Color Psychology In Pitch Deck Presentations

What is the color psychology in pitch deck presentations?

Understanding color psychology in pitch deck presentations is one of the foremost skills an entrepreneur should learn. Not sure why? Read ahead to find out.

Understanding The Power of Colors

Color is a powerful tool for effective communication. It stimulates the human mind consciously and subconsciously. And creates an impact for a person to act in a given manner.

Whenever we see certain colors, they signal certain waves or vibes in our minds. These color signals can influence the outcomes of our moods and emotions.

It is therefore important to understand the varying influences of these colors. Learn how to use them wisely to impact the important decision-making processes in our personal and professional lives.

Color Psychology

The world of marketing and branding gives a lot of significance to color psychology and its effects on the human mind. However, there is no hard and fast rule that helps understand this concept in a concrete way.

Being an element of abstract nature, many times, the impact of the colors may vary due to personal preferences. Cultural variations, past experiences, and comparative context also create an impact.

This variation still does not limit us from using color psychology to impact the audience we are targeting. According to a study conducted at the University of Minnesota, the utilization of the right colors in a presentation and informational content can increase the decision-making capabilities of the audience.

Use of Color Psychology in Pitch Deck Presentations

Entrepreneur or Start-Up Pitch Deck Presentation

A pitch deck is an initial small presentation given by an entrepreneur or start-up owner to a potential investor or venture capitalist. It provides a brief synopsis of the business plan, the products and services, and future goals and objectives of your company.

It helps investors get an introduction to your start-up business.

Why Do You Need a Pitch Deck

As an entrepreneur, be aware that to start any business you need funding. If you are not resourceful enough, then you’ll probably need to raise this money from external stakeholders or potential investors.

This means that you will need to ask people outside of your social circle, family, and friends, for funding. Being professionals, they will require you to present your ideas and concepts before taking the decision to invest in your business.

So, the main purpose of a pitch deck presentation is to give the potential investor or financier a little know-how about your business and company.

However, understand that the main objective of this presentation is not to get you the funding right away but open up horizons for next-level communication or meeting with the potential investor. Convincing investors can get a lot easier if you can figure out the color psychology in pitch deck presentations.

Keep in mind that in fundraising storytelling is everything. In this regard for a winning pitch deck to help you here, take a look at the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here) that I recently covered. Thiel was the first angel investor in Facebook with a $500K check that turned into more than $1 billion in cash.

Remember to unlock the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.

An Effective Pitch Deck Presentation

A carefully drafted and designed pitch deck presentation should be able to:

• Provide initial information and business know-how
• It should be able to intrigue and excite the potential investor to know more
• Interesting and engaging
• It should have several slides designed to tell a story

The key outcome that you should be looking for through a pitch deck presentation is climbing the ladder towards the next meeting with the potential investor.

Creation of an Effective Pitch Deck Presentation Using Color Psychology

A presentation with great content and script will fail to achieve the desired results if it does not have the right visuals.

Using the various principles of human psychology, presentation and communication experts have chalked out certain dos and don’ts for corporate professionals.

Color psychology has a strong role to play in creating presentations that capture the attention of the targeted audience. The right color palette will help build an aura of trust and satisfaction.

The use of color psychology in creating presentations helps enhance the visual clarity of the content, increases comprehension, and improves audience attention to the information.

Understanding the Color Psychology of the Investor

Many people have the misconception that colors only impact a presentation’s aesthetic outlook and appeal. However, know that colors have a strong impact on our psychology as well.

The first thing we notice when we look at something is the color. At the first glance, you form an opinion about a given product, in which color is a major factor. It has a huge impact on our likes and preferences and the decision-making process.

Entrepreneurs who understand the importance and essentials of color psychology can improve their communication with potential investors positively.

Using the right colors, contrasts and combinations can help enhance audience attention and attentiveness. It can also impact his or her decision-making capabilities subconsciously. That’s the reason why you absolutely must integrate color psychology in pitch deck presentations.

Colors Have Meanings

Years of research and studies have proven that colors have notable effects on human behaviors and emotions. Color psychology facilitates the understanding of this impact and helps in the creation of a positive or negative correlation for the audience.

Different colors have different meanings. The colors themselves are influenced by our cultures, traditions, and life experiences.

Here is a brief description of each color and its impact on pitch deck presentation for potential investors.

Red

The color red is an attractive and attention-seeking shade. In most cases, this color represents deep passion and strong action. However, there are negative connotations to this color as well. In the corporate or professional world, the color red indicates a sign of danger, risk, or warning.

If you are buying or selling personal products that reflect passion and love, then red can be a good option. But for a start-up pitch deck, the use of red color signals overconfidence or aggressiveness.

So, avoid this color as much as you can.

Orange

Being a similar shade as red, orange color depicts confidence but not aggression or threat. It, however, points towards a sign of immaturity.

Use this color in your start-up pitch deck presentation carefully. It may be used to reflect innovation and creativity and can be a good option for technology-related products and companies.

