:

a new house, a new car, a new dress, etc.

So, by simply giving
information in one color,

influences the way we see it.

All of you are much more creative
in a blue environment.

Your ideas will be much more relevant,

your ideas will be more original, newer,

and you'll have many more ideas.

Which means that today, to brainstorm,

we know that we should put you
in a blue environment

to help you find ideas.

However, if we want to get your attention,

keep you focused,

we prefer a warm color scheme.

Meaning yellow, orange or red.

So, when we say warm color scheme,

we don't have to have entirely red rooms.

A room like this for example,
that is mostly white,

appears to be red,
because there are touches of red.

In here, in an office like this,
productivity is excellent.

You're able to work for hours and hours,

without tiring because the energy
of red will help you.

Sadly, today, many of us work in here.

That's 10% less productivity,
and 15% more risk of burnout.

The achromatic schemes that have existed
in the west for a dozen years are,

let's says, not great, to put it politely.

I suggest you wear pink,

because the euphoric aspect
of pink will help you --

the expression "See life through
rose-tinted glasses" reflects a fact.

In England, they repainted
the kindergarten classrooms

that were beige, in pink,

and then compared
the kids' drawings over 10 years,

the drawings before and after
the rooms were repainted.

The kids' drawings were
significantly more positive.

The smiles were wider, the suns bigger.

Pink is an euphoric and relaxing color.

Researchers looked for a use for this.

We are in Seattle, in a prison,
a high security unit.

Know that in this prison,
the most agitated inmates,

when they're put there,
when they're left alone,

even for just a quarter hour,
become as calm as lambs.

Some would say

it's because they don't like
the color and don't dare move.

The fact remains
that putting inmates in here, works.

Personally, I equipped crisis units

in psychiatric hospitals with pink.

For the books,

the workman who thought he could
do the work in three days, took five.

He worked in a strong pink like this,
he couldn't work,

and the end results weren't great,
there were wrinkles everywhere.

So pink is an euphoric color,

but I suggest you sleep in mauve bedrooms.

Yes, know that in bedrooms like this,

you will have sexual intercourse
3.5 times a week in average.

It's an English study on 2,000 couples
that teaches us this.

And know that 3,5 times a week
means 12 a month,

and doctors say that 12 per month,

means an extra 10 years of life.

If you won't do it for yourselves,
do it out of altruism for your partner.

(Laughter)

It's important to think about
your partner's life expectancy.

And this is what we live in.

Never mind 10 years,
in a color scheme like this,

you'll have intercourse
less than twice a week.

It's up to you.
(Laughter)

This image scares me,

because, I was on Google last week,

and I typed the words
"bedroom" and "design."

This is the first image
that comes up on Google.

This means that trends in the West,

push us towards this.

Push us to where there is no color.

Today, three out of four cars
are gray, black, or white.

In the 50s, 75% of cars were colorful,

the winning trio was green, blue, and red.

Those who are lucky enough
to have been to Cuba know this.

This is how we lived not so long ago.

Not so long ago,

we couldn't imagine building a library
in anything but green.

Why green?

Because when you read a book,

you activate at the same time
your creative brain

to interpret what the author is saying,

and your rational brain,

to stay focused on the story.

Green is the best color for reading.

That's why so many of us
love reading on public benches.

Green is an excellent color, and today,

how many libraries
still have green globes?

Likewise for theaters.

20 years ago, we couldn't imagine

building theaters other than in red.

Why?

Because you are focused.

Because the people
on stage, in the theater,

feel that the audience is much warmer,

so the symbiosis between them
is better, it's the right color.

Sadly today, cinemas often look like this.

The same film in this cinema
may seem boring

whereas it might be absolutely fabulous
in a red environment.

20% of the French population
regularly takes,

or very regularly takes, antidepressants.

I'm not saying that color is everything,

but when we see how happy we are

to receive a bunch of flowers,
that is to receive color,

I would like you to ask yourselves,

how would we all feel

if we gladly followed Indian fashion

and all dressed like this?

How would we feel

if we lived in towns like this,
with color everywhere?

Pierre Dac has a nice answer,

it's, "If our gray matter was rosier,

the world wouldn't have
such dark thoughts."

Thank you.

(Applause)