The Hot Iron - Professional Colors

Professional Colors

By Mike Maddaloni on Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 03:13 PM with 9 comments

Is there such a thing as a professional color? This is something I have talked about with several people over the last few weeks. When shopping for a briefcase, luggage, or even computer products, should you select a color, or go with something neutral (read: black or silver)?

One colleague was questioning if they should purchase brightly colored luggage, namely so it sticks out from the sea of black suitcases and Pullmans coming down the conveyor belt at baggage claim. However, as she usually goes right to a client site from her flight, she didn’t want to stand out for her color choice over her professional qualifications.

Another colleague pondered if he should get a brightly colored case for his computer, namely orange, as shown in the accompanying photo. There are other options, but one reason for getting a standout color was in the unfortunate event it gets stolen, he may see the computer being taken away with its bright color. But similar to my other colleague, he didn’t want to be known as the “orange computer guy.”

What say you – is it ok to liven mundane things up with color, or not, or does it just depend?

Business • (9) Comments • Permalink

Comments

I feel it is always better to stand out, especially if you are interviewing for a creative position. If your personality says “an orange cover is for you”, I say go for it. In fact I just might.

Comment by Steven Berger
on 04/17/08 at 06:22 PM

Hi Steven - Good point, thanks for contributing!

mp/m

Comment by Mike Maddaloni
on 04/17/08 at 06:30 PM

I think it depends what kind of business you’re in; graphic artists and generally creative types can pretty much do what they want; in consulting, we’re expected to fit in, so our overall appearance has to blend in with our customers.

However, finding one’s belongings among similarly looking devices or luggage is a real issue. Here is how I’ve solved it for myself (I’m consultant, so dark grey and blue are my professional colors): brightly color tags. I have a very large and very bright orange tag tied to every piece of luggage I check in; I have a small and bright company tag glued to the the front (and a tatooed number under the keyboard) of my very otherwise dull laptop.

I hope this helps,

Hugh

Comment by Hugh
on 04/18/08 at 03:36 AM

Hi Hugh - Thanks for the tip… will shop for bright tags!

mp/m

Comment by Mike Maddaloni
on 04/18/08 at 07:56 AM

Yes, it’s all about the image you are trying to create. If you are going to be the guy coming up with the billion dollar ad ideas, the next architectural masterpiece, etc. then you are going to want to wear two different shoes shave half your head and have an orange laptop.

If people are coming to your office for their first half million dollar mortgage it would be good to wear a suit with your black laptop and not have visible piercings and tatoos.

Comment by John Wall
on 04/18/08 at 09:22 AM

I see a day when a person is judged by the content of their hard drive, rather than the color of their luggage!

Comment by Don Pedro
on 04/18/08 at 10:41 AM

Well I think the “professional” expectation is starting to change as design starts to play a more prominent role in almost everything…or at least I hope so since I have a bright red case for my mac and a bright blue case for my iphone :) the colors make me happy and that’s all I care about.