{"id":16,"date":"2008-06-28T12:39:18","date_gmt":"2008-06-28T16:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pro-webs.net\/blog\/?p=16"},"modified":"2008-09-14T08:32:23","modified_gmt":"2008-09-14T12:32:23","slug":"color-psychology-ecommerce-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pro-webs.net\/blog\/2008\/06\/28\/color-psychology-ecommerce-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Color Psychology for Ecommerce Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

I thought I would write a little color psychology post today. This may be terminology many of you are not familiar with, but it is in fact an increasingly strong marketing tool. I have had a small bit of training here, as it was relevant in my past life. =-) I have been known to make frequent references to colors and prime page real estate… These are in my estimation areas of huge behavior marketing advantage. So today we will investigate some color psychology and some quaint cultural differences to help you design your pages and stores to perform better.<\/p>\n

What is color psychology<\/strong>? Very simply, certain colors invoke certain emotional and physical responses with shoppers due to culture and environment. For example, it is very effective to use bright green in your checkout buttons as it naturally says “Go” to the majority of the Western world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Color<\/a><\/p>\n

In my former life I was a restaurant manager for many, many years. It’s no accident that food menus and brochures are generally styled in warm shades, while beverage menus cools shades and blues. They simply market better that way by creating the proper physical and emotional responses. Cooler shades make us think of those cool drinks and cooling ourselves off, while warmer shades lend to hot food and warm bellies. We will cover the emotional and physical responses for the normal American culture… This is a generalization of American’s common responses to different colors.<\/p>\n

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  1. Grey<\/strong> – Can signify neutrality, humility, and respect, \tbut be careful if your market includes older adults as this can bring \tthoughts and feelings of death, depression, and old age. I think personally \tthat grey is best as a secondary or ancillary color and not a main color \tpart in your design.<\/li>\n
  2. White<\/strong> – Is a clean color invoking feelings of pureness, \tspiritually and security. White is a very good non-color to use for an \tAmerican audience. White has a deep association with mourning in some \teastern parts of the world..<\/li>\n
  3. Black<\/strong> – Is your power color, it will send the message \tof elegance and prowess very loudly. Be very cautious not to overdo the \t“blackness” and appear to be sporting your arrogance. Black is also best \tused as a secondary color in your site design.<\/li>\n
  4. Blue<\/strong> – Blue is a very steadfast and dependable color to \tuse, it brings about emotions like harmony, tranquility and has an overall \tcalming effect on Americans. This is a great main color scheme base for your \tdesign. However, I found is that in Iran, blue is the color of mourning.<\/li>\n
  5. Red<\/strong> – Can actually make a person’s respirations and \tblood pressure rise according to some studies. It floods us with very strong \temotions related to love, sex, passion and ambition. Depending on your \tstore’s theme this can be a powerful effect.<\/li>\n
  6. Pink<\/strong> – Has by far the best overall calming response and \tis thought to be the truest color of love, relationships and femininity. \tAgain however, depending on your shop’s venue pink might just be the color \tfor you.<\/li>\n
  7. Green<\/strong> – Makes people think of life and living things, \tnature, youth and money. Green tends to signify an “action” response in \tAmericans… Use green to get shoppers to “do” something. However, green \talso a color of disgrace in China, but in some western countries such as \tGreat Britain and Ireland it is notably lucky color. Overall green is a very \tpleasing color and the darker the shade the more conservative the emotional \tresponse. Green is a great color for your overall store design.<\/li>\n
  8. Purple<\/strong> – Is a color of deep spirituality, sensuality, \tcreativity, wealth and prosperity. Purple can add a certain hint of mystery \tand is best used in small parts of your design scheme. The darker the purple \tthe lesser the emotional response. It is also the color of mourning in \tThailand.<\/li>\n
  9. Yellow<\/strong> – Makes people think bright sun shining days and \toptimism, but can also bring about occasional thoughts of cowardice and \tweakness. Interesting studies have found that babies cry more in yellow \trooms. Yellow has other physical responses as well, it speeds your \tmetabolism up and helps bring creativity and creative thoughts. Yellow would \tbest better served as a less prominent color in your web site design. The \tmore golden or deeper the shade the better the response. Accessibility not: \tYellow is the brightest and hardest color for human eyes to focus on.<\/li>\n
  10. Brown<\/strong> – Is stable, dependable, and earthy. Brown makes \tpeople think of reliability and friendship. Brown is thought to be natural \tor organic in its essence. Brown is the color of mourning in India. Shades \tof beige are specifically very neutral and safe, thus making Beige a great \tprominent color for your ecommerce store.<\/li>\n
  11. Orange<\/strong> – Brings about intense feelings of energy, \tbalance and enthusiasm. I personally love the color orange and I wear it and \tuse it very often. Orange has a mixture of the best elements of yellow and \tred emotional responses. The powerful excitement of red with less intensity \tand a very small hint of the calming effect of yellow… Without putting \tanyone to sleep. However, I would recommend orange as a secondary color in \tyour web site design.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The next time you redesign or begin to lay out a new store… Research some colors for your specific market. You might just find that the right color combination will have people will staying on site longer and converting better. Below are some great resources for color psychology and emotional color responses for your review.<\/p>\n