Websites don’t constitute of only images and text. The website is basically a marketing tool that represents its company, employees, owner and products. Besides all this, a website is also considered to be a personality. So you may wonder how a website is considered to be a personality. Well, it is because it portrays positive and negative symbolism and emotion to the visitor that it is considered to be a personality.
When we meet people face-to-face, we find that our bodies and faces tend to emit unspoken meanings. Our smile, laugh, gesture and even becoming nervous all convey different feelings. And it is these nuances that contribute much to communication. And this is the same feelings that the website conveys.
The only difference that can be mentioned here is that the website conveys these nuances with color, and we, without any color! It is with this color that we learn some meaning of the website. Colors tend to make us happy, angry, nervous, sad, comfortable and also very trusting. It is very easy to start on web designing by first choosing a graphic, and then to design the website around the graphic. However, this may sometimes present a derogatory impression to the visitor of the website. It can be said that these colors sometimes contradict the content of the website without you actually knowing much about it.
Which colors should you use on your Website?
There is no generalized cannon regarding the usage of colors. A number of professionals are often capable of creating varied atmospheres with a variety of colors. This of course is based on their level of skill and comfort with colors in general.
While no exact advice might be given regarding the colors you should use for your site, a general briefing about most colors might be done. Following we look into the characteristics and individual components of most popular colors.
Colors are generally divided into various categories based on the ‘feeling’ they are said to emanate. Broadly, these categories can be described as Cool, Warm and Neutral.
Cool Colors
Include blue based colors like all shades of blue, green, purple, silver etc. these usually produce a feeling of serenity and calmness and are perfect for Business sites given the natural sophistication of the shades. However avoid using these shades alone since they can produce a distant cold feeling if not combined with colors from other groups.
Individually, the color blue is immediately connected by the mind with natural elements like the water and the sky, and are therefore associated with trust and stability.
E-commerce sites, banks and other similar institutions might consider keeping large amounts of blue on their palette.
The color green has similar naturalistic associations. It is usually found to be associated with freshness and youth. Green is a very versatile color and can be used for a number of sites. It has found to be successful in sites related to hygiene and beauty. If you choose green as a possible color for your site, do not forget to consider the various shades available. Remember all shades of green might not work for your site. Darker Greens like Emerald and jade colors are connected to money and esteem where as lighter shades, like mint green etc. are associated with freshness.
The color purple has for years been regarded as a symbol of regality and sophistication. It is in every way as royal a color can get. It is both a spiritual and a sensual delight. Consider darker shades for sites, which deal with new-age products etc. Lighter shades like lavender lilac etc. are more feminine in their appeal and can be used on sites dealing with more sentimental or personal products. A number of Undergarment Company’s have successfully utilized light purple shades on their sites.
Silver can either be glitzy and metallic or soothing and expensive. Your choice of shade will decide the message you want your customer to get. High tech sites have in the past used silver to give themselves a sleek cool look, and the risk has been known to pay off. However, if your design isn’t particularly cutting edge use silver sparingly, either for some parts of text or for special decorations etc. Used extensively it can often be a bit of an eye sore.
Warm Colors
Includes colors like red, pink, orange gold and their likes. These tend to be excitable in nature and can be painfully overwhelming if used alone. Most of these colors are regarded as what is popularly called ‘bright’ and therefore work well on flashy sites targeted towards youngsters. However red can be used in various ways on various sites, it is generally very adaptable and creates an ambience of its own.
Red is a mute signal for energy. Seeing red quickly fires up your pulse rate, blood pressure and adrenaline level. You can either choose to shock your customers with letter box red’s or give them a more warm welcome with burgundy and blood red’s.
Pink has traditionally been connected with feminity and romanticism. It can also represent youth and spirit. For more sophistication consider magenta and fuchsia.
Orange is a fierce fun-loving color. It is usually seen as warm and inviting and connected with sunsets and Halloween. Using a more tempered shade of orange rather than a fluorescent, neon shade is preferable since the latter tends to be too much for the eyes. Orange has worked well for point-of-purchase graphics and specials.
Yellow is the color of friendship and understanding. It communicates comfort and imagination and has been used well by the food service industry, probably due to the abundance of the color in food stuff (bananas, lemons etc.).
Neutrals.
Neutrals spell class and dignity. Colors like beige, gray and taupe have been considered classics for decades now. They are timeless in their sense of moderation and elegance is always in fashion.
Pure white is one of the simplest and yet beautiful colors in the world. How you use the color will obviously decide whether it works for your particular site or not, but on the whole it’s the one color which immediately attracts attention due to the pristine atmosphere it creates.
Black, another absolute classic. Black means mystery, enigma and power. Black is also in many way sophistication personified. However steer clear of using too much of black on your site since
this might look too dark, causing text etc. to become too difficult to read.
Your choice of color will immediately create a certain image of your company in your potential customers mind. This is because different colors are interpreted differently by people. For instance green can mean envy to some but can also simultaneously be a symbol of wealth to others. Technology allows us to create a number of combinations of the colors we decide to use, these in turn help us emphasize the preferred effect of the color we have in mind.
