We are not colorblind
One of the most powerful ingredients of any design is color. It has an immediate effect on people and can be very functional.
Take my daughter’s swimming suit. I just brought her to her weekly swimming lesson and it’s always easy to spot her in the pool. Her suit is bright pink with a glittery unicorn on it.
We often act like we don’t see colors. For many men, it’s literally true. Did you know 1 in 12 men have some form of colorblindness? And when it comes to the colors of our skins, we often hear people say: “I don’t see color!” Usually these people are white.
The truth is, we are far from colorblind. We see color everywhere, all the time. We can’t not see it. Police officers in Italy are living proof. Apparently they refuse to wear pink facemasks because “eccentric colors could damage the image of the institution.”
Are they being childish? Or do they have a point? I would never call pink an eccentric color, but I do question if pink fits their job. Imagine if the police in your country would not just wear pink facemasks but their whole uniform would be pink. Perhaps with some glitters on it. How would you feel about them? Would you react differently when a pink glittery cop asks you to show your ID?
There’s a reason why cops usually wear blue, black or brown. And why doctors wear white. Colors have strong associations in our brain, determined by culture and by nature.
You can see for yourself how color affects your design. Without changing anything else, change the colors. Will your design now have a different emotional effect on your user?
We can also approach this ‘problem’ the other way around. What if we start with the color, and it’s natural effect, and then see how we can use that quality? Pink has a calming, soothing effect on our brains. Culturally, it is associated with love, kindness and compassion. Quite useful for de-escalation and maintaining peace, which the police wants to do. Pink could also deter: I bet no criminal wants to be seen being arrested by a pink cop. We all know bad guys hate pink.
So you know what? Maybe pink police isn’t such a bad idea after all.