Color
This will set the mood and over feel of your website, but there are a few things to know.
Colors to Avoid
They’ve been over used and reminiscent of bad/old websites from the 1990’s.
(Lime Green)
Do these colors hurt your eyes? It’s even worse on mobile if someone discovers your site in the middle of the night.
Black and white should not be used for backgrounds. Black is overused and white can be blinding. Notice you can see the white background and the rest of the page isn’t as white? Means you have a good color depth and good eye site. The color is called ‘snow’, it helps your white text stand out and is a lot softer on the eyes, making your website easier to browse.
Let me try to fix those colors…
Night Rider
These are a lot softer on the eyes and what people consider ‘web colors’. If these were a flavor, they’d taste a lot better too.
Color Choice
Lets get into the feel of it.
This is a safe choice. Family friendly and familiar. This is a good color scheme if you want people to relate to your business easier.
Color accents are good and can draw attention where needed without feeling out of place.
Style Keyword: Safe, Familiar
A step above the others, this is a more mature and professional color base. If your company is leading in technology or highly competitive, or even luxurious. This is a solid color scheme.
Colors should be used sparingly and can be used to greater effect.
Style Keyword: Professional, Elegant, Luxurious
If you need to establish branding over everything else, having a good unique color background will help stand out in peoples minds.
This usually goes hand in hand with a theme for your company.
This is commonly used with businesses tailored to children.
Style Keyword: Branding, Theme, Emotional Responsive (Color dependent)
Color Rules
When talking about the rules of which colors can be used where and when, the concept starts to lose cohesion. There isn’t a set of design rules when it comes to color swatches, but there are a few modern guidelines we recommend. There are patterns and science behind it.
When it comes to Color swatches, try to stick to a theme. If you can explain your color theme with one word, it will, would work a lot better. An example is: Autumn, Sky, Forest, Money, Gold, Safety, Alpine, or Easter. Simple goes further.
When it comes to unusual colors, it’s best to use those sparingly. Like the orange used in this site. It’s a lot more effective and really stands out when used properly.
Beyond that, there really isn’t a lot that could be said. Just need to play around with color combinations until it looks right.
Examples
Our Color
Analogous
Triad
Tetrad
These are just a few examples. Bad Colors alone can dissuade people from visiting your site.
The Marketing Rainbow
When it comes to marketing, specific colors can change how people perceive your company. Especially at first impression. Of course, when it comes to color, everyone has their own opinion. But we’re talking about generalities about the buying power of color on a population. There have been many millions coming back to the same conclusion over and over. So I recommend taking this advice.
Red – Power or Strong Desire. This can be any human emotion. Everything from love to hunger. Depression to excitement, a lot of red can be seen as radical. But a little goes a long ways.
Blue – Trust or Calm. Unique to blue, there are no ugly shades. This is generally a safe color to use in general. Not everyone employs that, and there may be a better color for you.
Green – Abundance. People often associate green with plants, but the color doesn’t have a real effect on a buying population. People do think of money, abundance, eco-friendly, and healthy.
White – Neutral. A safe color to use. No one will find fault with you for using it anywhere.
Black – Professional. Despite how common it is, few companies employ a lot of black in sites and logos. However, it’s used in a lot of uniforms. Especially with jobs that require a lot of customer interaction, like waiting tables. A lot of black can be associated with luxury.
Lesser colors
Yellow – Energy or Action. If you require high energy branding, yellow is a great color. Less effective, directly influencing people.
Orange – Action or Energy. More of an action color, it’s best when used to get your customers to do something specific. Other than standing out, it has no real meaning.
Purple – Meaningless. It just stands out. No change in how people buy. Though, there is something to be said for standing out.
Silver/Gray – Complex. This is usually a bad color to go with. Unless you’re doing services for someone, like programming, or fixing devices. Avoid this color. This color says; not easy or simple.
Getting some ideas yet? Have questions? We’re here to help.