More About Color on the Web

“Color provokes a psychic vibration. It hides a power, still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body.” — Russian painter and art theorist, Wassily Kandinsky

In a previous post we (dutifully) acknowledged that on the web, content (actually, good, relevant content) is king, and wondered aloud if his highness could spare some love for another key element of the user experience, color.

We summarized a semantic color meaning-and-context framework from Usabilla founder and CEO, Paul Veugen, and promised to share, at a later date, Veugen’s top color-use best practices for maximizing web success. That date has now arrived.

Applying the Power of Color

Here’s how we’ve paraphrased Veugen’s best practices for using color on the web:
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1. Define your main target audience and research the meaning of different colors based on symbolic, cultural and political considerations.
2. Use colors consistently and avoid applying too many shades or variations of your palette. Too much visual variety may confuse users, sidetrack their navigation, or diminish their on-site experience.
3. Ensure that your chosen colors display correctly online. What looks vivid on one form of media may not appear so on another.
4. Avoid getting all Peter Max (60’s counter-culture/psychedelic movement artist) with it.
   Too many wild colors or overly vibrant shades will distract or overstimulate your users.
   You want to catch their eye, not melt it.
5. Color thyself. Your own choice of color has a big impact on the image you present to customers and prospects. Choose a palette that most appropriately represents your company and brand personality.

​Can calculated color use really provoke ‘psychic vibrations’?

Maybe, if you’re lucky. At the very least, you’ll gain greater control over users’ emotions, behaviors and personal, online experience. And when credit cards are at the ready, isn’t that what it’s all about?

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