Color psychology can have a positive or negative effect on every single visitor that reaches your site, and you can make the most of your branding strategy by using special colors that evoke specific feelings.
When colors are used correctly can send the right message to a reader. At the same time if misused can lead to confusion and readers can leave your website very quickly.
Colors can stir a variety of emotions and memories.To know which colors attract readers, you must know your audience very well.
Market research is very important. If you are serious about maximizing your profits, research your target market’s colors and use color psychology.
This will help you build a Web site to respond your market ‘s demands. By understanding the psychology of color, you can easily improve your web design, you can create a memorable brand and you can increase the number of visits to your website.
Color psychology, the effect of colors
The following colors are generally associated with different emotions, feelings, and reactions in both positive and negative ways:
Yellow: confident, creative, strong, and friendly in the positive; depressing, irrational,and even fearful in the negative. On color psychology, yellow is a very stimulating and energizing color, but overusing it or using the wrong tone can work against you.Often used to grab attention of window shoppers.
Red: excitement, warmth, energy, and stimulating in the positive, but aggression and excessive visual impact in the negative. Red is a strong and powerful color, and can be used properly in subtle ways. It demands attraction and recognition, but can also be perceived as overly aggressive. On color psychology creates urgency and increases heart rate. Often seen in clearance sales.
Blue: intelligent, cool, efficient, and trustworthy in the positive, but unfriendly and aloof in the negative. Blue is essentially soothing, and the different hues can create a peaceful and serene feeling. However, it can also be perceived as cold and unemotional so you will need to pick the right tone to deliver the appropriate message (see bank’s color psychology-many banks use it in their logos or marketing).It is one of the most popular colors, especially in business.
Green: balance, rest, peace, environmentally friendly in the positive, but bored,bland, and stagnant in the negative. Green can be used in very positive ways for a refreshing and energizing color palette, but too many dark tonescan be perceived negatively.On color psychology,gives the impression of wealth. The easiest color for the eyes to process. Used in stores to relax.
Orange:warmth, security, fun, and abundance in the positive, but frivolity and disorder in the negative. Orange is a very energizing color, and can also attract immediate attention; however, too much of it can indicate foolishnessor not being taken seriously enough. On color psychology,creates a call to action :subscribe, buy or sell.
Pink: On color psychology,pink reflects femininity, love, tranquility in the positive, but weakness and inhibition in the negative. Pink can be soothing and attractive, but can be draining and overdone very easily. Avoid using it unless it clearly matches and represents your brand. Used to market to women and girls and traditional buyers.
Black: can be serious and conventional or sexy and rebellious ,powerful and sleek and also mournful and unimaginative.On color psychology, black reflects authority and power but it could also represent an evil notion for some people.Use it to market luxury products.
Purple: Being the combination of red and blue, the warmest and coolest colors, purple is believed to be the ideal color and represents meanings of wealth, extravagance, creativity, wisdom, dignity, grandeur, devotion, peace, pride, mystery, independence, and magic.On the negative side : gloom, sadness, and frustration.It is often used to market anti-aging products.
To learn more about color psychology and how it influences purchases check THIS infographic below, offered by Kissmetrics.
Keep this in mind and use color psychology when designing a website. You must ask yourself what you want your visitors to react to your site.
Psychologists suggest that the impression the colors leave contributes over 60% to acceptance or rejection of the product or service and for a web-master using color psychology and its emotional effects could mean the difference between selling or losing customers.
Question: How did you choose the colors for your website? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
