Color Psychology: What You Should Know About Different Colors

Colors have very deep subconscious meanings that can impact your rational and thinking. Colors have various symbolic meanings that can change amongst different countries and cultures. Everyone is faced with color choices day in and day out. One of the first most important decisions that you make every single day is when you make the decision of what you wear that day. Many times, you will choose your clothing based on the “color” of mood that you are in or want to reveal that particular day. More important than the wardrobe that you choose is the color choice of your website or brand. Color research and color planning is a key part of your overall design process. Prior to beginning a design, it is crucial that you choose the most suitable colors that are most effective at reinforcing your message, tone, and brand.

Colors are a significant part of pop culture. We all tend to associate our favorite sports teams by their colors. White Sox, Red Sox, and Duke Blue Devils are just a few of the most popular teams that integrate a color into their team name. Colors are also a big part of our everyday vocabulary: Fire Engine Red, John Deere Green, Carolina Blue, and Canary Yellow.

Red, blue, and yellow are the three primary colors. Orange, green, and purple are three secondary colors. Then, there are colors that are known as tertiary that are created through a combination of the primary and secondary colors. Complimentary colors are ones that are opposite one another on the color wheel and tend to arouse feelings of enthusiasm. Analogous colors are colors that are near one another on the color wheel and evoke a certain feeling, such as cold and depressing or warm and cozy.

When it comes to dealing with these colors, there are various technical aspects. In the print world, the color formats are CMYK and Pantone, while the medium is Hexadecimal and RGB. Due to this, it is very important that the graphic and web designers work on the color process closely to ensure that the colors transfer with ease from one medium to another medium. It is possible for a color to look one way on a screen and then look completely different once it is printed. It is also imperative to create a color palate of various color codes that’ll make sure there is an integrated color scheme throughout the web and print.

The Color Red

This is a strong, bold color. Red is very noticeable, and it is often used on warning and caution signs. It is often linked with beware or stop. It is a hot color that arouses powerful emotions of lust, passion, sex, blood, energy, and war. It is a popular color for accents that need to be noticed as opposed to other colors. The color tends to be used in flags for various nations, since it serves as a symbol of strength and pride. Red is also a sporty color that numerous auto manufacturers choose to use on their signature vehicles.

The Color Orange

This is a combination of yellow and red. Orange is a warm and bright color. It tends to represent the sun, fire, warmth, fun, and tropical images. Orange is considered to be a fun and lighthearted color that has various enticing qualities to it. It increases the supply of oxygen to the brain and helps to stimulate mental activity. Orange is largely accepted among the younger generation. Since it is a citrus color, it is often linked with healthy foods and helps to stimulate appetite. Designs related to something fun, the tropics, youth, and easy going should incorporate some hue of orange. A richer, darker shade of orange is often associated with the season of autumn.

The Color Yellow

This is the brightest color out of them all. Yellow represents sunshine, happiness, fun, youth, and other lighthearted and playful feelings It is an incredibly energetic and cheerful color. It tends to be used for children’s clothes and toys. Yellow tends to be difficult to read when it is placed on a white background; therefore, designers need to be careful when using this color so that it isn’t too difficult to notice or read. While it is a bright and cheerful color, once it begins to darken, yellow quickly becomes unpleasant and dirty. Yellow can sometimes be linked with cowards and being scared. The term “yellow belly” is proof.

The Color Green

This is the color of health and nature. Green represents nature, growth, fertility, money, and safety. It is a very relaxing color that’s easy on the eyes and has a certain healing power to it. Green tends to be used to signify anything to do with health. Many nutritional and pharmaceutical companies use the color green in their logos and materials to promote safe and natural products. Dark green is often associated with finance, money, the military, and banking. However, it can sometimes be linked with being inexperienced or new as being a “green horn” or being green. Green is increasing in popularity for use on websites.

The Color Blue

This is a cool and calming color that tends to represent intelligence and creativity. Blue is popular among hospitals, airlines, and large corporations. It’s a color of wisdom, strength, loyalty, and trust. It has a very calming effect on the soul. It is the color of the sea and sky, and it tends to be used to signify those types of images. It is a color that often looks good in any hue and is popular amongst the male population. Blue isn’t a good color for food since there aren’t many blue foods and it tends to suppress appetite.

The Color Purple

This color combines the energy of red and the stability of blue. Through history, the color purple has been linked with nobility, royalty, and prestige. Purple symbolizes power, luxury, magic, and mystery. It tends to be used to depict rich and powerful leaders, kinds, magicians, and wizards. When combined with gold, purple can be incredibly showy and portray extravagance and wealth. Light purple and pink are great for a feminine look and design and is popular with teenage girls. Bright purple, with the color yellow, is often used with children’s products. It offers the look of something easy to do and fun.

The Color Black

This is a color that is often portrayed with something depressing, evil, scary, or death. It has negative energy and images with it sometimes, such as black hole, black list, black mail, etc. This is a powerful color that can often portray one of class, wealth, and elegance. Classy clothing can be designed in black from the sexy black dress and power suit to formal black-tie attire. When combined with other colors, black can make a strong statement. It is a color that can fit well into virtually all designs to add contrast and make other colors pop a bit more.

The Color White

This is a color that is linked with being clean, pure, good, and fresh. It is a common background for Webster’s since it’s easy to read dark writing on it. When it is used with a design that has a significant amount of negative space, it offers a clean look. The color is often used with non-profit organizations and charities since it helps to symbolize something positive and good. Hollywood tends to portray its characters in white with being good, such as the white horse, the white wizard, etc. White is often associated with purity and almost heavenly, and it is linked with doctors, hospitals, and heaven.

For more information about how color psychology can help you with your web design, contact us at WebDetail.