Taboos associated with national, regional, and ethnic favorite colors and patterns: Implications for footwear designers and marketers
As a professional shoe factory, this is my analysis and understanding
Successful footwear design and marketing requires an understanding not only of the technical aspects of the plastic arts, but also of cultural customs, color preferences, pattern choices, packaging methods, and other pertinent factors in domestic and foreign markets. Failure to consider these factors can result in poor sales, returns, claims, and significant financial loss. This article explores the taboos of colors and patterns favored by different countries, regions, and nationalities from the perspective of footwear design and marketing.
Color characteristics and preferences vary widely around the world, and are affected by various factors such as historical background, cultural education, religious beliefs, and political factors. For example, the Japanese avoid lotus motifs, the French avoid walnut, and the Indians avoid walnut. Palm Tree and Dawn Chicken, Thais don’t like pork in their products, and several countries in North Africa don’t like pork either. In terms of color, Brazilians avoid green, Japanese avoid yellow, Thais avoid brown, Belgians avoid blue, and Europeans and Americans avoid black.
The United States has no particular preference for color, but there is a general preference for bright colors in monochromatic shades. However, red is not used in business, and mountain flowers (national flowers), white cats (auspicious), and bald eagles (national birds) are favored. In contrast, Canada favors the red maple leaf (the national symbol) for graphic decoration, while the UK favors shoe and bag colors such as green, dark gray, dark brown, blue, white and brown. Designs of the rose (the national flower) and the koma bird (the national bird) are popular, but portraits are taboo. Romania loves white, red, green, yellow and circular patterns. Australians like to use kangaroos and lyrebirds as decorations, but have no particular color preference.
In Japan, soft, bright colors and contrasting black and white are favored. Pieces of pine, bamboo (symbol of ideals), tortoise (symbol of longevity) and sakura (national flower) are revered. In Thailand, red, white and blue (the national colors) are the most popular, but bright colors are preferred over others. Malaysia loves reds, oranges and bright colours, with yellow reserved for royalty. However, black alone is considered negative. Singaporeans love red, green and blue, and have a strong imagination for colors. Commercial designs should avoid Buddha images, religious texts, symbols and logos. In Islamic areas, green is preferred, yellow is taboo, and bears (pandas) are prohibited.
Brazil has a strong preference for color, and red is a good impression. However, purple and black are a complete no-no. Northwestern Europe likes light and elegant colors, while France likes bright colors such as red, yellow, and blue, which are considered fashionable, rich, and gorgeous. Austria prefers green, which they consider a noble color for clothing. However, they avoid browns, blacks and dark blues. In Spain, the color combination of red, white and white, as well as the combination of shades and lights is very popular. Red, yellow, blue, orange and green make up the popular color palette. The Netherlands favors orange and blue (the national colors), and orange and tulips (the national flower) are widely used in festivals. Bulgarians favor calmer greens and browns in clothing, but avoid bright greens and roses (the national flower).
In China, red, yellow and white are the national flag colors and national colors. Red represents beauty, celebration, love, and exuberant life, yellow represents wealth, auspiciousness, and royal spirit, and white represents holiness. The pattern of dragon and phoenix is auspicious, and the national flower is peony. The auspicious animal is the giant panda. Some ethnic minorities, such as the Hui, avoid pigs, while the Han avoid crows and foxes. Chinese culture has rich and colorful preferences for colors without strict restrictions.
In short, footwear designers need to understand and master the cultural customs, color preferences, pattern selection, packaging methods and other related factors of different countries, regions and nationalities to ensure the success of design and marketing. This knowledge helps them avoid taboos, prevent financial loss, and create designs that match local tastes and preferences.