Yellow

In the world of color psychology, yellow is a depiction of positivity, brightness, sunshine, and joy. In its negative influence, it depicts anxiousness and restricted behavior.

Keeping in view its positive points, yellow should be used in contrast with colors like blue and green.

Green

A representative of positivity, growth, and a safe environment, the color green may also signal inexperience.

It is one of the most frequently used colors in pitch deck presentations. Renowned as a GO color, it is used to reflect the action and driving force. It is widely used by companies from the energy sector and health industry.

Blue

Another useful color for pitch deck presentations is blue. It is considered highly positive owing to its correlation with calmness, stability, and trustworthiness.

It is an ideal color that can be used to influence the potential investor’s decision-making process positively and affirmatively. Widely used in tech-related companies, the blue color should be avoided if you represent a food or beverage company.

Purple

Reflecting premium quality and luxury, this color may also have a negative connotation of extravagance associated with it. It is mostly used for products that are artificial and far from being organic.

Purple is a good color to depict innovation, advanced technologies, and digital companies.

White

One of the most popular colors is white when it comes to professionalism and safe playing. It depicts purity and cleanliness. However, in many cultures of the world, it also represents death or sorrow.

So, being an entrepreneur you need to carefully use this color with other contrasting shades to create the right impact on your investor.

Black

Related to formality, professionalism, and power, this deep impact color can also herald grief, fear, and death. Using black color as a background for light-colored fonts may often be very effective to enhance visual clarity.

Keep these factors in mind when integrating the right tones for successful color psychology in pitch deck presentations.

What to Avoid in Your Pitch Deck Presentation

According to the basics of color psychology, you need to avoid the following things to influence the potential investor and his decision-making process positively.

Too Many Slides in Bold Colors

This is a piece of universal advice for every entrepreneur no matter which industry you represent. Potential investors and venture capitalists are mostly short of time. In their busy schedules and tough routines, they hardly squeeze time for your pitch deck presentation.

To keep them from losing interest in your presentation, you must keep it short and crisp. Incorporate only the most important information and avoid giving details.

Keep the number of slides less and avoid overcrowding the screen.

Color psychology is only one of the aspects of how to create a pitch deck. If you would like more detailed information, check out this video I have put together explaining how to do that.

Too Much Text Without Any Color Consideration

Never put too much text or information on your slides. You need to focus on your script rather than reading every bit of detail on the slide. It also distracts the attention of the viewer and keeps him or her from listening to what you are saying.

The use of the right color of the font is also very important in this regard. You need to create visual clarity without obstructing the view.

High Contrast Color Combos

While creating an effective presentation for potential investors you need to avoid using very sharp contrasts of colors. Combos to avoid include

• Red and Green. They look good together visually but are hard to comprehend when reading. These two colors are especially not recommended for people with visual impairments.
• Orange and Blue. Again these two colors may appear attractive but reading them together can be hard for some people.

Similar Shades Combo

Instead of going for a dark on dark combination, you should use color shades that complement each other. Dark backgrounds should be complemented with light-colored fonts and light-colored backgrounds with dark-colored fonts.

Too Many Patterns With Too Many Colors

Patterns and designs tend to distract the attention of the audience. Instead of focusing on the content, the viewer is compelled to look at the patterns and designs.

So, it is always advisable to avoid using bold and loud patterns on your slides and keep them simple and plain.

Aside from integrating the right hues in your palette, keep these subtleties in mind when using color psychology in pitch deck presentations.

Points to Remember

Understanding the impact of color psychology on investor’s decision-making process can help you gain the desired outcomes from your pitch deck presentation.

It is important to keep in mind that colors have varying connotations and depictions for potential investors.

• Colors can be of two types, warm and cold. They can stimulate feelings of confidence, passion, and enthusiasm or dullness, laziness, and introvertedness.
• Using too many warm colors like red, orange, and yellow in your slides can lead to aggressiveness and anger in the potential investor’s behavior.
• Cool colors like blues, green and purple can lead to a much more calm and relaxed tone of your presentation.
• Ensure to incorporate the colors that coincide with the likings of your potential investor’s demographics.
• Understand the relation of colors with cultures. Do your background research on the potential investor and avoid using colors that depict negativity in their culture or place of origin.
• Color is an important factor for branding and industry recognition.
• Historically certain colors have been associated with specific sectors of business. For example green for energy and eco-related products, white and purple for technology products, and red for fast foods. You should also select your color preference keeping in mind the specific industry you target.

It is always advisable to select the colors used in your pitch deck presentation carefully and considerately. However, sometimes going against the stereotype can bring you effective results as well.

Make the Right Selection

The selection of unusual colors can leave a strong impact on the potential investor’s mind and make him understand that you are different from the rest.

Using color psychology in pitch deck presentations effectively might enhance your efforts and get you the funding you’re looking for.

You may find interesting as well our free library of business templates. There you will find every single template you will need when building and scaling your business completely for free. See it here.