Colour Psychology in Nigerian Commercial Signage: A Study of Aba, Abia State

Commercial signage represents one of the most pervasive forms of applied visual art in Nigerian urban environments, employing colour, typography, and imagery to attract customers and communicate commercial identity. This study examines the use of colour psychology in commercial signage in Aba, Abia State, a major commercial city in Nigeria's South East geopolitical zone known for its vibrant small business economy. A content analysis methodology is applied to 200 commercial signs sampled from the Ariaria International Market, Ngwa Road, and the Aba-Owerri Road commercial strip, coding for dominant colours, colour combinations, and the alignment of colour choices with the psychological associations linked to those colours in cross-cultural colour theory. Interviews with 20 sign painters and 15 business owners supplement the visual analysis. The theoretical framework draws on colour psychology, visual communication theory, and the applied semiotics literature. The study examines whether sign painters in Aba operate with explicit knowledge of colour psychology principles or rely on intuitive aesthetic preferences and client instructions informed by popular taste. The question of how colour choices are culturally mediated in an Igbo commercial context, where colour symbolism may diverge from Western colour psychology frameworks, is examined as a central analytical concern. Recent literature on African commercial design has called for greater attention to culturally specific colour semiotics. Findings are intended for graphic design educators, commercial artists, and marketing practitioners in the South East zone. Keywords: colour psychology, commercial signage, Aba, visual communication, applied arts