For most of us, a rainbow of colours envelopes our lives. Over 80% of visual information is related to colour. What colours and combinations of colours stimulate people to be interested in different things? What colours make us feel pleasure or disapproval, hot or cold, to be attracted or repelled, our appetite stimulated or suppressed.

Web design which achieves successful marketing results is sensitive to the cultural, instinctual and iconic meanings of colour in relation to the product being promoted and considers the cultural backgrounds and gender of the targeted clientele. Avoiding the extremes of sheer garishness and boredom, effective design displays symphonic colour arrangements of shades, tints, tones and complementarities to tantalise and maintain interest. Adding textures too can alter colours - a roughly textured surface makes a colour seem darker, while a smooth surface lightens the same colour.

Energy, strength, passion, eroticism, cheerfulness, courage, element of fire, career goals, fast action, lust, desire, blood, vibrancy, driving forces, risk, fame, love, survival, war, revolution, danger, aggression, strength, power, determination, emotional intensity, sex, provoking, dynamic, stimulating, courage, bravery, good-tasting, force, leadership, drama, excitement, speed, heat, warmth, violence, attention, generosity, romance.

Red tends to promote images and text, making objects appear larger and closer, though less than yellow coloured objects. Bright red can be annoying if used over large areas and is useful as a iconic colour to encourage people to act quickly eg. on buy or click here buttons.

Light red : joy, passion, sensitivity, love, indecision
Dark red : willpower, rage, wrath, tenseness, vigour, anger, leadership, courage, yearning, malice, wrath
Maroon : Yang, indecisiveness

Romance, love, friendship, femininity, truth, passivity, good will, emotional healing, peace, calming, affection, emotional maturity, caring, nurturing, sweet tasting, sweet smelling, ethereal, delicacy.

Pale pink : sweetness of youth, fragility
Vibrant pinks : high spirits, energy, youth

Warmth, energy, balance, enthusiasm, vibrancy, vitality, expansiveness, flamboyance, excitement, business goals, property deals, ambition, career, goals, general success, justice, legal matters, selling, action, attention-grabbing, the sun, friendly, inviting, intense, joy, strength, endurance, steadfastness, tropics, quick movement, wealth of the mind and knowledge, charity, growing things, fascination, friendliness, happiness, beginnings, heat, creativity, autumn, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, courage, earth, mental and appetite stimulatant, emotional lift, assurance, social force, health, warmth, attractiveness, cheerfulness, mood-lightening, uninhibited, independence, amiability, constructiveness, self-assuredness, cheap, low-budget, fun kids colour, youth.

In restaurants, as orange is an appetite stimulant, orange decor encourages sales. Less passionate than red, orange still increases oxygen supply to the brain, stimulating mental activity. Popular amongst youth.

Orange backgrounds help images seem closer and larger, but avoid over-use. Useful for highlighting important elements, promoting food products and toys.

Dark orange : autumn, deceit, distrust
Red orange : desire, sexuality, pleasure, domination, aggression, thirst for action
Bright orange : tangy citrus, health
Pale orange : apricot, coral, peach and melon are sophisticated

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Friendships, special events, earth, materialistic thoughts, hearth, home, outdoors, inexpensive, reliability, credibility, comfort, endurance, stability, simplicity, comfort, longevity, intimacy, tranquility, masculine, nurturing, contentment, strength, sensuality, productivity, passivity, fertility, generosity, dirt, substance, practicality, hard work.

Brown is too low key if used broadly without texture or another color to enhance it. Useful for promoting food and outdoor products for work and play.

Reddish-brown : harvest, autumn

Beiges and tans : Yang, sophistication, neatness, conceals emotion
Copper : passion, money goals, professional growth, business productivity, career moves
Coffee browns : sophistication, richness, robustness, panache

Wealth, god, winning, safety, masculine power, happiness, playful humour, prestige, wisdom, love of spirit, meaning, purpose, awe, spiritual love, quests of the heart, desire for power, mystic powers, higher mathematics, sciences, attainment, concentration.

Gold and navy (credibility) are the best combination for selling to men and the second best for selling to women.

Sun, intelligence, light, accelerated learning, memory, logical imagination, social energy, cooperation, organisation, breaking mental blocks, sunshine, joy, happiness, intellect, energy, cheerfulness, optimism, purity, enthusiasm, warmth, honour, loyalty, mental force, clarity, perception, understanding, wisdom, dishonesty, betrayal, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, disease, weakness, caution, cowardice, follower, curiosity, mellowness, confidence, humour, dreams, creativity, desire to improve, action, idealism, optimism, imagination, hope, summer, philosophy, uncertainty, restlessness, glory, enlightenment

Yellow stimulates mental activity, generates muscle energy and attracts attention - it is the colour most visible to the human eye. Thus yellow objects move to the forefront. Students who study in yellow rooms do better in exams. Cheerful yellow can be used to promote food especially in combination with other fruit and vegetable tones, children's and leisure products and is best used as a highlight. With overuse, yellow can be disturbing and promote anxiety. Babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow against black denotes a warning ... the sting of the bee.

Dull yellow : caution, decay, sickness, jealousym aging
Light yellow : intellect, freshness, and joy
Ivory/cream : quiet, pleasantness, calm, understated elegance, purity, softness, more rich and warm than white

Earth mother, physical healing, monetary success, abundance, fertility, tree & plant magic, growth, food, hope, personal goals, resurrection, renewal, youth, stability, endurance, freshness, nature, environment, tranquil, refreshing, quiet, hope, immortality, health, healing, good luck, renewal, youth, jealousy, inexperience, trees, grass, vigour, growth, harmony, responsiveness, generosity, safety, envy, misfortune, quietude, compassion, renewal, moderation, nurturing, diplomacy, calm, contemplation, joy, love, abundance, balance, self-control, inexperience, hope, good omens, soothing, sharing, dependability, friendliness.

