Color can make a difference

by Scott Ames

Posted: 14 years ago 23 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Good stuff to consider when creating sites:

According to writer June Campbell, in North America colors are generally associated with different feelings or emotions:

*

Red: excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger
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Blue: trust, reliability, belonging, coolness
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Yellow: warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
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Orange: playfulness, warmth, vibrant
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Green: nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
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Purple: royal, spirituality, dignity
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Pink: soft, sweet, nurture, security
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White: pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild
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Black: sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
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Gold: prestige, expensive
*

Silver: prestige, cold, scientific

So it's only natural that when you design your marketing materials you should consider how the colors you choose will affect your intended audience.

Source:

Office Organization & Office Efficiency | OfficeArrow - The Psychology of Color in Marketing Materials

#color #difference #make

hugofortin 14 years ago

Hi,

Thanks for posting this! Scott

This is really important to use the right colors to use on our web site. I think it's can make a difference.

Hugo
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Bjarne Eldhuset 14 years ago

That's useful for sure!

It is also important that the colors on your page match. For that I really like this free online tool:
ColorBlender.com | Your free online color matching toolbox
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Sean Ski 14 years ago

After you've seen a thousand red headlines the excitement kind of wears off... But I know what you mean about the colors, I'd mainly use them for headlines; I mostly use red, blue, or black... I can't see using any of the colors for background though (except white), I usually go with a light gray.
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- MissTerraK 14 years ago
  
  Thanks! Site under construction will keep it's color, matches!
  MissTerraK
  
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  Sara Young 14 years ago
  
  The color blender is really nice. I'm definitely going to use it.
  
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redfoxseo 14 years ago

When I used to sell cars The sales manager would always work up a deal in Green because he says that people see green as Go and they are more apt to say yes. He always taught us to never use red because it means stop and you will lose the sale..
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JoMo 14 years ago

So, do no colors bring up bad thoughts or emotions?

-joel
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Diana Lane

14 years ago

Red doesn't make me think of sex, passion and danger either. It makes me think of bills, final demands and overdrafts. I'm such a romantic

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Bjarne Eldhuset

14 years ago

Look at the main color of this forum - now we know why so many people end up here without remembering why.

It was because of excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed and danger, after all

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Diana Lane

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Bjarne Eldhuset

Look at the main color of this forum - now we know why so many people end up here without remembering why.

It was because of excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed and danger, after all

I doubt it's because of the virginal white background. Warriors go all the way

Thanks

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Sandor Verebi 14 years ago

Originally Posted by Diana Lane

Red doesn't make me think of sex, passion and danger either. It makes me think of bills, final demands and overdrafts. I'm such a romantic

Hi Diana,

It is natural, that a lady conducting his own business cares about the money. This 'romanticism' of the money is something that I would call necessity rather. And it could be annoying by itself sometimes, if the cash flow has a negative balance.

But ... on the other hand ... a businesswoman is a lady primarily. The romanticism of the love and sex suit for her better according to me. Naturally, I prefer the red color in this connection.

Anyway ...

Because RED arouses your attention, so it is the highest action quotient -- therefore it is suitable for headlines. RED sells very well by being a stimulator of emotions. According to researches, people who associate with this color tend to be intuitive and sensitive.

It isn't accidental that our WF apply the red color, too.

Have a nice day,

Sandor
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- Ian McMullan 14 years ago
  
  Hi
  
  Colour certainly does make a difference but you need to be careful that your website doesnt look like a box of smarties has exploded over it.
  
  Too much colour can have the opposide of the desired effect (ie you want someone to buy)
  
  Black text on a white background is proven to work best and can be enhance by a little bold coloured text.
  
  Ian
  
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Shana_Adam 14 years ago

Color is an amazing therapeutic tool used for healing as well. I'm dieing to buy some color therapy glasses they dont seem to sell any in my part of the world.

I hate having to pay customs charges.

Color = emotions = mood = rapport and conversions

I hate websites that are just completely black - it does not scream mystery to me its more reminiscent of the film the matrix to me.

Blue is a great color for calm.
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Louise Green 14 years ago

Great post Scott!

I'm also very interested in how colours are used to trigger emotion and also how colours effect us physically for example..

Red will make your eyes focus while blue will make the eyes relax.

Also I remember reading a study a couple of years ago about how colours on webpages can influence actions.. if I remember correctly the best colour combination (at the time of the study) was red, white, black and gray for ecommerce or online selling.

This combination increased the level of consumer trust in the website.

Of course a more recent study may well have been conducted and shown different results.
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- MissTerraK 14 years ago
  
  You all know I favor pink, right?
  
  MissTerraK
  
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- CDarklock 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Louise Evans
  
  if I remember correctly the best colour combination (at the time of the study) was red, white, black and gray for ecommerce or online selling.
  
  Sounds like the Nazis would have been great internet marketers.
  
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Mya 14 years ago

Red and Blue are the colors to use, I watched Daily Planet last month and they even confirmed exactly what I knew from an article I read over a year ago.
It's amazing how much power those two colors have in people.
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- MovingAhead 14 years ago
  
  I totally get it now.
  
  This very thread then is like 70% virginal, 20% seductive and 10% sex.
  
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  Scott Ames 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by MovingAhead
  
  I totally get it now.
  
  This very thread then is like 70% virginal, 20% seductive and 10% sex.
  
  LOL!!! Good one!
  
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1960Texan 14 years ago

Excellent post, Scott. Black print on a yellow background is supposed to be the most memorable color combination, which is why they came to be known as the Yellow Pages, rather than the Magenta Pages.
Will
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- RMC 14 years ago
  
  Another anecdote regarding color...
  
  FAST food industry uses color tricks.
  
  Red is in almost every fast food logo
  
  And I've seen some articles that red and orange are used in the interior to incite people to get the heck out and make room for new customers.
  
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CliveG 14 years ago

Split testing various colors for squeeze page headines gives interesting results. I usually end up with red, but not always. Yellow, for example, may be "warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness" but it's also for few conversions!
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Michael Kohler 14 years ago

Cool post! This applies to Adsense ads, the overall feel of the site. Great list. Just saved it on my destop.
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Color can make a difference

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