Color theory and the strategies based on it provide a fundamental basis for creating harmonious designs. But what is the psychological impact of your decisions? Is it possible to address your target group even more specifically in terms of color?

Colors play an important role in our daily lives. Especially as a creative person, colors take up a large part of your daily work. Small changes in color can make a big difference. Colors are also important for the rest of the population: when was the last time you were "annoyed black" or "yellow with envy" because someone has the "green thumb" you would like to have? 

It is not only in German that we unconsciously and regularly use associations with colors. We also find them in other languages. For example, what means to us to be drunk (to be blue) is understood in English as being melancholy/sad (to feel blue).

Cultural characteristics therefore play a not insignificant role in color psychology. It is therefore highly recommended that you read up on the cultural significance of colors if you are designing for an international market. You can find a brief overview here.

Statistics on purchasing behavior

Carlfritz.net has compiled some interesting figures for us :

• More than 90 percent of purchasing decisions are determined by visual factors. 84.7 percent of respondents are most strongly influenced by the color of the product.
• Consumers make purchase decisions unconsciously during the first 90 seconds. The color of the item contributes around 62-90 percent to this decision. 
• Colored ads get 40 percent more attention than colorless versions.

Colors and emotions

emotivefeels takes you on a fascinating and instructive journey through the different worlds of color and the emotions associated with them.

Effect according to temperature

Warm colors have the property of having an invigorating and active effect. However, if used too dominantly or distributed inharmoniously, they can also create unrest. You can use these properties to your advantage - for example, used sparingly and deliberately as a call to action - because these colors immediately catch the eye. 

However, if you use too much red and yellow in your designs, this can also lead to your actual message being lost and users being irritated.

Cold colors, on the other hand, have a calming and serious effect. Cold colors, some of which are also derived from warm colors, can have the properties of warm and cold colors. Green, for example, often has a calming yet lively effect. Pure purple tones, on the other hand, stand out and appear rather "loud".

Psychological effect of colors

Yellow

Yellow is the color that the human eye perceives first. Restaurants and retailers particularly like to use yellow because the color can emphasize or intensify feelings of hunger. Yellow also stands for summer feelings and a good mood. We associate it with youth, lightness, optimism and openness.

However, we also associate yellow with discounts and discount purchases. A product with this color can therefore easily be classified as "cheap".

CeativeSpark use yellow on their homepage as the color for calls to action and as a contrasting color to the white background. Their website looks young, modern and energetic.

Red

Red attracts our attention. Red also stands for activity and a spirit of optimism. Objects and elements in red appear closer than other objects. We have also been trained since childhood to recognize red as a signal and warning color. 

We associate red with very different characteristics. For example, it represents the color for danger and passion in equal measure.

Five/Four 's website looks confident, energetic and authentic through the use of red and bold typography.

Orange

Orange is intended to inspire confidence and lead to impulse purchases. We also associate orange tones with creativity, optimism and joie de vivre. Like yellow, orange also stimulates the appetite. Made up of yellow and red, it is also said to have energetic properties.

The telecommunications provider Orange has not only made orange its logo color, but also its name. A lot of black is used as a contrast. This makes orange not only look modern, but also serious.

Green

Among other things, green is the color of money. Green can increase the purchasing power of your customers. An article by Epson also states that

Green lies in the middle of the color spectrum and is therefore the most balanced color. When the world around us is green, it stands for water and healthy plant life. In such an environment, we instinctively know that we are not in danger. We feel safe and shop with a sense of security.

GoSimple 's branding looks authentic because the name matches the visual design and color scheme. While the font, logo and illustrations are minimalist, the green is lush and fresh, vibrant and healthy.

The product range is also divided into those for women and those for men - a clear use of gender marketing. A further distinction was made here: a sunny, young yellow for women and a serious blue for men.

Blue

Blue stands for relaxation, serenity, calm, freedom, depth, loyalty and longing. This color is rather unsuitable for the food industry, as blue tones have an appetite-suppressing effect. Blue is statistically the color most frequently used for logos and corporate identity. Blue is perceived as serious, honest and safe. We also associate blue with summer, the sea and travel.