The ultimate point of using the right color and getting the right design for your websites obviously is to get proper attention from your audience: your customers. Whenever you are choosing your colors therefore keep this final point in mind, you want to play your cards right and hit the right chords with your customers, you want to sway them your way and convince them to see the color the way you want them to, for all these reasons it is important for you to understand the basics of color psychology .
Choose a color, which suits your brand. Most brands for instance have this great affinity for red. This is because red commands immediate attention. But that doesn’t mean that it works for all brands. Don’t jump into the bandwagon simply because it has taken some to their desired destination. Remember your brand has a unique identity and you would want to emphasize that with your palette. For this you will have to take into consideration your target group, and gauge their general attitude towards colors. This may or may not be parallel to your own, and therefore trusting your personal choice might not be the exact way to go about it. For instance, you may hate pink but if you are dealing with a cosmetic brand specially targeted towards women between the ages of 15-25 pink might be a darned suitable color. Your final motive is to please your customers and not yourself, your choice of colors should thus reflect their taste and not your own.
Consider the age group, social class and gender of the people you want to target your marketing towards while considering the color scheme for your site.
It has been found that youngsters have a tendency to like basic bright colors like red, green, yellow etc. Adults on the other hand prefer darker colors like black etc. if not muted neutral shades.
People from different classes have also exhibited varied tastes in colors. The working class for instance has been found through a recent survey to be more drawn to primary colors. Whereas the middle class and higher sections of the society are attracted to muted shades like salmon, beige etc.
Our sex too plays a major role in our color preferences. Generally speaking, women tend to like bright colors like red, orange, yellow etc. whereas men like cooler shades like blue, green etc. better.
A number of colors tend to be in fashion at a certain period of time, these are what is called the “current trend” in terms of color. While choosing such colors might work periodically, on the whole it’s far wiser to go for a shade, which will outlast any such fad.
When selecting a color for your site try and maintain its palette keeping in mind the rest of your marketing materials. This will mark that color or palette as yours, such that your customers will always associate that particular color with your brand. This sort of trust will add to your brand identity and also create a positive trustworthy image of your company in your customers mind.
How to use the hues and tones of popular colors for your website:
While selecting a color careful thought must be given to the psychological effect the color will bring to the prospective consumer and the people who are working with this colors. The reason for this is that no additional expense is incurred to do this and it remains an integral part of your product.
It creates the right impression for your company. Judicious use of colors reflects the healthy thriving state of your business. It makes you more approachable.
A survey shows that a popular hamburger chain found the colors red and yellow having a positive effect on the customers. It also observed that:
1. It brought in more customers
2. Attracted them to enter the store
3. Made them feel better about investing their money there.
Colors make people respond to them in different ways. Some have a bright positive effect while others turn people off. Many people consider color to be personal choice. To a certain extent this is true. It is important that the colors we wear and the colors we use in business have a positive vibe. Usually people are unaware about the emotional effects colors have which leads to discord both at home and business. The wrong choice of colors lead to irritability on the personal front while it may lead to financial losses in the business sector.
The modern marketing man must be astute about colours. Personal preference is one thing but marketing stratagems based on colors are a different ball game. The colors must correspond to the kind of business you are in or the product you are trying to market and advertise.
The complete color reference manuals have been unavailable until now. The companies which had commissioned such a research usually kept mum about it as they did not want to divulge their strategies to the public.
Last fifty years of research shows that…
Colors have a major effect on our behavior
• Why do fast food chains follow the same set of color patterns?
• What is the best office colors based on efficiency output?
• What is the relation between color conditioning and work out put?
• Why red shouldn’t be used in products for men?
• What color will attract more business?
• What colors will increase sales?
• What are the best colors for print advertising?
• What colors will make customers more comfortable to spend their money?
The right colors can propel your business. For example if you are in the business of sweets blue or mauve should be the color, which dominates your ambience, blue being the color of sweetness. While on the other hand you never should use green as it represents an astringent taste.
What colors are bound to improve your sales?
Dr.Max Luscher the father of color psychology has developed a color test, which has proved to be immensely successful for the last twenty years. His test finds out a behavioral pattern as far as responding to colors are concerned. In the field of packaging products and the corporate image he has found out a certain color range, which is PSYCHOLOGICALLY EFFECTIVE. According to him the range of colors subconsciously dictate the consumers preference.
Fundamental objectives of color decoration:
• To lure potential buyers.
• Attract customers to the establishment
• Make the customer feel comfortable about the surroundings
• Make the customer see all the advantages of purchasing the particular product.
Any establishment in order to be successful must make the customer satisfied so that they can always think of coming back to the shop. Along with the quality of the product, price the degree of comfort a customer derives from the transaction is a very important factor for business to flourish.
The establishment must be place where the customer can come and see the products, thus the visual impact of the place becomes very important. The visual impact must be such that the customer feels drawn to the place and feels a part of it at the same time. First impression is crucial and color plays a huge role in determining this impression as it linked to the emotions rather than pure rationality.
