Colors are all around us, but do we ever think about what they mean and why they are used? Let’s take a closer look.

Love & War

(attention, danger, confidence, anger, blood, heart, lust, roses)

Use: Red should be used when you want to grab your users attention. Headlines or call to actions are ideal candidates for the color red. Use your color selectively as to not drown your document in red. Because red is such a strong color it is best used in smaller doses. Red is the color of war and often represents bloodshed, combat, or conflict.

Although it is associated with hate, red is also the color of love. Lighter tones of red work very well for romantic designs. These may include letters and cards, and are associated with red hearts and roses.

 

 

Royalty & Spirituality

(riches, romance, delicacy, silk)

Use: Dark purple is an excellent color to be used in designs where you are presenting a rich or luxurious concept. Light purple on the other hand works well for delicate, soft, or romantic designs. Purple is also an excellent color to use in religious or spiritual content.

Over the years purple has been associated with nobility and royalty in many different cultures. Purple was the favorite color of the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.

 

 

Calmness

(trust, confidence, corporate)

Use: Blue is the perfect candidate for corporate design. Blue is the color of trust and superiority. Lighter blues convey a calm or relaxed mood, whereas darker blues, especially navy blue, gives a sense of pride and richness.

Blue is also the color of the sky, and because of this, is said to be generally liked by most people. As with red, too much blue results in a negative effect. An overwhelming abundance of blue will cause a dampening of spirits, also known as “the blues”.

 

 

Life

(calming, nature, harmony, balance, desire, jealousy)

Use: The balance between red and blue is green. Green is not as dominant as red, but much less calm than blue. Green is the color of nature, growing, and harmony. Green works very well in designs where you are trying to relay a message of freshness, newness, or revival. When coupled with red, green is considered to be a Christmas color.

Greens in which the saturation is turned down, such as olive green, are typically associated with military attire.

 

 

Happiness

(warm, comfort, excitement, perky, joking)

Use: Yellow is a great color to use to initiate excitement. Use yellow to compliment red and orange, or with black for a stunning contrast. Much like red, yellow also works very well as a color that captures the users attention.

Because yellow is associated with the color of the sun, it is therefore associated with cheerfulness and comfort.

 

 

Energy

(attention, autumn, citrus, neutrality)

Use: Autumn is the season of orange. Orange is a mixture of red and yellow. Lighter shades of orange provide a calm, soothing effect. Darker and brighter shades of orange are usually associated with Halloween. Any shade of orange provides a lively energetic feeling.

Orange is also said to be a mentally stimulating color. Use the color orange in intellectual designs where the goal is to get the user to think about what is he looking at.

 

 

Darkness & Purity

(elegance, sophistication, mourning, neutral, softness, ivory)

Use: Black and white are the north and south poles of color. Both colors work very well as negative space, but are still considered total opposites. Black is a fine color choice for designs incorporating elegance, mystery, and sophistication. White fairs well in designs where cleanliness, purity, or softness is the main focus. White is considered a universal choice for background color.

The shades that fall in between black and white is gray and is a color of neutrality. Lighter shades of gray may be used instead of white, and darker shades of gray may be used instead of black.

 

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