Reading Marshall Spondor's notion about ways colors attract or repel people, led me to consider my original olive and lime color selection for Brain Based Biz. Have you considered colors either work for or against you on your blog?
Here are tips from Marshall you'd enjoy:
Here are tips from Marshall you'd enjoy:
- the right colors can trigger positive emotions which motivate visitors
- bright bold colors tend to stir us up, while softer pastel colors calm and relax us
- strong bold colors tend to target men while women generally prefer pastels - consider your audience
- limit the colors to two or three and no more
- make sure the colors work well together and do not clash
Red - Action, energy, strength, passion, fire, heat, power, attention-getting. Can also mean love and romance. A strong masculine color. Red is a good color for a call-to-action. Red is cheerfulness, excitement, and warmth.
Pink is a soft version of red. It is most associated with romance, calming affect; a feminine color.
Blue - Confidence, travel, freedom, truth, professionalism, wealth and power. Also tranquility, dependable, acceptance, patience, understanding, cooperation, comfort, loyalty and security. It is one of the most calming colors and is associated with the sky and the sea, intelligence, reassurance, and trust. Blue has also been known to be an appetite suppressant, so it would not be good for cookbooks or recipes but you can consider it for diet books.
Green - Money, wealth, prosperity, calm, health, food, nature, hope, growth, freshness, soothing, sharing, and responsiveness. Green symbolizes spring, renewal, and fertility. Orange - Health and vitality, autumn, youthfulness, fire, steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, cheerfulness, warmth, excitement and energy. Has been known to stimulate the appetite. Vibrant and warm, orange is associated with autumn and the earth.
Yellow - Light, purity, understanding, caution, brightness, intelligence, joy, organization, Spring. Yellow often represents sunshine, warmth, light, energy and happiness.
Purple - Dignity, sophistication, creativity, spirituality and mystery. Deep purple is associated with royalty and richness, while lavender is associated with romance and nostalgia.
Brown - Credibility, stability, the hearth, home, the earth, wood, comfort and strength. Brown can be used as a neutral or a warm color.
Black - Space, night, authority, dramatic, classy, committed, serious, power, elegance, and sophistication.
White - Purity, peace, perfection, fresh, easy, cleanliness, goodness, and spirituality. Worth noting here, white represents life and marriage in Western cultures, but it represents death and sorrow in Eastern cultures.
Grey - A conservative color, symbolizing security, maturity and reliability.
Leva Duell urges folks to think carefully before selecting:
Muddy colors - for instance, orange - tan colors promote introspection - consider instead a light blue colors, which promote lightness.
Olive colors work well for resturants - and Coffee Houses like StarBucks - but avoid them on a commerce site.
She says "companies that have spent a lot of money researching what colors work the best to their business - you won't find AOL using a TAN color anywhere - they stay with Blue and Blue Green for a reason."
Every day since reading Marshall's post and Leva's comment, I toyed with a color change for Brain Based Biz. I decided to move beyond listening to Web Analytical experts and actually do change!! How about you?
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