What color is Melon?

Color is a fascinating aspect of our life. It is a part of everything you do, touch, eat, wear and see. I have been selling color for 28 years now. I don’t claim to be an expert, however I have learned a few things about color over the years. First, everyone’s perception of color is different. Depending on where you are from, your background and your culture.

I remember at an annual trade show that I attended a women came up to the president of our company and had a dialog about a new color we had introduced called Melon. She said the color Melon was not the right name for the hue we had introduced and was insistent that we should rename this product. Our company president said, Miss, “What color is Honeydew on the inside?” She said, “Light green.” The president said, “What color is Cantaloupe?” She said, “Orange.” He said, “What color is Watermelon?” She said, “Red.” He said, “They are all melon’s, however we have decided to name this product based on our research, our association with color marketing groups and how we believe the name we choose will make people feel.”

With color you can not win. Everyone’s eyes attribute the visual sensation differently. According to the book, The Color Compendium written by Hope and Walch, color has three dimensions, Hue, Saturation and Value. Hue is the dominant wavelength, (red, blue, etc.); Saturation is the relative colorfulness (colors can be pale or bright); and Value describes the amount of gray in a color.

One can define a business as we define a color. As with a Hue there is always a dominant reason we are in business. What is your Hue? Why do you exist as a business? Saturation. Are you a major player in a minor pond? Are you a minor player in a major pond? Are you even in the water? What is your market and have you hit your saturation point yet?
And finally, Value. What Value do you bring to your customers? How do you and your business add value? What do you do so much better than the competition that people seek you out?

All colorful questions. As we develop new colors we are constantly looking around us and saying, does this new hue fit into what we do? Is this part of a trend or a fad? Can we tell a story and help sell other products by developing this color? Are there other colors that are close enough in the existing line that it makes a difference? Who are we targeting? As we develop our business we have to be constantly asking ourselves questions. Asking our customers questions? Asking our end users questions?

Perception is belief. Color is how you see it. Melon. Well I’ll leave that for you to decide.