When marketers choose a color scheme for a website, logo or presentation, they rely on research in psychology and neuromarketing. They know that the customer’s decision is influenced by his mentality, geographical location, national characteristics and environment, but in spite of this, the dogmas of the psychological influence of color exist.
Emotional factor
Colors stimulate the brain and provoke us to emotions – excitement, enthusiasm, peace, anxiety, confidence and dozens of other feelings that encourage action.
Psychologists have studied the effect of a single color on our perception and this is what they came up with:
Yellow. Associated with joy, it inspires optimism and enthusiasm. Attracts attention and stimulates the brain center, which is responsible for logic.
Blue. Evokes feelings of calm, stability and confidence. Considered to be the color of strength. It is a mistake to think that this color is chosen mainly by men. According to recent data, women who are passionate about their careers, organized and productive, prefer blue.
Red. Influences appetite, so it is often used in the food industry. Good eye-catcher, arouses excitement, but if overdone, looks aggressive. Liked by children.
Green. Associated with success and health, but also soothing and relaxing. People who prefer green are usually open, friendly and ready for change.
Purple. Evokes a sense of respect and freedom. Not in vain it was considered the color of the monarchy and of the high society. Stimulates the parts of the brain responsible for solving problems and creativity.
Orange. Evokes friendliness, a feeling of warmth and a burst of energy. A positive color associated with the sun.
White or silver. Considered the color of purity and security. Conveys well the image of modernity and is often used as a partner in color combinations.
Black. Is deservedly considered a good color partner. Associated with security, strength and authority. Universal and suitable for any area of business, but do not get carried away so as not to be oppressive.
Color schemes.
Color schemes smooth out visual perception and help you choose the perfect color. They are defined by palettes and color charts, the first of which was invented as far back as Isaac Newton 300 years ago.
What charts are there:
Black and white. All the different shades of black going on to white.
Monochrome. A single color tone with a variation of halftones and shades. Saves the client’s eyes.
Complementary. Colors that are opposite each other. Gentle solution for the perception of the overall picture.
Three-color. Those that go in order. For example, red, yellow and blue.
Four-color. A combination of four colors where one color dominates the others. Composed using an imaginary quadrilateral on a color wheel.
Analog. Colors that flow from one to the other on a color wheel, or wheel, as it is also called. The color wheel will determine the interactions of tones with each other.
Helpful rules of thumb.
Color can help attract attention if used wisely. For example, the right color for a call to action button will increase conversions. The developers at Hubspot conducted an experiment: they made up two identical emails and added call-to-action buttons to them. One message had a green button and the second had a red one. The red button was clicked on 21% more often.
The “60-30-10” rule is great for website layout. Its essence: 60% dominant color, 30% of the secondary and 10% of the accent. This balance is comfortable for the human eye.
At the same time, Dr. Neilson’s research confirmed that 69 percent of the time users study the left side of the page and only 31 percent of the time they study the right side. It follows that accents are better placed on the left.
One of the most unfortunate color combinations is red with green. Most of the population suffers to some degree from color blindness and do not distinguish these colors well.