Hungry?
- Alice Seah
- Dec 26, 2015
- 4 min read
Being an individual who is very passionate about the Arts, if I were to give an answer to what I thought the most magical thing is, it would be no doubt, colours. Colours have filled so much joy in my life – not that it has a purpose for its natural existence (at least not what I thought at first) – and I appreciate the different forms and medium it presents itself in (single, mixed, gradient, in print, on screen, etc.).
My favourite colours are feminine-oriented: baby pink, lavender purple, pale yellow (similar to what is shown on the image below- click on photo for the source), white, silver, and black. Apart from white and black, which are neutral colours, I tend to find pastel colours really soothing and matching to
my own personality: I am a young-hearted girl, who likes to explore and appreciate the art of a variety of beautiful things (people, objects, nature, etc.).
Thinking back to Chapter 2: Perception, I recalled learning about how colours influence emotions, and induces different moods. For example, RED is sharp, and stimulates appetite, while BLUE is smooth, and stimulates a sense of relaxation.
With my curiosity in whether these colour-emotion/behaviour linkages are valid and standardized across people with different personalities, I decided to come up with an entertaining interview. To go along my 'food' theme of this blog, I designed from scratch a mock menu in four different colour gradient themes 「red, blue, green, and neutral (b/w)」).
I printed them accordingly, and had a list of questions ready for the interview. I interviewed 5 people* in total, of whom are my closest friends and sibling. Here's how the interview went (with results listed after each question). Jump in, follow along and answer the interview questions if you'd like (except maybe don't close your eyes so you can read the questions - HAHA)!
"Close your eyes and imagine you are walking on the streets. You are really hungry and you are looking for a place to eat. You saw an eye-catching, well-designed restaurant with the nameplate "Alice's Kitchen" and decided to try out its food.
You sat down at a table, and a waiter came with the menu. Now open your eyes.
*shows a menu of either red/blue/green gradient*
Now take a few seconds to look at the menu.
Question 1: Where did you look at first as the waiter handed you the menu? Why?
Billy: The french fries
The yellow colour was the brightest
Alex: The prices of each food category {burger/fries/noodles/skewers}
To see how much he is willing to spend
Carly: The french fries
The yellow colour was the brightest and 'Pot of Gold' was a cute name
Gill: The french fries
The yellow colour was the brightest
Kitty: Noodles – the Little Malaysian Prawns
Because she misses Malaysian food (Kitty was born and raised in Malaysia)
Yours: ???
Now close your eyes again. The waiter came, and passed you another menu.
*shows a menu of the neutral gradient*
Now take a few seconds to look at the menu.
Question 2: Now where did you look at first as the waiter handed you the new menu? Why?
Billy: Still the french fries
The yellow colour was the brightest
Alex: Still the prices of each food category {burger/fries/noodles/skewers}
To see how much he is willing to spend
Carly: The burger
The dark/black background accentuated the burger picture
Gill: The french fries
The yellow colour was the brightest
Kitty: The french fries
Because it was just a column beside the noodles column, the one she previously glanced at
Yours: ???
*flips back and forth, showing both the menu of the neutral gradient + red/blue/green (vibrant) gradient*
Now, look at these two menus.
Example:
Question 3: Which one increases your appetite? Which one makes you hungrier? Why?
Billy: The red (vibrant) makes the food appetizing, but the dark (neutral) one makes the image pop up more. Both works
Alex: The neutral one. More focused on the food
Carly: The neutral one. Images pop out more, and is cleaner and sharper
Gill: The vibrant one. Just seems more interactive and induces a happy mood
Kitty: The vibrant one. Love the colour
Yours: ???
*shows all the menu of vibrant gradients*
Okay, now look all three of these.
Question 4: Which one increases your appetite? Which one makes you hungrier? Why?
Billy: The blue one. Just because I like blue
Alex: The green one. Just seems more fresh, wholesome, and healthy. The red one looks more like a 'dessert' colour
Carly: The green one. Looks more healthy and eco-friendly. The red one just looks like it's bad
Gill: The red one. Not a big fan of other colours
Kitty: The blue one. The gradient looks pretty
Yours: ???
What would you like to order?
Thank you, your order will be served in 10-15 minutes."
Evidently, more than half of the interviewees unconciously noticed the interview as a "colour test", and were attracted to the vibrant, bright yellow french fries as soon as they received the menu. Next, it was surprising to see how Alex & Carly had a preference of the netural gradient menu as more appetizing and make them hungrier and happier, as red/blue are more commonly known to induce such emotions (check out Janie Kliever's #4 on <10 Menu Design Hacks Restaurants Use to Make You Order More>). However, this may be a special case as the menu was designed that the food images were placed close to the colour gradient, and hence was used to compare how well the images presented to the viewer, instead of how the colour played out on the menu as a whole.
As for which vibrant gradient looks more appetizing, it varied according to each interviewee's personal preference of colours, but also interestingly showed how 'green' was associated with the "go green" trend, and notions like 'healthy', and 'refreshing'.
Overall, it was a fun experiment to see how colours actually do have a purpose of existence, and as Solomon, White, and Dahl concluded, to enhance and influence user experience (aesthetic & product choice). Or simply in my opinion, to bring a little more magic into this world.
*Note: The 6 people are as follow: Billy Park, Alex Longval, Carly Glantz, Gill Moore, and Kitty Seah
Sources:
Colour Palette. "Colour Palette #2531." http://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-2531/, accessed December 2015.
Kliever, Janie. "10 Menu Design Hacks Restaurants Make To Make You Order More." Canva Blog, March 26, 2015, https://designschool.canva.com/blog/menu-psychology-design/, accessed December 2015.
Solomon, M., White, K., and Darren Dahl. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, and Being, Sixth Canadian Edition. US: Pearson Canada, 2013.
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