Colors are closely related to our emotions and moods. Each color affects us differently. Sometimes they make us feel happy, help us focus, or calm us down. Warm and cold colors can also make us feel different.
Color psychology can help strengthen your brand, drive sales, and even direct visitors to specific pages or actions on your website. That is why it is essential to understand the psychological effects colors can have on the average person. The basics of the theory and meaning of colors are crucial.
Psychology of colors in web design
Web design needs to look good in the first place, but it also needs to do a few more things at once. It should keep the Internet user’s attention as long as possible, make navigation and buttons clear, and most importantly, guide the customer down the funnel to conversion. It should also encourage the user to take action that site owners aim at (purchase, subscribe, order, register, etc.).
Generally speaking, web design should influence users, and that is why more and more designers are turning to the psychology of color. It can help them keep users’ attention, as well as direct them where they want.
It is vital to be according to the product or service that they offer. Depending on what you are trying to sell, you need to use different colors. Not everyone is right for you and your business. It should also be tailored to the people you are targeting. It all depends on your potential customers. Preferences are often influenced by gender as well as age. Colors affect different groups of people differently, so you need to know who you are talking to.
Among other things, they help build the brand. Often the color makes the brand recognizable. It is because a lot of brands focus on their design. They make it different and memorable.
To create an attractive and recognizable appearance of the product, you need to properly use the colors that match your business ideas, personality, emotion and differ from your competitors. Many studies show that color is crucial when it comes to dealing with direct competitors.
Red
Nothing holds people’s attention like red. Red is the warmest and most dynamic of colors – it evokes opposite emotions. It is often associated with passion and love, as well as anger and danger. If you want to draw attention to a design element, use red. It is considered the most effective color for a call to action. If you design this “act now” button, red is your color.
Different shades affect people differently. Warmer red is soothing. Brighter reds are great for youth websites that want to inspire energy and impatience.
Red is often associated with the design of places where the user must pay special attention. Use it for accents or different buttons.
Blue
Blue evokes a sense of calm, as well as security and confidence. Blue is one of the most commonly used colors when it comes to product design. For any website that requires reliability is best to use this color.
Different shades of blue evoke varied emotions in humans. The light blue color creates emotions such as calm and makes the user feel refreshed. Blue is also associated with happiness. Dark blue is best for corporate design because it helps give a professional feel, but using too much can create a cold, non-committal feel.
Black
Black evokes a sense of strength, luxury, elegance but can also mean professionalism, neutrality, and simplicity. It is a bold and powerful color and is often used to provoke mystery. Black is universal and goes well with any other color. It is best for contrast with the colors used on the website. It is not good to be the main color, because there is no contrast or it can look boring. You need to combine it well with other colors to attract attention where you want.
Use black to emphasize the unique, elite feel of your brand or product. Black accents create a sharp contrast with other elements of the page and combine well with bright colors for an elegant and modern feel.
Black can be great for luxury goods, fashion, marketing, and cosmetics. But whatever you use it for, you shouldn’t overdo it, because it can be too much. You can make customers feel uncomfortable and anxious if you overdo it.
Green
Green symbolizes health, a new beginning, and wealth. It is also easy for the eyes. You can use it to balance the design. It is the best color if a company wants to portray growth, security, or inspire opportunities. Green can also be soothing and relaxing.
Darker shades are more related to money, so sites that want to instill wealth, growth, and stability use these shades. Lighter greens are more associated with spring and growth, so companies that want to create a sense of relaxation, freshness, and honesty use lighter shades.
Green is a great way to reassure visitors. It also suggests determination. Use green to give readers the feeling of being healthy, vibrant, and satisfied. It is great for science, tourism, medicine, human resources, the environment, and sustainability. It is less suitable for luxury goods or technologies.
Pink
Pink represents femininity and romance, sensitivity and tenderness. Although pink is a shade of red, it has some specific and unique associations. It is much softer than red and can be very soothing.
If your target market is mostly women, then pink is a good color for you. It is very strongly associated with youthful femininity. Many people call it “girl’s color” but this is not very correct. It is not as feminine as you think. It is the color of playfulness and joy of tenderness and romance.
