Article Spotlight: Implications of Tobacco Industry Research on Packaging Colors for Designing Health Warning Labels

Lempert LK, Glantz SA. Implications of Tobacco Industry Research on Packaging Colors for Designing Health Warning Labels. Nicotine Tobacco Research. 2016 May 4.

Tobacco companies conducted research to understand how pack colors affect consumers’ perceptions of the products and make packages and their labeling more visually prominent. The companies found that black is visually prominent and black text on a white background is more prominent than white text on a black background. Yellow most quickly and effectively seizes and holds consumers’ attention and signals warning or danger, while white connotes health and safety. In essence, using black text on a bright contrasting background color, particularly yellow, attracts consumers’ attention to the message. Using the tobacco companies’ own internal research on improving the prominence of pack elements, advocates designing HWLs could consider using black lettering on a contrasting yellow background as this would most effectively seize and hold consumers’ attention and signal the danger of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

• A Description of a Computer Aided Graphics System for Pack Design (1985)
  The cigarette pack itself becomes more important due to advertising restrictions - the pack is often "the only means of communicating with the consumer"


• Color Documentation for Doral Packaging Colors (2001)
  Companies’ research showed that some colors (red and black) are more visible and prominent than others (gray), make information more memorable, and appear to advance and make one pack look larger and more visible than neighboring packs. "Yellow is the fastest color your eye sees...and is the best color to use to draw attention"


• Principles of Measurement of Visual Standout in Pack Design: Report No RD 2039 (1986)
  A 1986 BAT research and development report on pack design found that “white is generally held to convey a clean, healthy association"


• Packaging (1987)
  RJ Reynolds document notes color and other visual cues are selected for communication of consumer expections: i.e. Reds = Flavor/strength and "White communicates Lightness..."