Website Colour

[Gillie]

Whilst chatting to a copywriter this morning over brekkie, I was told various bit of information and just wondered if anyone had any evidence/thoughts to back up this information.

We were chatting about knowing your market, ie the demographics of it all, and how for instance men make up the greater bulk of clients for copywriters for various reasons, but that also using black business cards and have a black background or even just a darker one was more appealing to the male.

Ok when I say black/dark background, I don't mean white words on black, I simply mean the space to either side of a website, not the body of the text should be darker.

So I found out the following, which of course is just generalising, but just wondering if any really do think about colour of site and how they are appealing to and so forth.

And is it right that men buy from masculine looking sites and vice versa?

Red - Shows action, energy, strength and passion. Red is a good color for a call-to-action.
Pink - romance and a feminine appeal.
Green - Money, wealth, calm, hope.
Orange - Health, vitality, youthfulness
Yellow - light, pure, sunshine and warmth.
Purple - creativity, royalty and richness.
Brown - stability
Blue – Can give you two different sets of mood: confidence, wealth and power; or calm and dependability.
Grey - security and reliability
Black - Sophistication, serious, classy, power
White - In most case, purity and peace in most cases. But in some cultures, it can represent death and sorrow.

 

[Dawg]

As broad brush strokes it is probably right, and sometimes broad brush strokes are the only thing that works on t'intertubulars.
Caveats or cavils, depending on your POV

Red - Shows action, energy, strength and passion. Red is a good color for a call-to-action. Also a food colour.
Pink - romance and a feminine appeal.
Green - Money, wealth, calm, hope. Also a greenwash colour.
Orange - Health, vitality, youthfulness
Yellow - light, pure, sunshine and warmth.
Purple - creativity, royalty and richness.
Brown - stability Yer 'aving a laff. No not just a political statement of dubious import: when did you last see a brown site, let alone an impressive one?
Blue – Can give you two different sets of mood: confidence, wealth and power; or calm and dependability.
Grey - security and reliability Boring, safe for bean counters whose second wives are part time edesigners
Black - Sophistication, serious, classy, power
White - In most case, purity and peace in most cases. But in some cultures, it can represent death and sorrow. The death and sorrow thing is highly specific, otherwise we'd see a shed load of Johnny Foreigners weeping into their newspapers, post and domestic appliances. Let alone the drizzy doctors and nurses. Death and sorrow to cloggies tho': white rose of York etc.

 

[Ampheon]

Most definitely, yes - although perhaps not quite so rigid as the list as shade plays a part too. That is, pastels versus a hard version of a colour. And shape as well. Again, a generalisation but angular (square / rectangle) sites tend to appeal more to men whilst curvy sites (sites with rounded corners, etc.) more to women.

 

[Empathy]

Absolutely.

Colour is quite important, can you imagine a gardening services website with red and black?
A computer shop with pink and yellow?
A legal/finance company with pink?

But, most importantly in my opinion, remember that colour is not only to do with the eye, it's the mind also. Colours have been associated with so much in humanity, But also be weary that colours have negative effects also...

Red - Debt, blood, anger
Green - Envy, poison,
Black - Deception
Blue - Cold and depression

That's to name a few.

Having the right balance is essential.
Common colours online for websites are red, blue, green, black and even purple now. Although you may run into the odd yellow, orange, brown or pink.

Remember that red is the most ontrasted colour to the human eye, and so is green to some extent.

An old saying to be mindful of is "Red and green should never be seen" (Anger/Jealousy)

 

[Empathy]

Also I cannot stress how important it is to have the text and background of the text noticably different, whether ti's on the web or on paper.

Never do a blue background with a light blue text on top... seriously! Eye strain!

 

[fisicx]

An old saying to be mindful of is "Red and green should never be seen" (Anger/Jealousy)

A bit like Christmas then!

What you see is not what I see. Everybody perceives colour differently and every browser/screen combination displays a different version of the shade you have chosen. It's why websafe colours were introduced.

Why can't you have pink pinance company?

 

[debbidoo]

A legal/finance company with pink?

Tell that to Smile, the Internet bank. Their shocking pink branding hasn't done them any harm - in fact, it does exactly what it's supposed to, which is tell customers that it's a 'different' way of banking, a bit young and modern and funky and progressive, and that they're great communicators.

Some rules just ask to be broken

 

[Empathy]

A bit like Christmas then!

Lol, I see your point. But there's nothing to say you can stick to what somebody said

What you see is not what I see. Everybody perceives colour differently and every browser/screen combination displays a different version of the shade you have chosen. It's why websafe colours were introduced.

Why can't you have pink pinance company?

There's nothing 'wrong' with a pink finance company, look at Sheila's Wheels, but it's not something you'd expect to see or be in usual fashion.

And I agree with Fisicx on the fact that everybody sees colour differently. The screen/browser thing is also a problem - especially when professional printers use CMYK colour and screens use RGB. Sticking to web safe colours is a must if keeping the site looking exact on every browser.

