{"id":62656,"date":"2019-03-12T20:47:26","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T03:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/au\/\/?page_id=62656"},"modified":"2024-01-05T15:57:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T04:57:46","slug":"color","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/au\/design\/color\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Color in Web Design"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<p>Your logo and site are more than just a collection of text, images<br \/>\nand white space. Somewhere in there are the colours you choose. It may<br \/>\nseem trivial, but the colours you select to represent your company will<br \/>\ninfluence your audiences&#8217; perception of you and will determine if they<br \/>\nstick around to investigate further. How much time would you spend on a<br \/>\nsite that&#8217;s background came up in bright yellow? You probably wouldn&#8217;t<br \/>\neven wait for the images to load. Why? Because while, in small doses,<br \/>\nthe colour yellow can denote a spiritual feeling, it is the harshest<br \/>\ncolour on the eyes, and is likely to send you running for cover.<\/p>\n<p>People use colour to categorise objects in their everyday lives. Green<br \/>\nmeans go. A yellow bus is a school bus. A light blue box is a Tiffany&#8217;s<br \/>\nbox. Therefore, it&#8217;s only logical that your customers are using your<br \/>\ncolours to gather important information about your company. Similarly,<br \/>\nmany companies use colour in their web design to help users identify and<br \/>\ncategorise their brand with just one glance. In fact, for some<br \/>\ncompanies, the colour in their logo is the basis for their entire<br \/>\nbranding strategy (think IBM Blue). Use it wisely.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">The Hidden Meaning Behind Colours<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You know what colours you like, but do you know what your favourite<br \/>\ncolours mean? You may want to brush up on the hidden meaning behind<br \/>\ncolours before designing your company material.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Blue<\/strong> \u2014 Blue is currently the most popular colour for<br \/>\ncompanies to use in their branding strategies. It represents calmness,<br \/>\nhope and stability. Research says that people are apt to immediately<br \/>\ntrust information coming from sites that are blue and to pay attention<br \/>\nto blue logos.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Red<\/strong> \u2014 Numerous studies have claimed that people<br \/>\nworking in red rooms work faster. Why? Because the colour red is said to<br \/>\nincrease blood pressure and heart rate. That might be perfect if you&#8217;re<br \/>\ntrying to work your employees to death, but if you&#8217;re trying to attract<br \/>\ncustomers, moderate your use of this powerful colour.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yellow<\/strong> \u2014 Used in small amounts, yellow is inviting,<br \/>\nsunshine, cheerful and the number one attention getter. However, it has<br \/>\nconflicting symbolism. To some it denotes happiness and joy, and to<br \/>\nothers it symbolises cowardice and deceit. Research what this colour<br \/>\nmeans to your target audience before plastering it all over your site.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Green<\/strong> \u2014 In the United States, green means go. It is<br \/>\nassociated with movement, nature and fertility. It symbolises growth,<br \/>\nfreshness and safety. Darker shades of green are often associated with<br \/>\nmoney and wealth. It is the most restful colour for the human eye.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Orange<\/strong> \u2014 As many &#8216;on sale&#8217; products have orange<br \/>\nstickers attached to them, people have come to associate this colour with<br \/>\naffordability. Bright orange is hard for the eyes to process and is not<br \/>\nrecommended as a background colour for your site, though it can be very<br \/>\neffective for logos. Small amounts of orange can help create a &#8216;fun&#8217;<br \/>\natmosphere, so use it sparingly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Purple<\/strong> \u2014 Purple is associated with royalty. It<br \/>\nsymbolises luxury, power, wisdom and ambition. Lighter shades of this<br \/>\ncolour are said to evoke romantic and nostalgic feelings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Black<\/strong> \u2014 Considered the negation of colour, black is<br \/>\nconservative. It can be serious and conventional or mysterious and<br \/>\nsophisticated. The colour black usually has a negative connotation<br \/>\n(black humour, blacklist, etc.).