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Chris O'Brien July 22, 2014 A 3 minute read

What does your choice of colour say about your business?

Updated for 2024:

Read our updated 2024 article on The Psychology of Colour in Web Design

Colour plays a big part in how we react to every aspect of our environment, from the space we work in to the products we buy. Taking colour into account when designing your business’ branding, product packaging, promotional materials, and even your office or retail space can have a massive effect on the impact your business has on you and your customers.

Choosing the right colour for your business or brand is crucial to it’s success and acceptance. This colour you select should appear consistently on all your promotional materials, including your logo and and product packaging. Try to choose something that isn’t already extensively used in your industry, this will allow your brand to stand out although be careful not to select a colour that doesn’t fit well with the “message” of your brand and the feelings you want to evoke in your customers.

If you have an office or retail space you might want to consider introducing the colour into your space, via feature walls of colour, brand messages, or through furnishings thereby connecting your staff to your brand throughout their working day.

Some (brief) colour meanings

Red

Red is a warm, bright colour that evokes strong emotions. It is associated with love, warmth and comfort.  Red is typically associated with energy, danger, power and love. Since the colour is so strong, it is best used as an accent.

Orange

Orange is a warm and vibrant colour representing energy combined with fun. In colour psychology it means adventure, optimism, self-confidence and sociability.

Yellow

Yellow is a bright colour that is often described as cheery and warm. It is also the most fatiguing to the eye due to the high amount of light that is reflected on and by it. Since yellow is the most visible colour, it is also the most attention-getting.

Pink

Psychologically pink is associated with compassion, nurturing, love, and romance. Pink is inspiring, warm and comforting, suggesting hope for the future. It is calming and non-threatening.  Physiologically, pink calms and reassures our emotional energies.

Gold

Psychologically gold is seen as the colour of inner wisdom, quality and wealth. It is associated with prestige, luxury and material wealth, suggesting that a product or service is expensive and exclusive.

Green

Green is a colour of growth and vitality, associated with new life and renewal.  Physiologically, green balances people’s emotions, creating a sense of calm.  Green is associated with nature, health, healing, and the environment, creating a sense of compassion.

Teal & Turquoise

Psychologically, turquoise represents clarity of thought and communication. It inspires self-expression, encouraging people to tune into their own needs and calms the emotions and recharges the spirit, invigorating depleted energy levels and inspiring positive thought.

Blue

Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity and is often described as peaceful, tranquil, secure and orderly. Blue is often used to decorate offices because research has shown that people are more productive in blue spaces.

Violet and Purple

Purple suggests wealth and extravagance, fantasy and the world of dreams. Physiologically, purple heightens people’s sense of beauty and their reaction to more creative ideas and is often used to denote a high quality or superior product.

Black

Psychologically black means authority, power and control. Physiologically, black is intimidating and controlling, although its power can instill confidence in some.

Brown

Psychologically, brown is associated with strength and solidarity, comfort and earthiness, maturity and reliability. Brown relates to the acquisition of material possessions which implies security and safety, comfort, homeliness, endurance, duty, and stability.

White

White is probably the best colour to use as the background colour for websites. It allows all other colours to reflect from it and makes all colours except yellow and pastels to be very readable.  White gives a sense of openness and space and is associated with clarity of thought.