The Ketchup And Mustard Theory

Abhishek Chauhan
1 min readAug 6, 2021

Have you ever noticed that most fast food chains use the color Red and Yellow on their logos?

Perhaps not, but that’s not just a mere coincidence. They play along the lines of color psychology i.e. the effect of color on human behavior and decisions.

The color Red, according to a study by the University of Hampshireproduces feelings of intense desire like love, attraction, hunger and increased impulsivity.

Yellow, on the other hand, is a very cheery and welcoming color. It’s also a color that can be noticed from a great distance.

When both of these colors are combined, they might wanna make us stop right there and grab a bite to eat.

This phenomenon of pairing up red and yellow color is so common that experts have labelled it as “The Ketchup and Mustard Theory”.

While this sits to be the basic psychology behind the particular color usage, it could also be the result of our constant association of the red or yellow with food (e.g ketchup and fries), that whenever we see such colors, our appetite gets stimulated.

What do you think about it?

What effect do different colors have on your life?

--

--