<\/li>\n<li><strong>White<\/strong> \u2014 The colour white is associated with<br \/>\ninnocence, purity and goodness. From a marketing perspective, white<br \/>\noften denotes cleanliness, dairy or low-fat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">Selecting Colours for your Web Site Design<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When designing your site, we recommend finding a colour palette that<br \/>\nyou feel works and then sticking with it. Don&#8217;t try and mix colours from<br \/>\ndifferent colour palettes because it&#8217;s likely the colours will not blend<br \/>\nas well as you&#8217;re imagining. This may cause your logo or site to look<br \/>\ndisjointed. For a palette to work well in a web site design there should<br \/>\nbe some type of unifying attribute. What ties your colours together?<\/p>\n<p>Keep in mind that the human eye requires contrasts to be able to read<br \/>\nsomething clearly. Don&#8217;t pick web design colours that will be hard to<br \/>\nread when placed together. For example, dark text on a dark background<br \/>\nprobably will not work. Try opting for a light background and dark text,<br \/>\nor a dark background and light text. The difference in tones will<br \/>\nvisually interest your consumer&#8217;s mind and make them want to focus in to<br \/>\nread your text.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">Bringing Back the Colour Wheel<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Remember in elementary school when your teacher broke out the colour<br \/>\ncircles and told you all about the different degrees of colour? She was<br \/>\non to something.<\/p>\n<p>What does the colour wheel have to do with your web site branding<br \/>\nstrategy? Every colour is suited for a specific purpose; it&#8217;s your job to<br \/>\nmake sure the colours you pick match the goals of your company.<\/p>\n<p>Be careful when trying to combine colours from different colour<br \/>\nspectrums \u2013 it could confuse the user or make your logo and\/or site<br \/>\nappear too &#8216;busy&#8217; or cluttered. We recommend combining colours from the<br \/>\nsame level of the colour wheel.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Warm Colours<\/strong> \u2014 Warm colours are made with reds,<br \/>\npinks, oranges, yellows, golds, browns or some combination thereof.<br \/>\nGenerally, warm colours tend to be more exciting and aggressive. They can<br \/>\nconnote feelings from simple optimism to strong violence, and as a<br \/>\nresult many people prefer them in small doses. Designers can &#8216;tone<br \/>\ndown&#8217; warm colours by using the lighter side of the warm colour spectrum,<br \/>\nlike pale pinks and yellows.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cool Colours<\/strong> \u2014 Cool colours are made from blues,<br \/>\ngreens, purples, greys, silvers and whites and are more commonly<br \/>\nassociated with spring and summer. If warm colours denote violent, cool<br \/>\ncolours are said to promote a soothing effect. Blues, greens and purples<br \/>\ngive the impression of comfort and nurturing, making them excellent<br \/>\nchoices for marketers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Intermediary Colours<\/strong> \u2014 The warmth or coolness of<br \/>\nsome colours can vary depending on the particular hue. For example,<br \/>\npurples and greens are considered intermediary colours, because depending<br \/>\non how much red or yellow they contain (in relation to blue) they can<br \/>\nbe perceived differently. Less blue equals a warmer colour; more blue<br \/>\nindicates a cooler color.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">The Power of Colour<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We know choosing colours for your web site and logo may seem trivial,<br \/>\nbut its impact can be huge. Colour has a lot of meaning attached to it \u2014<br \/>\nusing your colours appropriately will reassure consumers and help<br \/>\nestablish customer loyalty. Conversely, choose the wrong colours and you<br \/>\ncan easily find yourself &#8216;saying&#8217; things you never intended to!<\/p>\n<p>The colours you choose can help brand your company in the following ways:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">Categorise Your Company<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not sure how the web design colours you choose can help categorise<br \/>\nyour company? Think about your last trip to the grocery store. What<br \/>\ncolours did you see as you were walking down the grocery aisle? We can<br \/>\nguess there were red or orange signs that told you a sale was going on,<br \/>\ngreen signs to point you in the direction of the nearest ATM and tan<br \/>\nsigns to show you where the bakery was. Remember the old black and white<br \/>\nlabels that would immediately tell customers they were looking at a<br \/>\ngeneric label item? These are all examples of how colour can help to<br \/>\ncategorise a company.