It is common knowledge that colours impact humans psychologically, eliciting varied reactions. And, that is when designing a website, it is important to keep in mind what effect a particular colour will have on people. It is a well-known fact that when the back-ground hue on Barrelhead Sugar-Free Root Beer cans was changed to beige from blue, everyone said it tasted like old–fashioned root beer served in frosty beer mugs. This, even while there was no change in the beverage and it remained exactly the same. Likewise, consumers have been known to ascribe a sweeter taste to orange drinks, when the orange shade used for the can or bottle is darker in colour.
While, it is not easy to correlate product sales with colour, however, it has been noted that when the red can of sugar-free Canada Dry Gingerale was changed to green and white, sales shot up more than 25%. Clear indication, there is some validity in applying colour psychology in life and web designs, as it plays a significant role in every tactical advantage. Replacing bar codes, scanners, database queries with colour proved rather useful for one medical equipment manufacturer, in quickly identifying the department s borrowed device belonged to.
Similarly, applying colour psychology in thermal map web designs, could be an informative alternative to featureless blog calendar archived entries. And, many users have indicated that the presence of colour hinted at the possibility of finding relevant information. So, while people equate blue with calm and spells corporate competence, online retail can increase sales by incorporating and suggesting a match from a range of conservative to adventurous coloured ties for a dress shirt an online customer is considering buying. At the right time and the right moment, accessory suggestions can increase orders by supporting the psychology behind the shopping process.
A site like www.esty.com does just that by supporting user psychology with a shop-by-colour feature that supports shopping. A far cry from ‘colour astrology’ charts, me-too colour schemes that screamed -Boredom.
Whether, a colour evokes a positive or negative emotion, it is dependent on the context it is used in. Colour studies teach casinos how to direct your gaze, hospitals how people use colour to find their way, and colour has also been known to impact learning. Using colour psychology helps improve focus and relieves classroom eye fatigue. Applied to human psychology, colour has been known to instruct and reduce accidents in the workplace, showing colour psychology is more sophisticated than colour charts make it out to be.
While, today we have seen how colour helps increase sales and learning, tomorrow, we delve a little more into the influence of colour psychology in other areas, as well.
