I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
Why do some places irritate you? Relax you? Energize you? Chances are color in these spaces is playing a part.
Warm colors – such as red, yellow and orange – can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and anger. Red – love, warmth, comfort, excitement, intensity. Orange – enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, youth. Yellow – cheery, warm, optimism, but it also the most fatiguing to the eye. Brown – strength, reliability, natural, stability.
Cool colors – such as green, blue and purple – often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness. Green – nature, tranquility, health, good luck, jealousy. Blue – calm, serenity, wisdom, truth. Purple – royalty, wisdom, wealth, spirituality, exotic.
And don’t forget the “Are-they-really-colors” of white (space, cleanliness and adds highlights), black (sophistication, authority, strength but also death or evil) and gray (neutral, practical, timeless, serious).
If I’m in a pinch, I don’t care which superhero rescues me – but which of these look more energetic, faster, younger? Which looks more calm, assured?
Thus, picking a color scheme for a website means more than picking your favorite color and designing a website around it. Colors and graphics are the first thing your visitor sees. From the background color, to the color of the text, all elements of your website have a psychological impact on your website. Choose your colors accordingly!