<\/p>\n<p>Colour usage is important because it gives consumers visual clues to<br \/>\nhelp them sort and categorise what they are seeing. If your company uses<br \/>\nbright, playful colours like bright orange, red, or royal blue, your<br \/>\nconsumers may think you are selling products geared toward children.<br \/>\nThat can be great if you&#8217;re selling toys for toddlers, but if you&#8217;re<br \/>\nselling office supplies for large corporations, you may want to revise<br \/>\nyour colour scheme. Deep greys, pastel blues and black are often<br \/>\nassociated with more &#8216;dignified&#8217; or &#8216;elegant&#8217; products. Some colours<br \/>\nbetter represent spring, while others denote winter. The wrong colour can<br \/>\ngive your consumer an entirely different impression of your company<br \/>\nthan the one you&#8217;re after. So choose wisely.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">Set the Mood<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>What is your company&#8217;s personality? Is it formal, exclusive and<br \/>\nhigher priced? Or is it friendly, casual and affordable? Certain colours<br \/>\nhave psychological and cultural meanings that have long been ingrained<br \/>\nin your user. If you try and use a colour differently than what they<br \/>\nassociate your company with, it is likely your campaign will not be<br \/>\nsuccessful. Use your colours to set the mood and tone of your company.<br \/>\nUse cooler colours to promote a calm, serious image or warm colours for an<br \/>\nenergetic, exciting feel.<\/p>\n<p>Consumers become emotionally attached to certain colours. As a result,<br \/>\ndifferent colours can convey different feelings, such as the season, or<br \/>\ntime of day. Let\u2019s head back to the grocery store, green means pine or<br \/>\nmenthol; blue means mint or icy fresh; and red is found in strawberries<br \/>\nand apples. Would you eat something that was blue? How about purple?<br \/>\nNeither would your user.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, a particular colour itself often becomes associated<br \/>\nwith a certain company or brand. If the colour you&#8217;ve targeted is<br \/>\nassociated with one of your competitors, don&#8217;t use it! UPS has used<br \/>\ntheir colour to brand themselves as a no-nonsense company. Most people<br \/>\nassociated UPS with their brown trucks and uniform and since the colour<br \/>\nbrown portrays reliability, it is a colour perfectly suited for them.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">Attention Grabbing<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>One of the most obvious things designers can use colour for is to grab<br \/>\ntheir customer&#8217;s attention. People know that using bright colours like<br \/>\nreds or oranges are known to catch people&#8217;s eye. As a result, a lot of<br \/>\nmarketers choose these colours and saturate the market.<\/p>\n<p>A good way to grab attention is to use seb site design colours that<br \/>\ncurrently aren&#8217;t being used in your industry. An unknown colour could<br \/>\nhelp set your company apart from your competition and make people take<br \/>\nnotice. Of course, there could be a reason no one else is using that<br \/>\ncolour, so watch out!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"sIFR-replaced\"><span class=\"sIFR-alternate\">International Web Design Concerns<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Depending upon the culture, colours can have very different meanings<br \/>\nand actually cause problems for your site. For example, green represents<br \/>\nmovement, nature and fertility in the United States, but in other<br \/>\ncountries green is associated with inexperience, envy and misfortune.<br \/>\nIt&#8217;s said that in China green hats mean a man&#8217;s wife is cheating on him.<br \/>\nBlue may be the most popularly used colour in the United States but some<br \/>\ncultures believe the colour blue depicts defeat, trouble, depression or<br \/>\nsadness. When selecting colours, it&#8217;s important that the colour portrays<br \/>\nthe message and the image of your company in all languages. The success<br \/>\nof your company could depend on it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your logo and site are more than just a collection of text, images and white space. Somewhere in there are the colours you choose. It may seem trivial, but the colours you select to represent your company will influence your audiences&#8217; perception of you and will determine if they stick around to investigate further. How [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101022,"featured_media":0,"parent":62554,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62656","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Web Design Colour Considerations | Bruce Clay Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Colour considerations must be taken seriously when dealing with all aspects of web site design. 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