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As we all know, establishing a solid brand identity is vitally important. It’s a key ingredient in building trust, making consumers feel comfortable, and creating long-term brand advocates. We know that the logo an integral part of a brand. The color scheme that a company chooses for its logo is forever entwined with its brand identity. According to research, “Color increases brand recognition by about 80 percent. So I think it’s fair to say that color scheme is pretty important. Brand color has a correlation with brand value. If you were to go and mess with the colors of an existing brand, it would completely change how that brand is perceived.
Website color scheme Just like it’s crucial to choose the right color for your brand logo, it’s equally as crucial to choose the right color scheme for your website. You don’t want to pick your color scheme at random or base it on “whatever looks cool” to you. “People make a subconscious judgment about an environment or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing. Between 62 and 90 percent of that assessment is based on color alone.” If you choose the right color scheme you’ve already won half of the battle. Here we go with tips on how to pick the perfect website color scheme based on research and experience. 1. Learn how color affects emotion The first thing is to familiarize yourself with how color affect people on emotional level. Note that the impact of color can vary depending on geographical location. For instance, a color that appeals to American shoppers may not necessarily appeal to Indian shoppers. I also came across the Color Emotion Guide that explains the emotions we associate with colors and provides some examples of brands that use each color. I suggest spending time to think about the psychological implications of the various colors. 2. Consider your overall demographic Now I’d like you to think about your target demographic. Who is it you’re trying to reach and sell to? What types of emotions are you trying to arouse? These are extremely important questions to ask yourself. I recommend checking out this information from Fast Company that explains the emotions and psychology behind common colors. Consider the personality and emotions of your target audience. Then choose the best color to serve as the primary color for your website color scheme. For example, if you’re an organic food company, your best bet would probably be green because it’s associated with nature and health. 3. Consider gender Although this won’t apply to everyone, some companies mostly cater to a specific gender. If you’re one of these companies, you’ll want to know what are men’s and women’s favorite and least favorite colors. Research from Joe Hallock’s Color Assignments found that on average each gender has definite color preferences. I’m sure that will help you make good decisions. 4. Consider age group Here’s something to think about that may not be obvious — age group. Did you also know that a person’s color preferences can change with age? According to research from Joe Hallock, it’s true. If a certain age group dominates your demographic, then this too will be a factor to consider. Many businesses make when choosing a color scheme by basing it on their personal preferences rather than psychology. If your favorite color is blue, it’s very tempting to make blue your primary color. But if you’re a cosmetics company targeting a female demographic, this would be a mistake, and you would usually be better off going with purple or pink. 5. Decide on how many colors to use So at this point, you should have a primary color in mind. Now it’s time to figure out how many colors you want to use in total. While there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for this, I would like to point out something that’s called the 60-30-10 rule. This rule is used to come up with a color scheme in areas like interior design and fashion and involves dividing three colors into percentages to create a “perfect harmony.” Here’s how it all breaks down. · 60 percent of a dominant color · 30 percent of a secondary color · 10 percent of an accent color This means that the primary color will account for roughly 60 percent of the space on your website, the secondary color will account for 30 percent and the accent color will account for 10 percent. Now I’m not saying that you have to go with three colors, but it’s a good number to shoot for. Using any more than four colors can make things complicated and downright ugly. 6. Consider your competition You can also learn a lot from competitors in your industry. I recommend checking out at least three websites of direct competitors and looking for overarching patterns in their color scheme. This should give you a sense of what types of tones they’re using. From there you have one of two choices. 1. Create a similar color scheme that fits the conventional mold 2. Go the opposite direction in order to differentiate yourself from the pack I’m personally a proponent of the second choice if you’re looking to establish a distinctive brand. 7. Compare a few different color schemes Here’s the thing. You don’t need to commit to the first color scheme you come up with. In fact, that can be very limiting.What I suggest is coming up with three or four different color schemes and compare each one side-by-side. Have your colleagues or business partners do the same to get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. Then narrow it down until you find the color scheme that fits your brand the most. Conclusion Color is really important when it comes to websites and brands. It’s worth investing some time doing it.
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