By Talia Kennedy
Picking color for a website is more than just picking colors that look good together or tossing in a few favorite colors. The colors need to set the mood, increase brand recognition, and be able to know what the colors say about the brand.
- Set the Mood
Colors have a mood or vibe that can be highly different, especially depending on the color palette you choose. It is critical to match the colors to the type of message you want to communicate.
For instance, I collaborated with the nonprofit Honeybee Discovery Center as part of my TGC work. We produced color mockups for this nonprofit, particularly when it comes to color and how it should be used on their website. The color palette helped portray the message the brand wanted to convey, thus it’s crucial that those colors are used thoughtfully on the website, and that random colors are not tossed in.
For example, one of the color palette’s colors was blue which is a color that normally represents a call for action. It can also be associated with loyalty, sincerity, and trust. As a result, we used it to highlight important sections of text or portions of the call to action.
- Increasing Brand Recognition
When companies utilize the same color schemes in all their branding materials, consumers are more likely to recognize that brand. Consider the color scheme of Coca-Cola and other well-known brands, which employ color to communicate and aid in brand recall.
A website’s color scheme should be distinct and aligned with the brand image or message that it will be presenting. Additionally, it is crucial to have intentionally colored buttons, website elements, or sections since they facilitate reading and draw attention to significant areas or portions on the page or website.
- Know What the Colors Say
When it comes to selecting a color palette for a brand or an individual’s brand image. It is critical to understand what colors should be connected with the brand or what they should tell the customer.
Make sure that the color picked corresponds to the strongest connotations that you want consumers to have with the brand. For example, red represents energy, danger, or strength. It is also a very emotionally vivid color, thus it can attract people to text or images; nevertheless, it may be too strong of a color to use for a call to action such as downloading an app on your phone.
It’s also essential to choose a color palette with some contrast, and when using these contrasting colors, make sure they fit together and don’t appear strange. You don’t want each color to have the same tone, but you also don’t want colors that aren’t complementary to one another. Looking at the color wheel and making selections based on it, is a fantastic idea.
Another key component of color is accessibility, and ensuring that color combinations are able to be perceived by everyone; including those with visual impairments. While brand recognition with color is important, it is also crucial to choose colors that allow everyone to recognize the brand. Consider accessibility solutions like addressing contrast ratios for low vision, adapting for various types of color blindness, adding captions or providing alternative text or visual cues for those with impairments. This is especially vital if the brand emphasizes accessibility and diversity, so by prioritizing color accessibility, this allows brands to effectively communicate with everyone, reinforcing the brands commitment to inclusivity.
It’s critical to understand how color affects customer perception and brand recognition. A brand’s message can be delivered more effectively and draws more customers when it has a color scheme that makes the brand more recognizable. While, color by itself is not the be all and end all, for a functional web design or a website; color is crucial for producing higher-value websites. Understanding the fundamentals of color theory, alongside typography, and other website design elements not only helps build a stronger website but also a stronger brand image in general.