Blue and pink are not just the official colours for males and females in the Western world. A recent study completed by psychologists shows that this trend has carried on to other cultures, including Asian ones. Since babies and little kids often look androgenous, it's a common way for parents to dress their little ones in order to convey gender to the world. The colour-coding doesn't stop in childhood, however, as a recent study shows; the colours continue to be favourites throughout adulthood.
"It's innate and occurs across cultures, claim British researchers who studied the colour preferences of 208 young adults: 171 Britons and 37 mainland Chinese," the Australian reported.
"Along with psychologist Yazhu Ling, Professor Hurlbert asked volunteers to select, as quickly as possible, their preferred colour from each of a series of paired, coloured rectangles. They reported yesterday in the journal Current Biology that the most popular colour by far was blue."
"The finding was so strong that observers could pick the sex of people based upon their colour preferences alone."
Colour-Coded Sex
Study Shows Blue & Pink Are Global Gender Tones
Trend Themes
1. Gendered Color Preferences - Opportunity for companies to create gender-specific products and marketing campaigns based on the durable trend of blue for boys and pink for girls.
2. Transcultural Color Coding - Potential for businesses to leverage the cross-cultural appeal of blue and pink as gender signifiers, expanding into diverse markets.
3. Color Psychology in Adulthood - Exploration of the continued emotional and psychological impact of blue and pink, opening up opportunities for products and services targeting adults.
Industry Implications
1. Children's Clothing and Toys - Disruptive innovation opportunity to challenge traditional gender roles and introduce gender-neutral options.
2. Marketing and Advertising - Opportunity to create campaigns that are sensitive to the global prevalence of blue and pink as gender markers.
3. Consumer Goods - Potential to develop and market products specifically tailored to blue and pink color preferences in the adult demographic.