What's with all the green?

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Omaha is going green.

We're talking literally, not environmentally. The city's skyline is greener than ever. Three of downtown's most prominent buildings — as well as many others — now have green signage.

It's a strange trend, and, no doubt, a coincidence that comes with what companies choose as their corporate colors. But it's pretty obvious, especially when you drive into Omaha from Eppley Airfield.

When the traffic lights go green. the city appears to emit a green glow like the Emerald City of Oz.

Green signs at TD Ameritrade Park and CenturyLink Center Omaha, as well as the towering green glow of First National Bank Omaha during the holiday season, are the three biggest. You may also notice the Holiday Inn near the ballpark, Green Street Cycles down the street and the CenturyLink signs on The World-Herald Building, among others.

So what's with all of the green?

"Green is a comfortable color. It's non-agitating, not registering on a scale of feminine or masculine," said Erin Standley of branding agency Phenomblue in Omaha. "The old-school thought (is) that it signifies wealth, and the new-school perspective (is) that it's environmentally conscious."

Standley explained that companies often use colors to evoke a certain feeling. She gave the example of sale signs using red or fast food using yellow because studies indicate those colors stimulate the brain and can make people want to shop or go to the drive-through.

Companies using the color green also may want to associate themselves with the environmental "green" movement, though they may not be an environmentally-friendly company.

"A color can be used, sometimes unconsciously, to ride current trends even if the brand doesn't necessarily stand for the trend. For instance, being eco is currently considered 'smart," Standley said. "Therefore, if your logo is green, your company is modern, up-to-date and alert.

First National Bank moved to using green as its corporate color more than a decade ago when the company's entire brand identity was updated. The company went with green because it represented the company's "commitment to moving forward," said the company's marketing manager, Katrina Wells Partain.

Though many companies and other organizations often select green because it represents prosperity, wealth and money, that's not why First National picked the color.

"It signifies being healthy, well-rooted and mature," she said. "If you think about green, it's about growth, new energy, revitalization."

First National's well-known circle one logo became official in 1971 with a brown-and-gold color scheme. With its current green corporate colors, the bank also has pushed a "Bank Green" initiative by asking customers to go with electronic statements instead of paper.

Among the many signs Omaha Neon Sign Co. has installed or manufactured are green signs for CenturyLink, TD Ameritrade and First National Bank.

As a color on signage, green is actually harder to see than other colors, said Terry Rush, sales manager at Omaha Neon Sign Co. Greens and blues become blurry at longer distances. The easiest color combo to see is black on yellow, which is why most road signs have that scheme.

Reds and whites are much clearer than most other colors, Rush said, which is why fast-food chains and hospitals typically go with red.

"A red emergency sign, you can see so far away," he said.

Making the letters very large, such as on the side of an arena or ballpark, can improve readability. So can putting a white border around the letters.

When the company made green signs at Nebraska Furniture Mart, for instance, it put a white border around the green lettering.

"The white light takes the fuzziness away. It gives it definite edges," Rush said.

Rush hasn't noticed a trend in more green-colored signage lately. Many of the signs the company did in 2012 were white.

Sometimes if a company asks for a green sign, Rush may advise against it because it can appear blurry, but if a company has an established green logo or color scheme such as CenturyLink or First National Bank, he won't even bring it up.

Two of Omaha's most prominent green signs are at TD Ameritrade Park and CenturyLink Center Omaha, buildings run by the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority. When the CenturyLink Center was known as the Qwest Center, it had blue signs. Now the stadium and the arena and convention center are predominantly green.

"It's amazing how many shades of green there are. You think about our campus, and you think green," said MECA president Roger Dixon. "But we actually have four shades of green, two shades of green in the CenturyLink Center Omaha sign and two entirely different shades of green in the TD Ameritrade Park Omaha sign."

He's fine with that. Coincidently, green is his favorite color. It's MECA board chairman Jim Vokal's favorite too.

If you're looking to green things up at home, you could do a lot worse. House Beautiful Magazine says the color promotes wealth, nature, growth and life's riches.

"It will encourage you to honor your unique talents and manifest them in the material world," the magazine says. "Try a green checkbook, desk chair, front door."

Contact the writer:

402-444-1557, kevin.coffey@owh.com

twitter.com/owhmusicguy

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