Today’s infographic, by the Masters in Psychology Guide, is on the psychology of color in business. It analyzes the colors used by major tech startups as well as by prominent consumer brands in their advertising.
Unicorn Colors
Out of the largest 50 unicorns, tech startups that have achieved valuations of $1 billion or more, the most common primary branding color was black or grey. A total of 38% of companies, including stalwarts like Uber, Vice, and WeWork, rely on these hues for their outward appearance. Blue is well-known as a strong business color, and it is no surprise that 20% of the top 50 unicorns focus on blue as their primary branding color. Dropbox and SpaceX are among the companies that are following in IBM’s “Big Blue” branding path here. The red end of the spectrum makes up 16% of companies (including Pinterest and Airbnb), with yellow at 12% (including Snapchat), and green at just 6%. A green palette was least used for primary branding by unicorns, with Spotify being a rare exception.
The Psychology of Color in Branding and Ads
It’s not just tech startups that key in on color to help differentiate their brands. Companies, including some of the best-known consumer brands, have focused on color in their branding, advertisements, and communications for years. Red is a color that allegedly stimulates appetite. That may explain why fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, and Popeye’s all heavily use red in their brands. Black is all about the feeling of sophistication. Some of the largest luxury brands in the world use black as a primary branding color, including Chanel, Michael Kors, Prada, Dior, or Georgio Armani. Blue is viewed as productive, but not invasive. It has been the color of choice for large corporate brands like IBM, AT&T, and Forbes. Lastly, green is a symbol of fertility, and pink is chosen for a feminine feel. on Even while political regimes across these countries have changed over time, they’ve largely followed a few different types of governance. Today, every country can ultimately be classified into just nine broad forms of government systems. This map by Truman Du uses information from Wikipedia to map the government systems that rule the world today.
Countries By Type of Government
It’s important to note that this map charts government systems according to each country’s legal framework. Many countries have constitutions stating their de jure or legally recognized system of government, but their de facto or realized form of governance may be quite different. Here is a list of the stated government system of UN member states and observers as of January 2023: Let’s take a closer look at some of these systems.
Monarchies
Brought back into the spotlight after the death of Queen Elizabeth II of England in September 2022, this form of government has a single ruler. They carry titles from king and queen to sultan or emperor, and their government systems can be further divided into three modern types: constitutional, semi-constitutional, and absolute. A constitutional monarchy sees the monarch act as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, giving them little to no real power. For example, King Charles III is the head of 15 Commonwealth nations including Canada and Australia. However, each has their own head of government. On the other hand, a semi-constitutional monarchy lets the monarch or ruling royal family retain substantial political powers, as is the case in Jordan and Morocco. However, their monarchs still rule the country according to a democratic constitution and in concert with other institutions. Finally, an absolute monarchy is most like the monarchies of old, where the ruler has full power over governance, with modern examples including Saudi Arabia and Vatican City.
Republics
Unlike monarchies, the people hold the power in a republic government system, directly electing representatives to form government. Again, there are multiple types of modern republic governments: presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary. The presidential republic could be considered a direct progression from monarchies. This system has a strong and independent chief executive with extensive powers when it comes to domestic affairs and foreign policy. An example of this is the United States, where the President is both the head of state and the head of government. In a semi-presidential republic, the president is the head of state and has some executive powers that are independent of the legislature. However, the prime minister (or chancellor or equivalent title) is the head of government, responsible to the legislature along with the cabinet. Russia is a classic example of this type of government. The last type of republic system is parliamentary. In this system, the president is a figurehead, while the head of government holds real power and is validated by and accountable to the parliament. This type of system can be seen in Germany, Italy, and India and is akin to constitutional monarchies. It’s also important to point out that some parliamentary republic systems operate slightly differently. For example in South Africa, the president is both the head of state and government, but is elected directly by the legislature. This leaves them (and their ministries) potentially subject to parliamentary confidence.
One-Party State
Many of the systems above involve multiple political parties vying to rule and govern their respective countries. In a one-party state, also called a single-party state or single-party system, only one political party has the right to form government. All other political parties are either outlawed or only allowed limited participation in elections. In this system, a country’s head of state and head of government can be executive or ceremonial but political power is constitutionally linked to a single political movement. China is the most well-known example of this government system, with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China ruling as the de facto leader since 1989.
Provisional
The final form of government is a provisional government formed as an interim or transitional government. In this system, an emergency governmental body is created to manage political transitions after the collapse of a government, or when a new state is formed. Often these evolve into fully constitutionalized systems, but sometimes they hold power for longer than expected. Some examples of countries that are considered provisional include Libya, Burkina Faso, and Chad.
