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Web Design 1&2

26 August 2012

Color Theory and Different Color Meanings

One of the main aspects of web design is the colors we choose to design it with.

Depending on the color scheme you use, it affects the way your whole website is perceived. As

an example, if you were to make a website for a horror movie and used a color scheme full of

bright blue and pink pastels, no one would take it seriously. Your horror movie would lose its

frightening effect. Likewise, if you were to make a site promoting baby sitters and had a color

scheme filled with black, grungy reds, and dirty oranges, probably no one would want to hire any

of your sitters. So my goal in this paper is to learn the meanings and emotional responses

associated with different colors for the use and application of web design.

WARM COLORS

Warm colors include red, orange, yellow, and their many shades. Warm colors “rev us

up and get us going. The warmth of red, yellow, or orange can create excitement or even anger.

Warm colors convey emotions from simple optimism to strong violence.” (Bear)

Red. A primary color, this color is the “hottest” one out of the warm colors group, and

has even been shown to raise the blood pressure in humans. Red in its simplest form represents

many things: power, anger, danger, celebration, and as one of the most powerful colors even the

smallest amount of red can attract the viewer’s attention. Dark red is usually used for power and

elegance, while a lighter red is used for excitement and energy.

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Besides lighter and darker reds there are two main groups for shades of red: yellow-based

and blue-based, yellow based being the shade of red you see on a tomato, and blue based the

shade of red you see on a berry. Some studies show that males are more inclined to like yellow

based reds, and females to like blue-based reds.

Yellow. A primary color, this color is one of the brightest out of the warm colors and has

quite a bit of different meanings. Most commonly it is a color of: happiness, sunshine, purity,

glory, but it has quite a polar opposite meaning as well. As an example, when you call someone

“yellow” you are calling them a coward, because of this yellow also carries meanings of:

cowardice, egoism, betrayal, dishonesty, and madness. Yellow is also used to grab attention and

used for hazard and warning signs, although it is not quite as “dire” as red is when used for this

reason.

Yellow is also the only color that does not mix well with black. Morton explains,

“Although there are strong mustard yellows and deep yellow ochres, there are no dark yellows.

Yellow is the only color that reacts badly to black: Add a little black and it becomes a sickly

yellow-green.”

Orange. A secondary color created by a mixture of red and yellow. Orange has many of

the same traits as red and yellow but without carrying the same intensity. Orange usually

symbolizes: balance, transition, warmth, attention, youth, and autumn. Orange can also be used

to attract attention without being too abrasive. Darker oranges give a sense of comfort, while

lighter oranges are soothing.

COOL COLORS

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Cool colors include green, blue, purple and their many shades. “Cool colors tend to have

a calming effect. At one end of the spectrum they are cold, impersonal, antispectic colors. At the

other end the cool colors are comforting and nurturing. [sic]” (Bear)

Green. A secondary color, a mixture of yellow and blue, “green has many of the same

calming attributes that blue has, but it also incorporates some of the energy of yellow”

(Chapman). Green is mainly a symbol of nature and rebirth but also carries meanings of:

abundance, luck (only in western culture, some other cultures believe green to be bad luck),

hope, harmony, freshness, safety, success, and a down-to-earth kind of feel. But like yellow,

green also carries some opposite meanings: sickness, greed, envy, immaturity, and in-experience.

Green also has more shades than any other color “Greens range from yellow-greens, such

as lime and avocado greens, to those with a blue tinge (such as emerald). Aqua or turquoise are

colors that are typically half green and half blue.” (Morton). Light vibrant greens can be used to

show excitement, while muted greens can add a sense of professionalism, and olive greens give

off an earthy tone.

Blue. The only cool primary color and the most popular color, along with being the color

of the sea and the sky, blue symbolizes many different things. “Blue conveys importance and

confidence without being somber or sinister, hence the power suit of the corporate world and the

uniforms of many police officers. Long considered a corporate color, blue, especially medium

and darker shades, is associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism” (Bear).

Lighter shades like sky blue express: peace, serenity, spirituality. While darker shades express

power, wisdom, and authority. Although in western culture blue also symbolizes sadness and

melancholy, as when someone is “feeling blue”.

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Purple. A secondary color, a mixture of red and blue, “Purple is cool like blue and

powerful like red. This color gives the essence of spiritual fulfillment, and symbolizes magic and

mystery” (Johnson). One of the many vibes given from purple is almost a supernatural feeling,

due to its rare existence in nature and it expense of being created. Purple carries the meanings

of: mystery, spirituality, the sub-conscious, creativity, royalty, magic, and “(purple) evokes all of

these meanings more so than any other color.” (Morton)

NEUTRAL COLORS

White. This is known as a reflection of all color and design-wise is used to enhance the

colors around it. White symbolizes: purity, cleanliness, peace, simplicity, minimalistic, and

innocence. While in western culture white is used for marriage, in eastern culture it is used for

funerals and mourning.

Black. Known as an absence of color rather than a color itself, black has many different

meanings. On a positive side, black’s meanings are: elegance, sophistication, credibility,

empowerment, and prestige. On the negative side black carries meanings like: death, horror,

sadness, bad luck, evil, mystery, and rebellion. (Although in some cultures white is associated

with death rather than black). In design, black goes with practically any color, as long as the

paired color isn’t too dark, or else they will blend together.

Gray. A mixture of black and white, gray is a neutral color that has the seriousness and

sophistication of black without carrying all the negatives. Gray is a color of mourning and is

usually described as a moody color. In design, gray is used for corporate websites, where they

want a nice professional feel.

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Brown. A neutral color, found in nature and gives off the feelings of “wholesomeness

and earthiness. While it might be considered a little on the dull side, it also represents

steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, dependability, and health” (Bear). In design brown is

usually used as a background and a replacement for black when dark enough.

In this paper, the various aspects of color theory have been discussed to show how color

can be used to create attractive websites where the colors used help convey the meaning and

content of the site. Effective use of color should encourage viewers to view the websites in the

first place and revisit them often.

Works Cited

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Bear, Jacci “Color Symbolism: What Different Colors Mean to Us” About n.d. Web. 26

Apr. 2012

Chapman, Cameron “Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color”

SmashingMagazine 28 Jan. 2010 Web. 26 Apr. 2012

Johnson, Ben “Meaning of Colors in Designing” Logoinn 29 Jan. 2009 Web. 26 Apr.

2012

Morton, Jill “The Meanings of Colors” ColorMatters n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2012