Color has an enormous impact on how your website visitors think and feel. Implementing strategic color schemes informed by psychology can help encourage desired user behaviors. This guide will explain key principles of color psychology and how to effectively apply them in web design.
Understanding Color Psychology
Color psychology is the study of how colors affect human behavior, mood, and decision making. Certain colors and color combinations evoke consistent psychological effects that designers can utilize.
Some examples:
Blue - Invokes feelings of trust, security, and professionalism. Blue is a top choice for corporate and finance sites.
Green - Represents natural, calm, and renewal. Green is popular in health and environmental sites.
Orange - Energetic and friendly. Orange works well for call-to-action buttons.
Red - Intense and exciting. Red can raise pulse rates. Effective for clearance sales or high-energy brands.
Purple - Sophisticated, creative, and mystical. Works for spiritual or artistic products.
Of course, colors have different cultural meanings to consider too. But overall color psychology gives useful guidance on emotional impacts.
Choosing Primary Brand Colors
A brand's primary color will shape their overall identity. Consider attributes you want to convey, then select appropriately:
Innovative brands like Google use bright secondary colors like red, green and yellow. This stimulates creativity.
Natural brands like Whole Foods use earthy greens and browns to impart wholesomeness.
Luxury brands like Tiffany favor rich blues and blacks that signal exclusivity.
Make sure primary brand colors reinforce your key messaging and values. Never arbitrarily pick colors.
Designing Color Palettes
Beyond one primary color, websites need a multi-color palette for different sections, interactive elements, fonts, etc.
Some tips for creating balanced palettes:
Use a primary color sparingly to maximize impact. Don't overdo it.
Add some analogous colors - those next to each other on the color wheel. These create visual harmony.
Vary shades and saturations. A light blue button pops next to dark blue headings.
Add one complementary color as an accent. Complementaries contrast strongly.
Use white space and black fonts to give the eyes a rest. Don't overload the palette.
Adobe Color and Coolors are useful tools for building and testing palettes.
Using Psychological Color Shortcuts
Certain color-coded visual cues have become standard through convention. Users instinctively recognize them, making them powerful shortcuts:
Blue links signal clickability, especially for navigation menus.
Red for errors and warnings. Draws immediate attention.
Green for success and approval. Indicates something worked as expected.
Black for luxury. High-end fashion and cars routinely use black branding.
Adhere to such coded shortcuts so users feel comfortable navigating your site.
Text and Background Color Contrast
Ensure adequate contrast between text colors and their backgrounds. Low contrast strains the eyes and makes it literally hard to read.
To maximize legibility:
Use black or darker hues on white or lighter backgrounds by default. WhiteSpace is easiest to read.
Use the WCAG AAA minimum contrast ratio of 7:1 for critical text like headings.
The contrast ratio should be at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.
Older visitors require more contrast. Erring on the high side is best.
Disable custom styles to test contrast. If text remains legible, contrast is sufficient.
Proper contrast aids all users, but is especially important for accessibility.
Testing Color Choices
Test, test, and retest your color choices before finalizing a design:
Display on various screens to check legibility and vibrancy. Colors look different across devices.
Get feedback from stakeholders, focus groups, or unbiased friends.
Try black and white views. Colors should still delineate sections without hue cues.
Simulate color blindness. About 4% of users are color vision deficient.
View at odd angles or dim lighting. Colors and contrast should hold up.
Refine colors until you have a universally legible palette that communicates the desired tone. Proper planning prevents poor performance.
Conclusion
Thoughtful application of color psychology and design principles can make websites more usable, memorable, and effective at serving your business goals. You have both technical and emotional color considerations for crafting the optimal palette.
Test extensively and use color strategically to guide visitors' feelings, focus their attention, and influence their actions on your site. Color makes a crucial impact on their experience.
Post a Comment