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Using Colour Psychology for Online Marketing

Colour is often a subject that is overlooked when planning your online marketing. Research shows majority of people have associations (i.e emotions) with different colours. Here is a breakdown of what different colours mean to most people:



Black

Associations: Power, elegance, mystery, exclusivity, formality & strength.

Black can go with any colour & is often used for text. When used in larger quantities, black can give off a powerful punch, but too much and you won't catch your target audiences attention. Used as a background black can make almost all colours 'pop'.

Ettinger London Jubilee Advert
Ettinger London Jubilee Advert

Grey

Associations: Neutral, sophisticated, simple & elegant.

Grey is the perfect neutral and works well with most colours, but using to much can quickly become depressing and gloomy.


Westin Hotels & Resorts Advert
Westin Hotels & Resorts Advert

Blue

Associations: Serenity, intelligence, trust & friendly.

Blue is a colour that provokes tranquillity as its often associated with the sea. Businesses use blue to subconsciously incite responsibility & trust of the company. The meanings differ between light & darker blue shades. The lighter end of the shades create an atmosphere of calm & friendliness. While darker shades have associations with trust and intelligence.


Royal Bank Of Scotland Logo
Royal Bank Of Scotland Logo


Green

Associations: Nature, wealth, energy & renewal.

Green is often associated with wealth due to the US Dollar, but when used in a lighter shade is symbolic of nature. Green is also the main colour used in recycling symbols and campaigns, which is where the association of renewal comes from.



Recycle Now Logo
Recycle Now Logo


Red

Associations: Energy, importance, urgency, passion, strength & determination.

Red is used in advertising to grab peoples attention! Even if you think back to when you were in school you knew when a teacher wrote on your work in red pen, it was important! Red is also a colour that is associated love, by being consistently used on Valentines day & relationship milestones. Red is used to convey anger, as seen in cartoons when ever displaying a characters anger.



Inside Out Film Anger
Inside Out Film Anger

Pink

Associations: Femininity, calmness, love, friendly & optimistic.

While pink is most commonly associated with love and femininity, companies also use it to promote that there company is 'pure' & friendly. Pink is rarely used to target male consumers.



Smirnoff Sorbet Light Vodka Advert
Smirnoff Sorbet Light Vodka Advert

Orange

Associations: Hope, energy, joy, warning, refreshing & adventurous.

Orange is often conceived subconsciously as a warning, like on traffic lights. But can also be a light joyful colour that inspires energy & hope. Darker shades of orange can be associated with autumn, which gives off feelings of change. Orange is often used in food & beverage adverts, as its seen as a refreshing colour.


EON Energy Blog
EON Energy Blog


Yellow


Associations: Sun, nature, energy, positivity, happiness, outdoors & summer.

Yellow is seen the most in online marketing during summer, due to yellow being associated with sunshine & brightness. Used sparingly yellow can really add a positive vibe.


Calgary Farmers' Market Advert
Calgary Farmers' Market Advert


White Association: Pure, clean, innocent, emptiness, tranquillity & marriage.

Using white can make your project seem clean & fresh. With the link to marriage, white is associated with innocence. Great as a background colour, or to calm down a bright colour scheme.

Swatch Advert
Swatch Advert

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