Here's a useful website that denotes web safe colours with "(Safe Hex)":
www dot december dot com/html/spec/color1.html

(Can't post links yet thanks to restrictions)

 

[maxine]

i thought it was blue and green should never be seen. And another vote for pink sites from me

 

[Empathy]

Tell that to Smile, the Internet bank. Their shocking pink branding hasn't done them any harm - in fact, it does exactly what it's supposed to, which is tell customers that it's a 'different' way of banking, a bit young and modern and funky and progressive, and that they're great communicators.

Some rules just ask to be broken

I've not heard of Smile, but that's quite something, and you're right, it does certainly say 'different'.

I once came across a brown website and was quite surprised to see it was well made and the brown fit nicely. Rather unusual fora web hosting company, but it worked very well.

I'm not saying different colours don't work - just simply that it's different and unusual.

But I suppose you could also say it to Aol.'s new rebranding and logo, it's very modern and young.

 

[Employment Law Clinic]

There's a good book "with a special focus on colour psychology" (Amazon's description) on this subject.

The author is Maria Flynn, who runs an international design academy.

Having been firmly encouraged to read (not treat as a reference book) a signed copy, I can't knock it having read it. It covers the psychology of colour extremely well, with references/examples to many big brands that use colour effectively.

I should observe that the academy's website looks darker around the edges than the last time I visited, so Gillie's comments appear to be valid among the experts.



Karl Limpert

 

[Empathy]

i thought it was blue and green should never be seen. And another vote for pink sites from me

I originally thought it was that, but I was convinced by somebody else it's red... hey ho I don't know! Something along the lines...

 

[Employment Law Clinic]

On a personal note, one thing that always annoys with colour is red & green!

Colour blindness is not uncommon, and red/green are the most common colours those of us that are colour blind can't differentiate easily. There are other combinations too (I got told off in school once for drawing the sea in purple - the felt tip pen & ink looked blue to me), but red/green is so commonly used, and for people like me, I quickly turn away - it's not hard to find contrasting colours that will be visible to all, so why red/green is so often used is beyond me.


Karl Limpert

 

[cmcp]

If you are interested in colour psychology you may also be interested in colour symbolism, which extends the ideas of human behaviour to associations in cultures.

For example, one of the websites I'm involved with at the moment covers the topic sectarianism. This subject is sensitive to colour in society, so we have to avoid using colours such as green, blue, orange, purple etc.

 

[Gillie]

Lol, I see your point. But there's nothing to say you can stick to what somebody said



There's nothing 'wrong' with a pink finance company, look at Sheila's Wheels, but it's not something you'd expect to see or be in usual fashion.

But Sheilas Wheels is for women, aimed at women and women buy from them, hence it uses the pinks etc as thats their demographic and it appeals to them.

As for Smile, well that uses a strong black, but I would be very interested in seeing who they are appealing to and the make up of their customer base.

So yes, for some its very important to get the colour right.

 

[debbidoo]

As for Smile, well that uses a strong black, but I would be very interested in seeing who they are appealing to and the make up of their customer base.

I use at least 4 of their products

 

websites are blue , anything else is a porn site.

Earl

 

[maxine]

Does anyone have any stats for colours influencing conversion?

 

Does anyone have any stats for colours influencing conversion?

yep

We got a green Bentley turbo

yellow ferrari

blue cobra

red TVR.



Earl

 

[d30web]

It would be difficult to narrow down definitely what role color has to play in a conversion as there are a number of factors at play.

 

[maxine]

yep

We got a green Bentley turbo

yellow ferrari

blue cobra

red TVR.



Earl

What a clash.. like technicolour-dreamcars in all the primary colours. When are you gonna get a pink one?

 

[cmcp]

Check out the Color Logic series by Jill Morton. I've only got "Colors that Sell" but she's also got logic in ecommerce, logic in web design.

 

[Bikerdave]

The colour(s) of your website is part of a package of Marketing design and should reflect the business you are promoting in the way you have chosen to promote it. Letterheads, business cards, website, advertising, packaging etc are all part of the marketing package and should be a reflection of your business.

There is no right or wrong only what is right or wrong for you and your business. Being different from the rest may be a selling point to you.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

with references/examples to many big brands that use colour effectively.

How can they tell when a logo is using colour "effectively"?

In particular, what unit of measurement is used to quantify that effectiveness?

Steve

 

[Employment Law Clinic]

How can they tell when a logo is using colour "effectively"?

In particular, what unit of measurement is used to quantify that effectiveness?

Steve

I can’t pretend to know psychology, or even the full research that went into writing the book, but working from memory I believe they were aware of the effectiveness based on the science of psychology: how different colours & colour combinations affect people, both mentally & physically. I’m not aware whether any of the brands featured in the book repeated any scientific experiments to establish what was already known, but I understand that the science has shown different colours & combinations of colours have a psychological impact, and that I expect would offer the measurements to quantify the effectiveness.



Karl Limpert

 

[hargreaves56]

I think lastminute.com have copyrighted thier pink colour! :redface:

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I can’t pretend to know psychology, or even the full research that went into writing the book, but working from memory I believe they were aware of the effectiveness based on the science of psychology: how different colours & colour combinations affect people, both mentally & physically. I’m not aware whether any of the brands featured in the book repeated any scientific experiments to establish what was already known, but I understand that the science has shown different colours & combinations of colours have a psychological impact, and that I expect would offer the measurements to quantify the effectiveness.

