Navratri and the art of colour marketing

Every Navratri, India transforms into a living canvas. During these nine days, millions of people across the country follow a designated colour palette, coordinating their attire in a practice that has become as central to the festival as the traditional garba dance. Beyond its cultural and religious significance, this phenomenon has attracted the attention of marketers, who view it as a compelling example of colour marketing. By blending centuries-old symbolism with contemporary consumer psychology, brands are increasingly tapping into these colour traditions to engage audiences, influence purchasing behaviour, and strengthen cultural relevance.

Navratri, a festival dedicated to the nine forms of Goddess Durga, provides a pre-defined colour system in which each hue carries established cultural significance and emotional resonance.

"We are a vibrant country and community, and colour is everywhere," explains Debu Purkayastha, Founding Creative at Rubberstamp. "Our centuries-old rich cultural, philosophical, and artistic traditions have helped shape global understanding of colour symbolism. Indian art and religious practices have made it easily available to everyone."

The effectiveness of Navratri’s colour strategy is underpinned by established psychological research. Studies show indicate that consumers form a subconscious impression of a product or brand within 90 seconds of initial interaction, with up to 90% of that judgment influenced solely by colour. 

The impact is measurable: research shows that colour can enhance brand recognition by up to 80%, while 85% of consumers consider colour the primary factor influencing their purchase decisions.

"Colour is the fastest form of communication… the brain processes it before words," says Megha Malik, Co-founder of DesignerPeople. "In a festive context, colour triggers emotion > emotion triggers memory > memory triggers action. Red can accelerate FOMO, yellow can feel abundant, and blue can feel trustworthy. During Navratri, when people are already primed for joy and indulgence, the right colour can tip a browsing mood into a buying mood."

Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder & Director, Elephant, says, “Colour is the first thing we notice, then the shape, details, words etc. Festivals tend to heighten emotions. Red feels like power, yellow cues a bright future, green signals fresh beginnings. In that mood, colour can actually influence the intent from browsing to buying.”

Purkayastha adds, "As a natural progression, Indian colour psychology has influenced branding, advertising, and social messaging, where colour choices are tailored to evoke specific reactions and cultural meanings. Holi, Diwali and Navratri have specific colour theories. Brands use Navratri colours to strengthen emotional resonance, connect with cultural values, and creatively boost sales and brand awareness during the festival."

Colours that dance and symbolise 

What makes Navratri particularly significant for marketers is that it comes with a pre-defined design system. Each colour carries a meaning: purity, courage, prosperity, devotion. Brands are increasingly recognising that this is more than surface-level decoration; it is a cultural framework that can guide communication.

“Navratri isn’t decoration, it’s a live colour calendar. The smartest brands treat it as design code, not festival wallpaper,” says Gautam Patil, Co-Founder & Design Head, PlusOne. “From a design thinking lens, this is an opportunity to prototype brand rituals: dynamic packaging sleeves that shift shade daily, videos where colour drives narrative arcs, or retail spaces that act like living palettes.”

Brands are already putting this approach into practice. This year, LunchBox, with its vrat menu, incorporated the colour associations into its campaign creatives, making the palette an integral part of communication rather than an afterthought.

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Megha Malik emphasises that it is as much about cultural empathy as design. 

“It’s not about painting everything bright; it’s about choosing the right colour to amplify the right message on the right day. Done well, it shows customers you are part of their celebration, not just an intruder.” 

Quick commerce platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, and Zepto have taken this concept literally: their Navratri sections change colour daily, turning interfaces into living calendars. For Gen Z consumers, who expect brands to be responsive and interactive, these shifts create an immersive, engaging experience rather than a static display.

Colours beyond sight 

Navratri, however, is not just visual. It is a festival of sound, rhythm, food, dance, and ritual. In this multisensory context, colour becomes the anchor sense, the conductor that orchestrates the others.

“Think of colour as the anchor sense. If sound is rhythm, food is taste, and ritual is behaviour, colour is the thread that ties them,” says Megha Malik. 

