The Power of Colour Psychology in Web Design
Colour plays an important role in web design, allowing websites to capture users’ attention regardless of text or imagery.
Colour psychology in branding and design has a significant role by leveraging the association of individual colours with various emotions. When combined with other website elements, experts can enhance both the appeal and functionality of their site.
In this post, we take a deep dive into the role of colour in marketing design, the principles behind colour psychology, and why a strategic approach to colour is necessary for effective web design.
What is Colour Psychology?
Animals and humans have evolved to recognise that certain colours are intended to evoke specific emotions, shaping behaviour and encouraging reactions. For instance, in the animal kingdom, we often see that bright high-contrast colours signify poison. And while you shouldn’t aim to make your website appear poisonous to users, you can use the same principle to choose colours that align with your brand values and goals.
Colour psychology is understanding how different colours have the potential to affect someone’s mood and behaviour. By extension, it also recognises that individual colours have connotations established by the natural world, history, or cultural trends.
Why Colour Matters in Web Design
The psychological effect of colour is essential for designers to have a positive impact on user engagement and conversion rates. By understanding the emotional connection people have with certain colours in certain contexts, designers and digital marketers can align their site’s aesthetic with user priorities. If you’re aiming to create a welcoming and energetic atmosphere, red or orange could be a good option. Whereas if you want to focus on professionalism, shades of blue would be more appropriate.
Designers can also use colours for practical purposes. By using different colours strategically, you can encourage users to move around your site in an order, or take specific actions at certain points.
Finally, the meaning of colours will change across different personal and cultural contexts, so it’s important to keep your audience firmly in mind when choosing your brand colours and setting out the guidelines on how to use them. For instance, where white is a common colour for weddings and corporate dealings in the West, many Eastern cultures associate white with mourning.
Where, When, and How to Use Colour in Website Design
Colour choice and positioning are key aspects of how your website communicates with visitors. And to make this connection, designers need to have a deep understanding of their target audience, the brand they’re working on, and the relationship between the two.
If colour isn’t used according to brand guidelines and best design practices, brands risk confusing new visitors, making the wrong impression, and, in the worst-case scenario, alienating loyal customers.
Our key recommendations for using colour effectively in web designs include:
Contrasting and complementary colours
Colour theory is largely built on the foundation of complementary and contrasting colours. This is the basis by which websites can be visually coherent. There are tons of ways the colour wheel can be divided, so whatever colour is associated most heavily with your brand, there will be options that contrast with it.
While low-contrast colour combinations can create stylish designs, it can lead to elements blurring into one another, which users might find difficult to understand. Using a contrast colour allows these elements, such as CTA buttons, to stand out.
Note that contrast refers to the difference in light between the foreground and background, regardless of the overall brightness. So even if the main hues of your designs are bright, you can still suffer from low contrast.
Reflect brand values and personality
When choosing your website colours, keep in mind the message you want to send. With this as your main focus, it will be easier to create a cohesive look and feel for your brand. As stated in the conference paper ‘The Psychology of Colours in Brand Marketing and Consumer Perception’, “research says that people decide if they like a product or not in less than 90 seconds, and around 60% to 80% of this decision is based only on colour”.
Guide user behaviour
Your website should be visually appealing, but it should also be easy to use and aligned with your marketing goals. To this end, a well-designed site will encourage users to take certain actions. That could be clicking a link, submitting their details, making a purchase, leaving a review, or anything to further the case of the business.
Colours can function as markers that direct the user’s eye. When combined with strategic positioning of assets, designers can encourage users to take actions that are specific to the page they’re on. For instance, if someone is on your contact page, you might choose to highlight the areas where they can enter their details. In the screenshot below, you can see how we use the Mayfly blue as the accent colour that’s designed to signal that each subheading is a link, but it’s small enough to only catch the user’s eye when they’re looking at one particular service.
Prioritise the main colours in your palette
Most brand colour palettes will feature 2-3 colours that are featured in the majority of its website designs, compared to a neutral background colour and a highlight that’s used sparingly. It’s essential to maintain this balance, as your main colours help establish consistency and familiarity. People quickly learn what to expect from your brand.
If someone is landing on your website and they’ve seen your logo elsewhere, they should be able to recognise they’re in the right place just by looking at the colours on the site. On the flip side, too many colours that are too far removed from each other can lead to sensory overload for visitors.
Readability
Any colour scheme you choose must be viewed from an accessibility point of view. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) state that a certain degree of colour contrast is needed to ensure web content is easy to read, even for those with visual impairments. Clear design elements and useful colour signals also help your website be easy to navigate for users.
Common Colour Trends and Meanings in Web Design
There are thousands upon thousands of examples of brands that use colour to further their values and communicate their core message through visuals alone. Colour plays a core role in these designs by helping evoke various emotions.
- Green – often used by environmental, health, and wellness brands, but also by any business that wants to position itself as sustainable and growth-focused. Example – Starbucks.
- Blue – usually associated with credibility and trust. Blue colour palettes are popular among tech and communication companies, as it helps tie in with their core function. Example – Facebook, LinkedIn.
- Yellow – typically signals playfulness and excitement. Example – McDonald’s.
- Red – can signal urgency, excitement, passion, and danger. As a result, red lends itself to fast food and entertainment brands. Examples – Coca-Cola, Netflix.
- Orange – focuses on creativity, innovation, and enthusiasm. It has also been used in the 21st century to appeal to younger audiences. Examples – B&Q, Amazon.
- White/Clear – minimalist look that emphasises a modern and sophisticated brand image. Often used to market big-ticket products in the tech and/or automobile spaces. Example – Apple.
- Pink/Purple – deep purples are rooted in a historical association with luxury and power, whereas lighter pinks are often ideal for creating feelings of compassion and softness. Examples – Taco Bell, Cadbury.
- Black – blacks and dark greys are often seen in luxury goods, such as clothes and perfumes. This promotes minimalism and a no-nonsense attitude. Example – Adidas.
Custom Web Design, Built With Marketing Psychology
Whether you’re building a brand from scratch or redesigning existing assets, there’s a lot to consider regarding colour psychology. But when you understand the nuances and how to apply them to your brand, you can create a visually appealing website that also drives meaningful engagement and conversions.
Colour isn’t just for aesthetics; it contributes directly to user experience (UX) by signposting useful content and important actions. If you’re struggling to make your colour combinations work, or your website isn’t performing as you’d like it to from a design or SEO perspective, we can help. Get in touch with Mayfly today.