Basic Color Psychology for Web Design
How Colors Shape Our Feelings and Actions: Color Psychology in Web Design
Today’s blog post is a fun one! It’s all about color psychology and what colors mean in web design.
If you’re creating a website for yourself or your client, this post will help you understand color psychology in web design. It’s important to choose colors for your website carefully: the right colors create the vibe and feelings you want your visitors to experience.
Let’s go!
Colors have a big influence on our emotions and perceptions, affecting our decision-making and behavior.
Think about it - have you ever seen a calming sleepy time tea with a powerful red logo?
Probably not, right?
That’s because red is typically associated with power and vibrance and action. Not things you want when you're just trying to get a good night’s sleep 😜
The Emotions and Meanings of Colors
Knowing how different colors make people feel can help you pick the right colors for your website. This way, you can guide your visitors' emotions and actions as you’re choosing your brand colors or designing your website.
Think about things like:
What kind of website do you need? ie e-commerce, service-based freelancer, corporate, non-profit…
What do you want your website visitors to feel when they land on your site? Excited, safe, admiring…
What kind of personality do you want your site to have? Ie fun and playful, serious and trustworthy, elegant and elevated…?
Cultural and Personal Differences in Color Meanings
I want to mention that colors can have different meanings in different cultures and for different groups of people. Which is something to keep in mind if you have a global audience or international clients.
For example, in Western cultures, red symbolizes danger and excitement, while in Chinese culture, it signifies good fortune and joy. And white is associated with purity and beginnings in the West, but it represents mourning and farewells in many Asian cultures.
Just something to keep in mind!
Frequently Associated Emotions and Meanings with Colors
Red
Associations: Passion, danger, excitement, love.
Usage: Evokes strong emotions and is best used in moderation. Ideal for calls to action or to convey a feeling of energy, confidence and power. Use sparingly.
Brand Examples:
Coca-Cola
Netflix
Target
Canon
YouTube
Orange
Associations: Energy, excitement, playfulness, warmth.
Usage: Can be polarizing; it's loved or hated. Suitable for brands aiming to appear energetic and for encouraging action. Often paired with blue.
Brand Examples:
Fanta
Amazon
Home Depot
Nickelodeon
EasyJet
Yellow
Associations: Energy, fun, brightness, happiness, caution.
Usage: Works well as an accent color to grab attention without overwhelming. Its association with warning signs means it should be used sparingly.
Brand Examples:
McDonald’s
Snapchat
IKEA
DHL
Best Buy
Green
Associations: Nature, growth, money, eco-friendliness.
Usage: Indicates ethical practices and is becoming popular across various industries for its calming yet energizing effect. It’s particularly popular in health & wellness, natural foods, finance, and outdoor industries.
Brand Examples:
Starbucks
Whole Foods Market
Spotify
Nerd Wallet
Beyond Meat
Blue
Associations: Trustworthy, calmness, reliability.
Usage: Popular in banking, business, and healthcare due to its soothing and trustworthy vibe. However, it may suppress appetite, making it less ideal for food-related websites.Though that’s changing over time, and several popular food & bev brands are now using blue in their branding. Most popular color in website design.
Brand Examples:
Facebook
IBM
Samsung
Ford
Visa
Purple
Associations: Luxury, creativity, spirituality, mystery.
Usage: Suits brands that wish to convey a sense of luxury or creativity. Popular in beauty and fashion industries, and, increasingly, modern food and drink brands.
Brand Examples:
FedEx
Slack
Twitch
Cadbury
Taco Bell
Pink
Associations: love, romance, youth, softness.
Usage: Varies in impact from delicate to vibrant. Commonly used for products targeting women and babies. In web design, pink is often used to create a sense of intimacy, or used in bright shades to convey a bolder feel. It’s a popular color with female-identifying entrepreneurs in industries like marketing and web design (🙋♀️).
Brand Examples:
T-Mobile
Victoria's Secret
Lyft
Baskin-Robbins
Cosmopolitan Magazine
Brown
Associations: Ruggedness, dependability, earthy, reliability.
Usage: The least favorite color for web design, can be challenging to pair well with other colors. Gaining in popularity when used in shades of light tan and dark tan, especially for editorial-style blogs and websites. Conveys dependability when used correctly.
Brand Examples:
Hershey’s
UPS
Nespresso
UGG
M&Ms
Black
Associations: Sophistication, edginess, strength, luxury, authority, formality.
Usage: A grounding color that should be used carefully to avoid overpowering designs. Offers a range of shades for versatile use. Used often for elegant and luxurious brands in web design.
Brand Examples:
Nike
Apple
Gucci
Chanel
Cartier
White
Associations: Freedom, simplicity, clarity, purity.
Usage: Offers visual breathing space on websites. True white can be harsh on the eyes, so off-white tones are recommended for a softer effect. Popular option for minimalist bloggers, as well as people in the healthcare industry.
Brand Examples:
Apple
Tesla
Burberry
Adidas
Nike
Gray
Associations: Professionalism, calmness, stability, maturity, neutrality, sophistication.
Usage: Often used in corporate, automotive, and technology industries. Grey can provide a sleek, modern look that suggests formality and reserve. It's important to balance grey with brighter colors to avoid a dull or lifeless design. Grey can also symbolize balance and calm, making it a good choice for websites aiming for a minimalist aesthetic.
Brand Examples:
Wikipedia
Mercedes Benz
LG
Nike
New Balance
This is the briefest of deep dives into color psychology. What’d ya think?
I personally think understanding color psychology is one of those rabbit holes that’s SO FUN to dive into. 🤓 It’s such a helpful tool for business owners and creators who want to utilize all the things they can to create effective and engaging websites.
Key Takeaways
Color Emotions: Use colors to communicate who you are, and how you want your visitors to feel. Whether you want to inspire excitement, trust, or calmness, there's a color that aligns with your goal.
Cultural Sensitivity: Colors mean different things in different places. When working with people from all over the world, make sure your colors are saying what you think they are.
Use Colors Strategically: Put colors where they make the most sense. Some colors are great for grabbing attention, while others are perfect for making people feel relaxed.
Still have questions? Shoot me an email and let me know how I can help.