Coinbase uses a lot of white and blue as a contrasting color. The design looks clear, tidy and serious. This makes the product appear transparent and confidence-inspiring.

Pink

The color pink stands for gentleness, care and love. Pink is often stereotypically used for products for girls or women, for example in toys, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. We therefore often associate this color with femininity. Less intense than red, it still attracts attention, but has a softer effect and also stands for compassion.

Libenar appeals specifically to parents of small children. The soft pink tones have an innocent and gentle effect.

Violet

Extravagance, exclusivity and luxury - this is what many shades of purple stand for. They are often used for cosmetic products and luxury items. We also often see purple in use in connection with spirituality.

Cadbury 's colors stand for affordable luxury: purple in combination with gold. The yellow and light blue background of the products softens the luxury tone somewhat and makes the brand appear family-friendly.

Brown

Brown is a warm, natural color. According to laprinta.de, brown is "used for coffee, outdoor clothing and wood. It stands for closeness to nature as well as for safety, security and reliability. It embodies down-to-earthness and is not as intrusive as green, but somewhat friendlier than gray or black."

Brown tones are often used in the furnishing and food industries.

Brown is suitable for products that reflect this color, such as coffee or chocolate, as with Portuguese Coffee. The advantage is clear, our senses are immediately engaged and we can almost smell the coffee.

Black

Black is classy, modern and functional. We associate black with luxury and elegance, with respectability, but also with mourning. Especially in combination with noble-looking colors such as silver and gold, we often find black in high-priced products.

The Verona Bakery and Confectionery has chosen black as the most present color, although, unlike yellow, red and orange, it is not appetizing. Despite everything, the choice is a success. Their website is mysterious, luxurious and elegant.

White

We associate purity, innocence and perfection with white. It is particularly popular in the wedding industry. White alone does not generate any emotions and takes on the attributes of the other colors.

The almost white background on the Akson website also appears transparent and honest. Minimalism does not distract from the actual product, but brings it to the fore.

Gray

Gray is associated with professionalism and timelessness. Pure grey is the only color to which no emotions can be assigned from a psychological point of view. However, this does not mean that gray has no effect on us. The absence of color also has consequences. 

On its own, gray can sometimes appear incomplete and oppressive. Together with other colors, gray often takes on their emotional effect. In web design, gray is often used in connection with seriousness and elegance. Gray appears simple and authentic and does not steal the show from the actual product. In addition, gray does not have to be mixed from pure white and black and can therefore be given warm or cold attributes.

Choose the perfect color for your business

Now that you know what each color means: How do you choose the perfect color for your business? ConceptDrop refer to brand identity as an important approach in their article. The focus of your brand personality is in one of these five areas, but usually covers no more than two of them.

Once you know which attributes you can find in your brand, it is easier to find the corresponding colors. Here are some examples of well-known brands and their corporate colors:

Then I recommend finding out which colors other companies use with similar products. The competitor analysis gives you information about what has already proven itself - and what has not. However, using similar color combinations out of safety is not necessarily the right approach. 

It's important to learn from what already exists, but if your customers can't remember your brand because most of your competition is visually similar, then your product will quickly be forgotten.

Standing out from the crowd is at least as important as finding the colors that appeal most to your target group. And to find this out, you can use user testing, for example A/B testing, to check existing designs for their success.

Conclusion on the subject of color psychology

The illustrated designs also show that it's not just the right choice of color that's important: the overall concept must be consistent. If you use confident, loud colors with a small ornate font, for example, you send two different messages.

In addition to the general effects that we attribute to colors, how a color is experienced also depends heavily on the individual. Extroverted and introverted personalities, for example, are said to have different color preferences - but this is not necessarily the case. A distinction is also often made between gender and other demographic characteristics. But ultimately, we all have our own associations, often unconsciously.

Maybe the color of your favorite blanket was yellow and that's why a certain shade of yellow makes you nostalgic. We associate different colors and tones with different situations. While for some, the terracotta tiles in the vacation home represent the color for summer, others may have spent most of their vacations by the local pool and therefore associate bright blue with warmth and summer.

More about colors and their meaning:

• Colorcharts
• Color symbolism and meanings around the world
• How color impacts emotions and behaviors
• 20 outstanding uses of color in branding