The complete color manual takes into consideration many more colors and explicates:
• The image the color represents
• How the person feels about himself/herself wearing it
• The sphere in which the color is to be used
• The disposition of the person using it
• The emotional effect it brings
• How to coordinate other colors with it
• What kind of color suits which kind of product
Some would argue that black and white has a greater impact but it is undeniable that color has a certain hypnotic effect on people and this the black and white layout, text and graphics cannot do.
How color affects individuals This is obviously a speculative phenomenon but it will be interesting to note that color preferences change with age. The selection of color for your website is absolutely critical. You can take professional help but you must make sure that the web page designer is not just a programmer but also a graphic designer and a marketer.
But how do you understand what colors are best for your website? This is a tricky question to answer. You might take professional help to sort this out, but the following table will help you tackle this question a bit better. The same color depending on its intensity and value induces different reactions.
Red. It can, stimulating, energizing, exciting, and appetizing. Red induces an adrenalin rush and increase of blood pressure. Fire engine red has more impact than burgundy.
Pink. It can be happy, romantic, spirited, and youthful. Vibrant pink is used most in the cosmetic industry. It is advisable to use pink for trendy products, which are not very expensive. The difference between immaturity and certain sophistication is the line between bubble gum pink and fuchsia/magenta.
Orange is adventurous, inviting and energizing. Orange is the hottest colour and has similar arousal effects like red. Neon orange is considered to be loaded but a tempered vivid orange is perfect for instant recognition and purchase. Orange combines the drama of red and cheeriness of yellow.
Yellow is a warm, sunny, vibrant colour, which brings in a sense of cheer. Yellow speaks of imagination. It is extensively used in food industries because of its familiarity. The eye notices the highly reflective yellow before it perceives any other colour thus pale yellow is an excellent choice for instant product purchase.
Brown is a sensible, rich and durable colour. Brown has got an earth tone, which brings in a sense of organic stability. Brown if used I the wrong shade brings in an appearance of dirt hence it is avoided in fashion industries, whereas it is used frequently in the food business because of its connection with chocolates, coffee and root beer.
Blue is a cool serene and consistent color. Blue like brown has an organic feel about it, which brings in the sense consistency as blue is always around us. For this many banking institutions use blue while many corporate houses make use of the cold dispassionate aspect of the colour, which works in opposition to the warmth of the individual customer.
Green is a soothing refreshing colour. It works well in beauty and hygiene products for its toning and soothing effect. Mint green is seen as fresh while bright green is usually associated with foliage and grass.
Emerald green represents elegance while a deeper shade of green is associated with wealth and stature. Green can also act as a nice neutral.
Purple is a sensuos, elegant colour. It brings in a sense of enigma and is regal in character. It is best for creative, new or cutting edge products. Lavander has a certain nostalgic appeal while deep purple is the colour of sophistication.
Neutrals classics are quality colors, which are timeless in their appeal. The tones of beige, gray are markers of that timelessness.
White is simple and pristine. White is representative of clean elegance. It might become a stark if not complemented with other colors which go along with it.
Black is a powerful and classic color. Black is seen as expensive, dramatic and elegant. Though it is used in mourning its positive attributes outweigh its negative aspects.
It is used in gourmet.
The colour scheme of the web page is also of utmost importance. You must pay attention to the contrast. The background should be such that it facilitates readability and makes the message stand out in sharp relief. Light shades are not to be used as it might hamper readability.
You should not use too many colours. Maximum 3 to 4 colors should be used for the website. Decide beforehand about the colors and stick to it.
Complementary colours. There are opposite colors on the colours wheel. The 3 commonest sets are:
• Red and green
• Blue and orange
• Yellow and purple
These colours work together well to increase the overall visual quality.
Analog colours
This approach includes identification of similar colours on the colour wheel. Red has its analog colours in orange and yellow. In moderation these combinations look good otherwise it can become too bright.
Chromatic colours
In this approach one uses different hues and shades of the same colour. This brings in a sleek and professional look.
Choosing colour combinations from the nature
Learn from the organic combinations found in plants landscapes etc and learn from them.
One must also consider colour blind customers, so make sure that the page is easily readable
Different types of media call for different color schemes. When one speaks of color schemes, it refers to the choice of colors that are to be used in the design of the media. The most common color scheme today is one with a white background, with black text.
The main reason for the usage of color schemes is to create some style and appeal in matter to be published. When choosing appropriate colors for a color scheme, it is the colors that create an aesthetic feeling that will accompany each other when used together. The most basic of color schemes involve two colors that look well together. However, there are more complex color schemes that include several colors mixed together. However, these advanced color schemes are usually based around a single color; like multiple colors being used together on a black background in a magazine page.
Color schemes not only consist of different colors, it also consists of different shades of a single color. Different shades of blue that range from light to dark make a beautiful color scheme. Color schemes usually refer to choice and the use of colors that are found outside aesthetic media and context. However, sometimes, it may be used only for purely aesthetic effect and practical reasons. This can be found on the color patterns and designs that one sees on vehicles, and more prominently in military vehicles where definite color patterns are used for identification purposes of friend or foe, camouflage and for the identification of certain military units.
Usually, color schemes are referred to as trade dress, and are usually copyrighted like Kodak film and Tide laundry powder.
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