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?

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