The Psychology of Colors To Influence in Website Design

I was putting this site together and thought myself for a site all about Infuence and Persuasion
Wouldn't it be a good idea to see how color affects us. After a bit fo reseach I came up with the
following interesting findings.

Since people associate particular colors with different emotions, the colors used on your website
can have a psychological effect on visitors to your site. By using specific colors geared towards
the emotion you want to invoke, you can actually help persuade people to buy and increase your
product sales. Here are some colors along with the emotions and symbols they stimulate:

1) WHITE- purity, innocence, peace, perfection, chastity, sterility, cleanliness. In general, white
creates a cool and refreshing feeling.

2) BLACK- night, space, authority, sturdiness, reliability, power, constancy, prudence, wisdom,
classy, elegance, submission, mourning, demons, witches. Black is a controversial color as it can
symbolize both good and evil.

3) RED- love, excitement, warmth, heat, fire, blood, passion, power, aggression, action. Use red
as an attention grabber. It works better as an accent color rather than a background one.

4) PINK- romantic, affection, sensuality, tenderness, calm, soft hearted, softness, femininity.
Pink tends to reduce aggression.

5) BLUE- sky, ocean, water, temperature, ice, coolness, mist, shadow, travel, freedom, truth,
solitude, wisdom, trust, loyalty, peaceful, calmness, intelligence, dedication, masculinity.
Different shades of blue convey opposite meanings. Light blue is peaceful while dark blue is
depressing.

6) PURPLE- royalty, dignity, luxury, wealth, sophistication, feminine, passion, romance,

sensitivity, coolness, mist, shadows, mysterious, mystic.

7) GREEN- money, calm, envy, greed, nature, life, youth, renewal, hope, vigor, fertility, rebirth,
freedom, guilt. Different shades of green have different meanings. Dark green-cool. masculine,
conservative, wealth. Emerald green- immortality. Olive green- peace. Green is the easiest color
on the eye.

8) YELLOW- light, purity, understanding, brightness, warmth, playfulness, creativity. Lemon

yellow is the most eye fatiguing color. Yellow can increase irritability so yellow should not be
used as a main color, only as an accent. Yellow enhances concentration.

9) ORANGE- autumn, youthful, fire, warmth, contentment, fruitfulness, wholesomeness, strong,

generous, endurance, strength, ambition. Orange is the color most associated with appetite so it
would be a good color choice for a website selling food products. Orange also makes a product
seem more suitable for everyone and more affordable.
10) BROWN- wood, comfort, strength, earth, solid, reliable, credible, maturity, humility,
conservancy. Light brown conveys genuineness.

11) GRAY- exclusivity. Enhances the psychological response of other colors. In general, red,
orange, and yellow are exciting colors while purple, blue and green are calming ones. Use the
color that symbolizes the emotion you want to convey as the primary color on your website. Add
1-2 other colors to reinforce this emotion. The colors used for your background, header,
graphics, text, highlighting, headlines, etc. will all contribute to your website's influence on your
visitors.