Joy expert shares tips to navigate Black Friday pressure

J.Nichole Smith, 42, is brand architect with over twenty years of experience in using colour to evoke emotion and action in consumers. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Real Simple, and Condé Nast Traveler, and she has won numerous awards, including the prestigious European Product Design Gold award. Now she uses colour psychology to help people to build their own unique joy profile.On November 29th Nic is encouraging people to celebrate #JoyFriday instead of Black Friday.

She said: “This year on Black Friday, I want to fill our social feeds with joy.

"I’m inviting followers to post reels, stories, carousels, go live and do static posts to share their joy.

"All day on November 29th I want to use the colour orange – the colour of joy – and the hashtags #joyfirstworld and #joyfriday. "According to Colour Psychology orange is connected to physical comfort, abundance, play and joy. So share orange, let’s fill the feeds with orange on Black Friday.”

Nic is the host of a podcast, Joy First, which centres around using colour to create joy, diving into fascinating topics that will inspire and uplift, like understanding how our personality types and colour preferences shape our individual definitions of joy.

Ahead of the 29th Nic has shared some tips and tricks to stay joyful while grabbing a bargain this Black Friday.

1. Turn your screens to black and white

Colour is a huge part of how marketing and promotions get us to act. Red and bright hot pinks will draw our attention and make us want to buy fast, combined with yellow which will often be signifying a great bargain. If you don't want to be sucked into any deals from your inbox or social feeds, go into your phone's settings and turn it into grayscale for the day.

2. Wear your calm

If you're going to brave the mall or shopping in public, wear colours that will give you what you need on the day: for example if you'll need a source of calm or peace in all that chaos, wear light blue or light green. If you want to feel nurtured/supported, wear light pink. If you want to be energised to power your way through, go for bright orange, red or pink.

3. Don't compromise

You might be tempted to buy yet another grey jumper because it's a great deal and practical but take a moment to stop and think: will this item actively bring joy? If you're up to the challenge, avoid buying white, black, grey or navy this black friday. These colours can often be draining in our spaces and on our bodies we just buy them and wear them because we've come to believe they're practical. Instead choose the orange scarf, the green couch, the pink jumper or the cheerful duvet. You'll be glad you were intentional when the joyful effects last.

4. Know your personality type

Our personality types strongly impact our preferences for things like colour, texture, material (like silver vs. gold), shape (sharp vs. curvy.) Pop over to our website joyfirstworld.com and take the quiz to find your type so you can be sure you are shopping intentionally for yourself. See if you can get your loved ones to take the quiz too so you know how to shop for their gifts.

5. Buy (and don't buy) with purpose

Take the time to explore the companies you are supporting. Choose small businesses and artisans, seek out ethical brands who pay a living wage and whose products and practices align with your values. Do they have policies to help the environment, what is their stance on animal testing and working conditions?You’ll get more lasting joy when you get a great deal that doesn’t cause harm. Ethical Consumer is a great website to see which brands to avoid based on your beliefs and values.

If you are looking for an alternative to non-stop shopping on Black Friday join in using the #joyfriday tag on social media all day on November 29th. More info at Joyfriday.org