Understanding & Using Color in Branding
Posted: 16 May 2011 10:50 AM PDT
How are you feeling right now? What are you thinking? Are you suddenly excited and passionate, yearning for adventure? Or did a Zen-like calmness just pervade your being? Maybe your mind is on money. Or, if not that, you’re considering your health and how you can live in harmony with the natural world. On the contrary, you say? You were simply entertaining thoughts of fun, youth, and celebration, but now, for some strange reason, are more focused on fantasies of royalty and luxury? Fantasies that are quickly dispelled by new thoughts of an earthy, tribal simplicity? So just what’s going on here?! And why am I suddenly feeling so curious and amused, but annoyed by eye-strain?! Effects of Color on the MindLet us fade back to black for its capacity to imbue some seriousness to a hue. What the above examples represent are the psychology of color and the well-established fact that, while there is definitely an element of subjectivity here, most of us associate certain emotions with certain shades in ways that can be measured and manipulated. It’s not a new insight. The Role of Color in Web DesignNot surprisingly, the psychological effects of color play a big role in web design, and the color scheme you choose can also have an effect on the hosting plan you choose. After all, a user’s first impression of a website is almost always a visual one. And, whether fair or not, a user will often judge a site not by the content of its characters but by the colors of its screens. Therefore, with a gazillion and one other websites that a visitor could be viewing instead, getting the color scheme right – and keeping that viewer’s interest – is crucial. Tips For Using Color on Your SiteThe key is to remember that, while we rightfully strive to be a color-blind society in the real world, color still very much counts in the virtual one. So, with that said, here are some helpful tips. The two main rules of thumb are connotations and common sense. For example, if an online retailer wants to sell sailboats, try a white and light blue background with a deep, sea blue font. If you want to sell herbs from your organic garden, try a dawn’s-early-light-peach for a background and dark green for a font. Along the borders, you could splash some bright purples, yellows and oranges to represent the many marigolds you plant to keep those pesky aphids away. Understanding & Using Color in Branding is a post from: GoMediaZine
Go Media is a creative agency based in Cleveland, Ohio. Besides the GoMediaZine, we also work for clients and sell stock artwork and design files on the Arsenal.
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