Color usually depends on our personal experiences and preferences but there are also some universal signals. Choosing the right color can be a very challenging task. Individual differences can vary based on gender, age and culture. In a study titled “Impact of color on marketing” researchers found that up to 90% of snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone.
Here is a quick guide to help you pick the “right” color based on psychology.
🏳 WHITE
Positive: Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency.
Negative: Sterility, coldness, barriers, unfriendliness, elitism.
〰 GREY
Positive: Psychological neutrality.
Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy.
⚫ BLACK
Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional safety, efficiency, substance.
Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness.
🟨 YELLOW
Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity.
Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide.
🍊 ORANGE
Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun.
Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity.
🤎 BROWN
Positive: Seriousness, warmth, Nature, earthiness, reliability, support.
Negative: Lack of humor, heaviness, lack of sophistication.
🐷 PINK
Positive: Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the species.
Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation, physical weakness.
🍒 RED
Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, ‘fight or flight’, stimulation, masculinity, excitement.
Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.
♾ VIOLET
Positive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality.
Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority.
🍏 GREEN
Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace.
Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, reservation.
📘 BLUE
Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.
Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.
Choosing an appropriate color combination in the design process is considered one of the most important (yet often overlooked) elements in creating a successful website.
Quick tips
Focus on the target audience
Be mindful of the background color as well as the font color
Color chooser tools can be very helpful
Don’t use too many colors, usually 2–4 are enough
Get some inspiration and make some research before your final decision
To sum up
Every color has its purpose. Choose your colors wisely. If you are not sure how to pick the right one or the right combination to be afraid to ask a specialist to help you. Make your own research too. Check your competitors.
👋Hello, I'm Eleftheria, community and social media manager at Hashnode, developer, public speaker, and chocolate lover.
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