Choosing the Right Color for Your Glass Packaging

When it comes to selling a product, we all know that packaging matters. For example, think of an iconic brand like Coca-Cola. Immediately you can picture the red banner with the white curly font. Clearly, color matters. But how do you know which colored glass packaging is right for your brand? Before you make that decision, there are some questions you should answer first. 

 

How Do Colors Make You Feel?

It’s been proven that humans have intrinsic reactions to color that come down to pure psychology. This simply means that colors tend to evoke similar feelings and emotions in everyone. These reactions shape how colors are used in society. 

Psychological Implications of Color

Red typically means stop or is used to bring our attention to something, while green says go, or lets us know that something is correct. In packaging, the same rules apply. Red & other bright colors tend to draw our attention in, while black & white packaging follows a more minimalistic style. Colors we tend to perceive as positive include:

• Blue– seen as calming
• Red– it is the quickest color read by our brain
• Yellow– bright and cheerful
• Orange– warm and inviting

Color Associations

You can probably guess by now that color has a major impact on marketing because of how it makes us feel. When choosing the right color for your glass packaging, keep these common color associations in mind:

 

EXAMPLE	COLOR	ASSOCIATION	ADVERTISING USE
	Red	Warmth, passion, power.	Stimulates quick decision making, associated with energy.
	Lime	Freshness, envy, life.	Healthy/natural products, money/wealth.
	Canary Yellow	Sunlight, brilliance, joy.	Children’s advertising, grab attention.
	Cobalt Blue	Serenity, masculinity, coolness.	Masculine products, corporate America.
	Glossy Black	Elegance, formality, strength.	Contrast, aggressiveness, elegance.
	Frosted White	Purity, perfection, cleanliness.	Simplicity, charities, hospitals.
	Orange	Ambition, warmth.	Heat, stimulation, health.
	Purple	Royalty, mystery.	Feminine designs, children’s advertising.

Common Color Combinations

Now that you know how powerful colors can be on their own, let’s talk about ways to combine color for even better results. The most basic color combinations are the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow), or the secondary colors (blue, purple, and green). As you can see on the color wheel above, the colors in each group are all directly across from each other. This gives them just enough contrast to draw attention without clashing with each other.

Of course, trends tend to change, even in the realm of color. Lately, choosing different shades and hues of the same color has become an increasingly popular choice among brands to create a monochromatic theme that is chic and fun. 

 

What Colored Packaging Does My Industry Use?

When it comes to packaging, some colors are used to signal consumers while others are used as attention grabbers. Before choosing the right color for your glass packaging, think about the industry you are in. Make sure you are using colors correctly in a way that follows your industry standards and makes sense to your consumers. To help, we’ve put together this cheat sheet. 

Common Industry Uses of Colored Glass Packaging

COLOR	COMMON MEANING	APPLICABLE INDUSTRIES
Red	Attention Grabber	Beverage, Dips & Sauces, Honey & Syrup, Oil & Vinegar
Lime	Healthy OR Natural	Beverage, Dips & Sauces, Honey & Syrup, Oil & Vinegar
Cobalt Blue	Fun/Snack food	Beverage, Dips & Sauces, Honey & Syrup
Fuchsia	Feminine	Beverage, Fragrance, Soaps & Lotions
Glossy Black & White	Luxury	Beverage, Fragrance, Soaps & Lotions, Oil & Vinegar

 

How To Stand Apart From Your Industry With Glass Packaging

If you want to stand out from your competitors without throwing off your audience, try these tips!

1. If you choose to break tradition, go all out– If you are going to be bold, you can’t stop half-way.
2. Don’t forget the details! – Incorporating your labels, caps, and miscellaneous packaging pieces shows that your brand knows how to go above and beyond.
3. Don’t be afraid to try something new.– Who knows? Your brand could start the next big trend! 

 

How Do I Decide the Right Colored Glass Packaging for My Brand?

When choosing which colored glass to go with, there are lots of things to consider. First, you want to think about your brand in general. What industry are you in? Are there any colors that seem overused by your competitors? Are there any colors that may not make sense for your brand specifically? For example, if your product is pink, you may not want to use a lot of clashing red in your packaging. 

Consider Your Logo

You may want to include colors that match your company logo, or that at least pair well together. Your logo is probably going to be on your packaging or label somewhere, so making sure it doesn’t look harsh against your colored glass is always a good idea.

You could incorporate colors from your logo into all of your packagings, giving your company a sense of unification to the consumer. On the other hand, you could use colors that compliment your logo and still allow the consumer to understand that the product is related to your overall company in some way. 

Consider Your Audience

When marketing toward a specific audience, there may be a few colors you want to lean towards. Think of who constitutes the majority of your audience and go from there. Your color choices could even change from product to product if needed.

For men, these colors are blues, grays, and greens because they emit an attitude of seriousness and sophistication. For women, pinks, purples, and other bright colors have proven to provoke the most positive consumer response. Children enjoy the three primary colors because they are bright, grab attention, and are easily recognizable. Older audiences tend to respond best to bright, saturated colors, as pastels and softer colors tend to become muddled with age. 

 

What is the Best Colored Glass Packaging for My Product?

Finally, our last question concerns the specific product you plan on selling. While keeping in mind what we have learned about color associations, industry standards, and branding, let’s talk about the product itself. 

Evoke a Sensation 

Every product evokes a sensation whether that be taste, smell, or even comfort. You want to make sure your colored glass matches the sensation your product is evoking. For example, Coca-Cola has a beverage with hints of orange in it. It wouldn’t make sense for the packaging to include blue because that wouldn’t convey the taste of the product to the consumer.

The same goes for smell; if a candle had an overall fruity smell, you would expect it to be a bright color as opposed to white or black. When choosing your colored glass, evaluate the elements of your product and determine if any of them make the most sense with a certain color. 

Don’t Discount Clear Packaging

With that being said, sometimes your product will be enough marketing by itself without over-the-top packaging. If your product is pretty or its natural color is important to the consumer, clear packaging may be the way to go.

In cosmetics, lipgloss tubes are often clear so that the consumer can see the true color of the product before buying it. This even applies to produce where clear bags or boxes are preferred so consumers can see the quality of the food before they buy it.  

Product Needs

Finally, think about logistics. Is your product light-sensitive? If so, dark-colored glass packaging is going to be best. If the look of dark glass isn’t for you, try other light concealing methods such as frosted glass, or completely opaque colored glass.

 

Glass Packaging With Lead-Free Paint

One last but important thing to keep in mind when considering colored glass packaging is a safe coloring process. Oftentimes, the chemicals used to color glass can contain chemicals harmful to both products & customers alike.

Be sure to source your packaging from responsible manufacturers whose colors are not only beautiful but safe. For example, Nashley Glass Packaging is proud to offer many different colors & finishes that are all lead-free for safe product containment.

Nashley Glass Packaging boasts an extensive collection of colors to suit any industry or product need. Our finishes include transparent, frosted, mercury veneer, or opaque colors. We can even create custom color options for you and your brand! Shop the colors across our site and discover new audiences with colored packaging.