Colors. They’re everywhere. Colors emote. They inspire. They are vibrant or dull, energetic or languid, exciting or peaceful—and everything in between.
Have you considered the colors used by your business? Do the colors displayed on your website, logo and other marketing materials support your company’s style and purpose? It may be that you’re due for a color update!
The colors on your website should be appropriate to your industry. For example, using bright reds, yellows and greens would be appropriate for a daycare’s website, but probably not for a medical doctor’s.
Colors also create atmosphere on a website. To use a doctor’s website as an example again, you could utilize pale blues and grays for a sterile, clinical feel, or beige and gold for a warmer, more comfortable feel. Using contrasting colors is a good way to add accents stylistically, or to make part of your message stand out.
A lot of research surrounds the psychology of color. While it is commonly understood that various colors have different associations, it’s also notable that even different hues or saturations can change our feelings about different colors. Color perception is also very subjective. People understand color differently based on their cultural background, preferences, personality, etc.
Here are some basic color associations to reference as you ponder your marketing design options. These descriptors are by no means conclusive. As mentioned, different people may not see eye-to-eye on these!
Warmer colors: from red to yellow. These colors generally reflect enthusiasm, energy and happiness.
- Red: passion, intensity, strength, violence, prosperity (in China).
- Orange: excitement, enthusiasm, warmth.
- Yellow: cheerful, warm, threatening (ahem—did we learn anything from short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’?).
Cooler colors: green, blue, purple. Cool tones tend to be more calming and relaxing, but depending on the hue, they can also bring a jolt of energy to a brand’s look.
- Blue: calmness, serenity, productive, sadness (most popular color).
- Green: health, tranquility, nature, fresh. Down to earth.
- Purple: royalty, wealth, spirituality.
Neutral colors: These are especially helpful in design in creating a certain overall atmosphere for your website or marketing materials. Neutral colors set the feel, while providing a canvas on which a brighter color can really stand out.
- White: purity, innocence, spacious.
- Grey: conservative, stylish.
- Brown: reliability, practically, earth.
- Black: sophistication, elegant, mystery.