Bright pink can be flashy, and light pink can feel too sentimental or sweet for some sites. It is not suitable for all niches. You have to be careful when using it.
Yellow
Yellow makes you feel happy and spontaneous. Yellow is the most energetic of the warm colors. It is associated with laughter, hope, and sunshine. Accents in yellow help to give your design energy and will make the viewer feel optimistic and cheerful. But you shouldn’t overdo it.
In the world of marketing, yellow describes common sense without worries or depressing thoughts. It is best suited for online stores that sell products such as children’s clothing and toys. From an early age, people learn to associate yellow with the sun, so it is associated with warmth and happiness. It makes the brighter yellow ideal for sites designed for children, as it attracts their attention. The lighter shades of yellow have more complex associations. Darker shades may suggest antiquity, reminiscent of yellowed parchment. Therefore, it can be associated with wisdom and curiosity. Yellow accents also work well on neutral palettes, enlivening the content without affecting the professional look and feel.
Be careful with this color and use it sparingly. Too much yellow or the wrong shade can look cheap or like spam, and you certainly don’t aim for that.
Orange
Orange increases the feeling of vitality and happiness. It is very close and similar to red, but it also affects in many different ways. Like red, it attracts attention. But it is not so strong color. It is not so intrusive. It is aggressive but balanced – it portrays energy but can be attractive and friendly. It combines both things in itself. Orange is great for a call to action to buy or subscribe. Orange can also mean sophistication. It is much more balanced than red and combines many things.
Orange combines the emotions of red and yellow. Like yellow, orange radiates warmth and a feeling of cheerful welcome, while red in the mixture attracts attention.
Orange is an energetic and vibrant color, often associated with fun, happiness, energy, warmth, ambition, excitement, and enthusiasm.
It is good for e-commerce, automotive, technology, entertainment, food, and childcare. Although orange is less saturated than red, it can quickly become too much. You should not overdo it when using it.
Purple
Purple exudes elegance and sophistication, makes you feel creative. Purple is associated with royalty. You can use it to show creativity, imagination, authority, strength, wealth, prosperity, mystery, wisdom, and respect. You can use lighter shades of purple for soothing. That is why they use it in beauty products. You can use it to make the design look more luxurious and rich. The lighter purple shows romance and mystery.
Purple, like pink, is considered a more feminine color and is, therefore, suitable for female audiences. It can be great for beauty products, astrology, healing, spirituality, and content related to teenage girls and female brands.
Purple can be soothing, which generally makes it a bad choice to get people’s attention.
White
White means minimalism and simplicity. The use of a lot of white color in the design creates a minimalist aesthetic and can lead to a simple, fresh and clean look. However, you should not overdo it. The design can become too boring and not attract the attention of the client.
White represents innocence, virtue, and purity. It is also closely related to hygiene and cleanliness, which explains its widespread use in the healthcare industry.
Use white in the palette of your website to let the content stand out and promote a sense of honesty that will lead to conversions.
White is associated with the healthcare industry (doctors, nurses, dentists), which makes it great for websites related to this industry. It is also used for high-tech and scientific sites. Combined with black, gold, or silver, it can also be great for luxury goods. Since the effects of white depend a lot on other colors in the design, it can theoretically be used for any website and niche. You need to combine it with the right colors for your industry.
Color psychology is a crucial part of creating a quality website for your business. Before starting your brand, you need to think about which colors will be most suitable for it. Each color affects people differently. Colors have a deep connection to people’s emotions and moods. To be able to influence people, guide them and motivate them to action, you need to have a good understanding of how colors affect you. It will help you a lot with your conversions and user experience. All this is a difficult task for a non-professional. You have to have experience and understand this, and not everyone can. Therefore, the best option is to trust a web designer who is fully responsible for the design of your website. These are people with a lot of experience who know how to do their job in the best way.
We at Dreamtech have a highly qualified team of web designers who will make the perfect web design for your brand. If you are interested in our creative services, you can view them here. Why web design is so essential, you can read in our blog. If you have additional questions, contact us or make an appointment for a free consultation.
