Have you ever walked into an event and felt instantly transported? It’s the music, it’s the lighting, it’s the color. More than just decor, the color of the lights, flowers, furniture, linens, and even food at an event have a psychological effect. “Colors and color combinations create moods and feelings, consciously and unconsciously,” says Kate Smith, president and chief color expert at Sensational Color, a color consulting firm in Ashburn, Virginia. “Whether we realize it or not, color affects us and our decision-making.”
Tying the psychological effect of a color to an event’s purpose or mood can increase the likelihood that attendees will get the right message, and different colors have definitive effects. In general, blue, the color of water and the sky, is calming, Smith says: “It taps into our bodies and hormones and lowers our heart rate and slows respiration.” Red, on the other hand, is exciting. “It raises blood pressure and can even make palms sweat,” Smith says. “It’s revving us up—think fast cars, sexy women. It’s bolder, aggressive, and showy, the color of both love and anger.”
Last year, AOL used color psychology when retooling its corporate event message. “AOL is a really colorful brand,” says Stacy Lambatos, director of corporate events at the company, “but last year we decided we wanted to simplify the brand to our B-to-B market. We thought, ‘We are the biggest digital media company headquartered in New York City,’ so we wanted to be big and bold and simple and put the raw grittiness of New York into our look. Black and white resonated with us and what we wanted to communicate.”
Those colors carry through all of AOL’s B-to-B marketing initiatives, and from an event standpoint, the palette helps them focus on other elements, Lambatos says. “Black and white allows us to experiment with digital technology and screens and engage [our attendees] with our technology, our platforms, and our content.”
Event planner Jes Gordon of Jes Gordon/ProperFun also uses color at events for more than just decor. “The psychology of color plays a lot into our design stories, particularly in the corporate world where it’s usually about the company logo color, but obviously they had a lot of psychological backstory into making that original decision about the logo itself,” Gordon says. For events where corporate logos are not a factor, Gordon uses color to set the mood. “For many of our social events like weddings we tend to work with ethereal lighting like a frosted white light during the ceremony portion of the wedding, then work into deeper, more saturated party tones for the reception.”
Smith advises being clear about your event’s message and using color to support it, just like every other element. “When you’re creating an event, the purpose is more than just looking good,” Smith says. “It’s creating something that you want to be memorable, and the color will help cement the message in guests’ minds.”
Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions executed the “romantic rhapsody in red” theme at the 2012 Emmys Governors Ball in Los Angeles with a giant rose concept and copious amounts of the color.
Stoelt Productions upped the excitement for the 2012 Clio awards after-party at New York’s American Museum of Natural History by flooding the event with red lighting.
The 2012 Pencer Brain Trust Gala in Toronto used flamboyant orange hues to support its edgy, rock theme.
Even cocktails at the 2012 Pencer Brain Trust Gala were infused with the color.
Billy Butchkavitz’s design inspiration at HBO’s 2009 Golden Globes party in Los Angeles came from the colorful “emotional architecture” style of Luis Barragán and vintage ’60s textiles. Butchkavitz washed restaurant Circa 55 and the adjoining pool area at the Beverly Hilton in a banana yellow animal print.
Torches floated on lily-pad-like structures in the Beverly Hilton's pool, which reflected yellow decor elements from HBO’s 2009 Golden Globes party.
Lush canopies of natural greenery popped against neon green Lucite tabletops at the Museum of Modern Art’s 2013 Party in the Garden benefit in New York.
At the Greater Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Association for Catering and Events’ annual fund-raising gala in 2012, the Emerald City Lounge was aptly colored and had an eerie feel.
Blue lighting and sequined tablecloths made for a striking look at Ronald McDonald House Toronto’s holiday season gala in December 2012.
Event planner André Wells designed the 2010 Washington Ballet ball around the gala chair’s favorite color. Nearly every shade of purple was used in event, dubbed the “Purple Rain Ball.”
Spoons of Eastern Shore crab were passed on lavender serving trays at the 2010 Washington Ballet ball.
More than 1,200 guests donned white garb for the fresh concept of Dîner en Blanc’s flash-mob-style dinner in New York in 2011.
At UrbanDaddy and Stoli’s launch event in New York in 2012, a pure white room was later transformed into a playful and colorful space as guests painted on the walls and lighting projections filled the room.
At Marc Jacobs’s final show for Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week in October 2013, a set filled with escalators, a fairground carousel, a fountain, and more was rendered in all black.
Inspired by the “power of the press” shown in season 2 of The Newsroom, designer Billy Butchkavitz used a black-and-white newsprint palette for the show’s 2013 premiere party in Los Angeles.