If that was the case, it's not that the logos were effective, it was that they used combinations of colours that were "expected" to be effective.

(Whatever "effective" means.)

Steve

 

[Joshua_44]

If you need to find a colour scheme, try kuler.adobe.com

 

[Dawg]

Yes, how do you measure the effects of placebo colour combinations?

If they were 'expected' to be effective the expectations and the efficacy would lie within the experience of the effectee.

Perhaps we could use fMRI brain scanning to give us some idea, but even that is open to doubt: "it's possible to find 'brain activity' in a dead fish if the analysis is done in a way that is common but prone to false positives."
(How reliable are fMRI results?")

Problems, problems..although ole Albert had a thought:"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted. " (In between Theories of Relativity he was.)

 

[Employment Law Clinic]

If that was the case, it's not that the logos were effective, it was that they used combinations of colours that were "expected" to be effective.

(Whatever "effective" means.)

Steve

Yes, I concede it would have been more accurate to say they were “expected” to be effective. Rather like if I was to throw an apple straight up in the air, it’s “expected” (or at least I’m given to understand it is) that this would fall back towards the earth, although without ever having taken any measurements of where any such apple would settle & whether it would in fact get closer after being in the air, I have to concede (given my limited knowledge of the science or lack of measurements to quantify this) that this is nothing more than a mere expectation too.

“Effective” would mean different things in the context of what the business wanted to achieve, based on their wider business model: the use of colours would be expected to be adequate to accomplish a purpose suitable to them; producing the intended or expected result. Said purpose would of course vary: sometimes to slow people down (customers in, say, a supermarket), sometimes to subtly speed people up (customers in the dining area of a restaurant).


Karl Limpert

 

[Gillie]

With reference to colour though and how big brands use them, there are some I can think of where I just cannot understand the psychology of it as they go against all that is said, so do they pick in your face colours just to stand out from the crowd?

As in for instance some occupations are dull and therefore do people expect to fall over dull sites and therefore have little expectation? So if they come across a site thats wow and in your face, will they trust it more as it goes against the grain or be drawn and attracted to it. Does the use of bold colour inspire or merely make you suspicious?

 

Apart from the obvious clashes like white text on a black background e.t.c.

I think it is probably more important how and where you use colours on a webpage.

Earl

 

[Gillie]

You mean as in coloured text? Or simply to use colour to draw someones attention to something?

 

You mean as in coloured text? Or simply to use colour to draw someones attention to something?

Yes drawing attention is a good example,but also the positioning of all colours be they text or graphics.

I suspect the golden rule if any ,is to not go to strong whatever your base colour scheme.

Blimey I sounded half intelligent with that lot.

Earl

 

[FaerieB]

A quick google of "red and green should not be seen except for", throws up some very interesting answers and sites.

I personally have a colour fetish ... at the moment our site is both basic and green but has lots of colour in between (mostly subdued I have to add).

I'm currently looking for a web developer who I can trust and work with and who will ultimately hand over the control of my site development and train me how to develop it further and maintain it. I want that site to have a different colour on each page so that it works well with the images on the page

 

[FaerieB]

I'm loving this site

http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/08/29/forbidden-color-combinations/

 

[Michelle Carvill]

Hi there
I wrote a blog post a while back now titled "What Colour Means for You..." - worth a look http://www.logotastic.co.uk/blog/?p=12

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Yes, I concede it would have been more accurate to say they were “expected” to be effective. Rather like if I was to throw an apple straight up in the air, it’s “expected” (or at least I’m given to understand it is) that this would fall back towards the earth, although without ever having taken any measurements of where any such apple would settle & whether it would in fact get closer after being in the air, I have to concede (given my limited knowledge of the science or lack of measurements to quantify this) that this is nothing more than a mere expectation too.

For you, perhaps. For people who understand gravity, it's a constant.

It has a unit of measurement (metres per second squared) and can be used to accurately predict the speed of a fall.

“Effective” would mean different things in the context of what the business wanted to achieve, based on their wider business model: the use of colours would be expected to be adequate to accomplish a purpose suitable to them; producing the intended or expected result. Said purpose would of course vary: sometimes to slow people down (customers in, say, a supermarket), sometimes to subtly speed people up (customers in the dining area of a restaurant).

That, unfortunately, has nothing to do with logos or brand colours - or their effectiveness.

Or how colour "science" can be used to create an "effective" logo... or what an effective logo is.

Steve

 

[She Says]

And is it right that men buy from masculine looking sites and vice versa?

Men and women are attracted by different things in websites, this study is fascinating and a good case for women-orientated websites hiring more women designers or at least having women involved in the design process

 

[Michelle Carvill]

Thanks for the link Gillie - it's a study that was conducted 5 years ago - and I'm sure most user focused designers will have an understanding of what works for different audiences - or perhaps not. Would like to see some more up to date research on gender preferences and input - if anyone has any references... have things changed? Thanks for sharing...