Green lowers blood pressure, relaxes the nervous system, calms and soothes the mind, stimulates creativity, and is an appetite suppressant. Green is easy on the eye and can improve vision. Images set in green backgrounds seem farther away. Green is popular in most cultures.

Dark green : money, ambition, greed, jealousy, heaviness, prestige, promotes concentration
Yellow-green/lime green : sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy, nausea - don't use this colour for promoting food products as it's an appetite depressant.
Olive green : peace
Avocado : 60s and 70s refridgerators
Blue greens : most accepted colour group across gender lines

Turquoise : Calming, emotional healing, protection, refreshing, sophisticated

Turquoise is equally popular with men and women. Mixes well with pale pinks and lavenders for a feminine look. Create a retro scenario with turquoise and pink or art deco by combining it with white and black. Combined with grey, silver, terra cotta and tans, it produces a southwestern USA look. With orange or yellow, it creates an innovative, fresh image suitable for sports-oriented sites.5

Light Turquoise : feminine
Teal : sophisticated

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Good fortune, communication, wisdom, protection, spiritual inspiration, calmness, reassurance, gentleness, fluidity, water, sea, creativity, peace, calming, higher thoughts, mystery, sky, formality, travel, devotion, progress, quiet wisdom, freedom. betterment of humanity, love, trust, loyalty, intelligence, reassurance, artistry, compassion, inner strength, devotion, depression, sadness, tranquility, stability, unity, truth, understanding, confidence, acceptance, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, comfort, cold, technology, devotion, harmony, depth, faith, heaven, piety, sincerity, precision, intellect, sadness, consciousness, speech, messages, ideas, sharing, cooperation, idealism, sincerity, empathy, relaxation, affection, inspiration, friendship, patience, contemplation, infinity, harmony, non-threatening, dependability

High impact designs can be created with combinations of blue, red and yellow. Combinations of light and dark blues can create feelings of trust. Pale Blue : ethereal, delicate, calming, health, healing, tranquility, understanding, softness

In combination with pinks and pale yellows, creates the image of spring. Aqua : freshness, pristine, vigour, movement, dramatic, confidence, strength, individualism, eccentricity, humour, fearlessness, festivity

Royal Blue : richness, superiority, cold
Dark blue : depth, expertise, stability, credibility (especially with gold), intellect, wisdom, corporate colour, warmth, knowledge, power, integrity, seriousness, knowledge, health, decisiveness, law, order, logic, dependability, serenity

Combining dark and lighter shades of blue creates a conservative and sophisticated look.

Influence, third eye, psychic ability, spiritual power, self assurance, hidden knowledge, dignity, high aspirations, royalty, spirituality, nobility, ceremony, mystery, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, sophistication, cruelty, arrogance, intuition, dreams, unconscious, invisible, telepathy, empathy, imagination, deja vu, universal spirit, spiritual connection, deeper truth, nobility, wealth, extravagance, dignity, independence, magic, creativity, energy, self-confidence, ego, ambition, fame, luxury, big profits, richness, sensuality, elegance, contemplation, meditation, majesty, lesbianism, Wicca, New Age spirituality, paganism, conceit, arrogance, nausea

Almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors, making bright purple effective for promotion of children's products. Light purple is useful for feminine designs. Excessive exposure to purple may cause people to become sullen, withdrawn and ill-at-ease with their surroundings. Purple is a polarising colour - people either love it or hate it.

Lavender : Yang, sexual indecision, malleability, romance, nostalgia, feminity
Dark purple : gloom, sadness, frustration, royalty, richness
Mauve : Yang, world consciousness
Violet : Meditation, creativity, concentration, quietness, creative force, beauty, inspiration, artistry, music, chivalrous love, excellence, ethereal, sensuality, responsibility, sacrifice
Blue purple : mystical
Red purple : sensual, quirky

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White : spirituality, goddess, peace, higher self, purity, virginity, reverence, simplicity, cleanliness, humility, precision, innocence, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, sterility, cold, clinical, sterility, clarity, perfection, innocence, virginity, goodness, light, fairness, safety, positivity, faith, coolness, charity, successful innovations, union, self-sacrifice, holiness, feminine divinity, pristine, chastity, positivity

All white rooms can be uncomfortable with a stark atmosphere. White is useful for a background or accent colour as it highlights other colours. White is perceived by the eye as a brilliant colour.

White can indicate simplicity with high-tech products and safety and cleanliness with medical products.

Silver : glamous, distinguishment, high tech, industrial, graceful aging, telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, psychometry, intuition, dreams, astral energies, female power, communication, goddess, ornate riches, sleekness, modernity.

To create a high-tech look, use silver with other colours. Silver works well combined with gold and white to promote a feeling of control and power.

Silver and other reflectors are strong eye attractors and are associated with life-giving water.

Grey : security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring, practicality, professional, sophisticated, durability, quality, quiet, conservativeness, gloominess, sadness.

Black : protection, repelling negativity, binding, shapeshifting, power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, classy, wealth, power, mystery, fear, evil, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, underground, modern music, space, high quality, bad luck, formality, reservedness, dignity, elegance, secretiveness, fear of the unknown, night, emptiness, dirtiness, sophistication, strength of character, dramatic, authority, prestige, grief, anger, reliability, strong, classic, strength, anti-establishment, modernism, serious

Black is an excellent technical colour and it assist targetting a sophisticated high-end market or a youth market to add mystery. Over a large area, black can be depressing. Though black backgrounds can enhance perspective and depth, they diminish readibility of text. Useful for web sites for art and photography to help other colours to vibrate.

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