Psychology of Color in UI Design
When it comes to making a powerful impression and pushing the identity of a brand, color is key. Just look at some of the most iconic color combinations of the world’s most famous companies – Coca Cola’s red and white, IKEA’s blue and yellow, McDonald’s ‘golden arches’ – the list goes on and on. These colors manage to burrow into our psyches, and give important clues as to the overall vibe of the company, and what we are to expect from their products. There’s no doubt about the fact that the color of an app’s interface can make a huge difference to how the app is received by the user. That colors have inherent and cultural meanings attached to them is something that’s well understood by psychologists, semiotics experts, and marketing departments alike, and it’s also something which has an automatic, reflexive effect on whosoever is looking at them. In this article, we’ll take a brief look at the ‘meanings’ of some of the most popular colors for apps, and take a moment to think about how using the ‘right’ colors for your interface can increase your app’s popularity and ease of use. What Do Colors Mean? Let’s take a look at a few of the most common colors, and think about the impact they have on your users when viewing your app. Red is passionate, energetic, and has undertones of love and romance. Using red in your app can give it a sense of urgency, but it’s worth bearing in mind that a little red really does go a long way! Warm, exciting, and dynamic, orange is a great color for youthful apps or those trying to put across a ‘cheap and cheerful’ vibe. Calming, deep, mysterious and clean, blue is a hugely popular color for apps trying to put across a sense of professionalism and efficiency. Associated with nature and cleanliness, green is commonly used by apps which are associated with ecological and sustainable products. Light, feminine, and fun, pink is the perfect color for an app interface which wants to put across a light-hearted and cheerful vibe. It’s the color of sunshine and childlike joy and is known to put users in a mood of confidence and inspiration. Purple is associated with regality and mystery and is often used in esoteric app interfaces or those associated with royalty, decadence, and class. Minimal, classy, elegant, and straight to the point, monochrome app interfaces provide an ideal blank canvas onto which the user can project their own ideas and inspirations. Gamma That People Will Trust One of the most important things to consider when selecting colors for your app’s interface is the sense that you want your users to trust your product. While a large chunk of this idea will come from the content of your app and the way that it is laid out, color does also have an important role to play. Think about it – if you wanted to put forward an app which was based around professionalism, handling money or sensitive data, or dealing with jobs and transactions, would you really want to make it burst with multi-colored rainbows of joyful tones? The chances are, probably not. Certain color schemes are simply too light-hearted or vibrant to be truly taken seriously, and while pink and yellow stripes or vivid splashes of color might be ideal for entertainment apps or youthful social networks, they simply won’t cut it when you’re trying to put across a more serious tone. Out of all the color schemes for ‘trustworthy’ or professional apps, it’s highly recommended to stick with either muted shades which complement each other or to use monochrome tones with the color blue included in the design. Why? Because blue is not only a calming, reliable hue, it’s also the color of trust and fiscal responsibility. Even in the political sphere, we can see this being played out: blue is usually the color of choice for centrist and conservative politics, as it is understood as being the ‘reliable’ color which can most easily be trusted with serious issues. Of course, this doesn’t mean that your options are limited to just black, white, and blue when it comes to creating a ‘trustworthy’ interface. However, it does mean that this is a tried-and-tested color scheme, with thousands of successful examples. Diverge from this palette with some caution! Taking Care of User’s Eyes Have you ever downloaded an app which boasts such a garish color scheme, you simply give up on using it after a while out of concern for your eyes? We certainly have, and while that might be at the more extreme end of a scale, there’s no doubt about the fact that the use of color is key when caring for your user’s vision. After all, nobody wants to be struck down with a migraine before they’ve finished browsing through your interface! The fact that certain color scheme is kinder on the eyes than others is well understood. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that bright, bold, vivid blocks of clashing colors side by side create an unpleasant browsing experience. However, the science and psychology behind gentler, more eye-friendly color schemes go beyond simply avoiding violent color classes on your screen. And there’s no need to panic – you still can use those blocks of bright color that your client demands just as long as they’re in moderation. Don’t scream their presence from your mobile device! It’s actually been proven several times over that for apps which feature a lot of text, it’s kinder on the eyes of your users to create a darker background, with lighter colored words and figures. Supposedly, the most ‘gentle’ combination involves a dark blue background with yellow text, but let’s face it, that sounds a bit too garish for most apps, and doesn’t really hit those professional notes well at all. Pastel themes are not only trendy right now, but they are also great for easing the eye into a
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