Brands are increasingly using this principle to create integrated experiences. For example, a food brand could link a yellow-packaged product to a day associated with energy and joy, pairing it with a festive flavour. NIC Ice Creams exemplified this approach with its ‘Upvas Friendly Flavours,’ launched in eight festive shades, making the product itself a colour-coded experience. Retail spaces can extend this further by adjusting lighting or playlists to match the day’s colour, allowing consumers to experience the brand across multiple senses.

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Gautam Patil takes this thought into the digital realm. “Colour is the conductor — it sets the beat for every other sensory cue. A festival like Navratri is inherently multisensory: sound (garba beats), taste (farsan, prasad), movement (dance), texture (fabrics). Brands that sync colour with sound design, in-store scent, or even haptic cues in digital interfaces create immersive ecosystems.” 

Deshpande draws from her NID years, “Garba is an iconic multi-sensorial, high-energy celebration where colour, lights, sound, rhythm, food & aroma play in tandem. If brands can create multi-sensorial experiences where colour is the anchor tying soundscapes, taste, aroma or movement together, it would certainly cue a wholesome celebration.”

Imagine opening Myntra’s M Now app, which not only changes its skin to the day’s hue but could also pair it with a sound cue, say, red with upbeat garba beats, blue with devotional chants, or gold with the beats of dhols.

In these applications, colour does not act in isolation. It choreographs a festival of senses, helping brands move from being merely visible to being memorable. In a crowded festive market, this memory ensures that brand presence endures well beyond the nine days of Navratri.

Colours beyond festive

Navratri may last only nine days, but its design logic extends far beyond the festival. At its core, it demonstrates how people do not just see colour—they attach meaning, values, and memories to it. This explains why a particular shade can outlive a campaign and eventually become an intrinsic part of a brand.

“Navratri teaches that colour = meaning. People don’t just see colour, they assign values to it,” says Megha Malik. “If brands consistently use colour with intent, they build stronger associations over time. Think Tiffany blue, Coca-Cola red, or Cadbury purple — all are cultivated over the years. The long-term lesson: use colour not just for aesthetics, but for storytelling. Build a palette that reflects your values — and stick with it until it becomes instinctive for your customers.”

Gautam Patil says, “The big takeaway is that colour is code. When it carries meaning, it becomes ritual. Navratri compresses this into nine days, but the principle is evergreen.”

Aditya Ranjan Chakravarty, Design Director, Landor, adds, “Design is not just visual — it’s emotional. While colors, graphics, and layouts play a role, they are only stepping stones. What truly drives impact is the insight — the core cultural or emotional truth behind your idea. A well-designed stall or social media post that reflects real festive emotions — rather than a generic greeting card visual — will always outperform something superficial.”

Deshpande adds, “In India, colour is never just an aesthetic choice. It is a cultural language. Navratri proves how a palette can carry meaning, memory, and collective participation. Every hue in a brand’s palette should stand for something, not just look good. Whether it is an established FMCG brand or a tech brand’s UI, colour can anchor emotions, create rituals, and help consumers feel part of something larger.”

Consistent use of colour can create muscle memory. When a brand ties itself to a specific shade across packaging, identity, and communication, the colour gradually embeds itself into culture. Cadbury’s purple or Jio’s blue are instantly recognisable examples.

As Gautam notes, “Codifying a single colour into your brand system builds muscle memory in culture. In an AI-first world where visual content floods feeds daily, a strong colour code is one of the few shortcuts to distinctiveness and trust. Navratri proves one thing: colour isn’t paint, it’s equity.”

Navratri illustrates how deeply colour shapes the way people celebrate, connect, and consume. What begins as a ritual of nine hues becomes a living lesson in design psychology and branding strategy.

Colour provides one of the simplest and strongest shortcuts to attention and trust. For brands, the opportunity lies not just in borrowing the festival’s palette for campaigns, but in embracing the principle it embodies: that colour is never just paint; it is meaning, memory, and equity.