What is the Psychology of Colour in UI/UX Design?

Colour psychology is an important aspect of UX. With its right implementation in UI elements like navigation, CTAs, and button designs, it can create an impactful impression. Each of these elements play a huge role in swaying the customer’s decision. Each of these establish the brand’s communication towards its users. Thus, when it comes to the look and feel of a website, what colours you use play a crucial role.

In this article, we will explore what is the psychology of colour in UI/UX design. If you wish to become a full stack developer or a web designer, getting started now will be helpful. With the kind of impact colours have on the user, it has found its worth in both UX and marketing.

Thus, professionals of many fields are sure to benefit by understanding how to skilfully incorporate colours in their work. Colours hold the power to change the customer’s decision about buying. It can elevate a good design to be a great one. Alternatively, bad colour choices can drop the entire face of the website to a mediocre one.

By understanding the psychology behind colours, you will be able to create a palette that depicts the brand well while keeping the users hooked. After a time period, you will also be able to instil unexpected and wild hues into your designs. These act as a magnet, an eye-catching tool.

Yes, colours are not the only factors that sway a customer’s decisions. There are various other factors such as ease of accessibility and loading time that matter. Having said that, colours are important to keep them hooked from the first sight. With the increasing choices a user has, making them stay is the primary concern.

The Psychology of Colour

The UX colour theory and the psychological effects it can have on the onlooker is a highly complex and a mostly subjective topic. Having said that, there are still a few universal aspects that can be studied and implemented.

Everyone knows about primary, secondary, and tertiary colours. Black, grey, and white are universal colours. At least one of these is used in every website. It is the colours that they are combined and implemented with that truly makes a difference.

With the increasing shades for every basic colour, the meanings have diversified too. How one colour is used in relation to the other and how much a colour is used, both are crucial.

Let us explore how different colours can mean different things and have different influencing effects.

Matching Colours to Highlight the Brand’s Identity

One of the key factors of creating a colour palette for your brand should be the values it wishes to showcase and how it wishes to identify itself.

Another key role is played by the industry norms. Yes, it is a thing and every brand must stick to it. The reason is simple – blending in. We know you wish to make your website stand out. But that should not happen by choosing the wrong colours.

Different colours invoke different feelings. Thus, using them ideally is a key. Knowing when to make them brighter, lighter, duller, darker, etc. is essential. Here is a brief about what colours usually depict when showcased through a brand.

1. Red – Red is one of the brightest colours we know. It grabs our attention as soon as we see it. Red showcases danger, passion, excitement, and other such strong emotions. Thus, it also holds the capacity to elicit strong reactions from people. When white is added to lighten it and turn it pink, things sombre up. It then becomes more feminine and romantic. On the contrary, darkening it to make it maroon induces more traditional and subdued thoughts.
2. Orange – Orange one of those shades that is associated with energy, youth, and adventure. When it comes to depicting fun and party times, there is no colour better suited then that.
3. Yellow – Yellow is cheerful, happy, and optimistic. It is suitable for both children and adults. Its darker shade, golden, is associated with success and wealth. Its lighter hue, pastel yellow, is associated with calmness.
4. Green – Green a colour that is used at various levels and for different meanings. It gives the feeling of wealth and money, especially its darker hues. It is also a colour used for nature and environment. Lighter green tones are used for growth and renewal.
5. Blue – Blue has often been lined with trust and loyalty. But blue can be tricky colour. While a larger portion of the world has blue as their favourite colour, picking the right shade is important. Darker shades of blue are often lined with depression and sadness. Thus, the phrase – feeling blue. With the right shade and the right proportion, however, it can help achieve wonders. It is also a top chosen colour by companies globally.
6. Purple – Purple is a colour that is largely linked to royalty and wealth. It was a colour often work exclusively by the royalty due to its rare dye. It also denotes creativity, spirituality, mystery, and magic.
7. Black – Black is the colour of luxury. It implies sophistication. But it can also be seen as showing negativity and sorrow. When used in the right proportion, it can feel formal, casual, traditional, or modern.
8. Grey – Grey can mean a lot of things depending on where and how you put it. When added a little shine to make silver, it stands for evolution and technology. But it can also be for dull, conservative, or sophisticated.
9. White – White is about purity, positivity, or innocence. Being a neutral shade, it is popular in minimalist designs.
10. Brown – Brown is a darker shade of orange. Being the shade of soil, it is associated with being grounded and down to earth. It incites feelings of coziness and calmness. Beige is a popular shade today. It also depicts silent wealth and riches.

Having knowledge about what colours could mean is a good way to ensure you are using the right ones.

Cultural Differences in Colour

When working on the colours for a website, it is important to keep in mind the geographical demographic in mind. While one colour might have a positive meaning in one culture, it might not be the same for another culture or country. This cultural difference should not be overlooked, especially when creating something for the global level.

For instance, white is a preferred colour in many western cultures. It is generally associated with innocence, purity, and hope. In India, on the other hand, white is usually depicted to showcase bad luck, mourning, or death. While trends are changing, it still triggers these thoughts.

Contrarily, there are certain colours with a positive connotation, no matter which culture you talk about. orange, for instance, it loved everywhere. It shows positivity, youth, and cheerfulness.

A designer’s life can be a little difficult with so many things to consider. The best way to go about making it happen is by understanding the target audience at the very beginning of the project. If you are only targeting audience from a particular culture, things will be easier.

Unconventional UX Colours

If you wish to set your brand apart, there is one thing you can do – use unconventional colours. Yes, we know we just said that every industry has some set shades. But that does not mean you would want to lose yourself in the crowd. It is important to take the old, mostly used colours and combine them with shades that will distinguish you from the crowd.

Such colours are generally referred as accent colours. These are used along conventional colours in a small quantity, enough to make a bold statement.

For instance, law firms usually have grey and navy blue in their colour palette. In this situation, using bright shades such as lime green or violet would spice things up. This will be good in attracting a younger section of the crowd.

The rule here is to look at your existing palette and then pick a shade that stands out but still blends well.

The 60-30-10 Rule

There is a simple colour palette theory that aids in creating a visually interesting and well-balanced website. It is the 60-30-10 rule.

60% of your website should be something fairly neutral. This could be blacks, browns, greys, and whites. 30% of the website should be a complementary colour. Pick a shade as per your industry and how you wish to showcase yourself. The rest 10% is for an accent colour. This will add a dash of boldness to the entire thing.

Understanding this rule is essential to create memorable designs. These colours will become the brand palette and thus, should be chosen very carefully.

Conclusion

We know that understanding the psychology of colour in UI/UX design can be a bit complex. But once you get a hold of it, your future projects will become more impactful without spending as much time on the colour scheme. To learn more one can join the UI/UX Design Course at Grras Solutions.

Do not forget to think about both who you are representing and who you are representing to.