Colour is a meaningful constant for sighted people and it's a powerful psychological tool. By using colour psychology, you can send a positive or negative message, encourage sales, calm a crowd, or make an athlete pump iron harder.

Employ the latest colour psychology in all facets of marketing and particularly in logo design, web site design, the cover of a book, or the package of a product.

The field of industrial psychology has a sub-field that studies only the psychology of colour. It is no accident that Yellowpages has used the same colour for years and years. When I mentioned the service, I'll bet an image of that marketing colourings popped into your head.

Below is a quick overview of the meaning of basic colours. This information will help you decided what colours to use in your marketing projects. The psychology of colour changes with lighter or darker shades of the colours below are often associated with much different meanings. And remember for the World Wide Web, and different cultures have differing views on the meaning of colour.

Black

Black is the colour of authority and power. Black clothes make people appear thinner. It's a somber colour sometimes associated with evil (the cowboy in the black hat was almost always the "bad guy"). In the western hemisphere black is associated with grieving. Black is a serious colour that evokes strong emotions; it is easy to overwhelm people with too much black. Black has also been assoicated with adult websites in the earlier internet days.

White

For most of the world this is the colour associated with purity (wedding dresses); cleanliness (doctors in white coats) and the safety of bright light (things go bump in the night ... not the bright sunshine!). It is also used to project the absence of color, or neutrality. In some eastern parts of the world, white is associated with mourning.

Gray

Gray is most associated with the practical, timeless, middle-of-the-road, solid things in life. Too much gray leads to feeling mostly nothing; but a bit of gray will add that rock solid feeling to your product. Some shades of gray are associated with old age, death, taxes, depression or a lost sense of direction.

Red

Red is the colour of energy. It's associated with movement and excitement. People surrounded by red find their heart beating a little faster and often report feeling a bit out of breath. It's absolute the wrong colour for a baby's room but perfect to get people excited. Wearing red clothes will make you appear a bit heavier and certainly more noticeable. (Some studies show red cars get more tickets but that maybe because the red car owners drive faster or the ticket giver notices the movement of the red car more prominently). Red is not a good colour to over use but using a spot of red in just the right place is smart in some cases (one red accent in a otherwise neutral room draws the eye; a red tie with a navy blue suit and white shirts adds just the right amount of energy to draw the eye (no wonder it's the "uniform of the day" at the seats of government). Red is the symbol of life (red blooded life!) and, for this reason, it's the colour worn by brides in China. Red is used at holidays that are about love and giving (red roses, Valentines hearts, Christmas, etc.) but the true colour of love is pink. Pink is the most calming of all colours -- often our most dangerous criminals are housed in pink cells as studies show that colour drains the energy and calms aggression.

Blue

Ask people their favorite colour and a clear majority will say blue. Much of the world is blue (skies, seas). Seeing the colour blue actually causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming; but that isn't true of all shades of blue. Some shades (or too much blue) can send a cold and uncaring message. Many bedrooms are blue because it's calm, restful colour. Over the ages blue has become associated with steadfastness, dependability, and loyalty (note how many uniforms are blue). People tend to be more productive in a blue room because they are calm and focused on the task at hand. Some studies are showing that weight lifters can lift more weight in a blue gym - in fact, nearly all sports are enhanced in blue surroundings.

Green

The colour of growth, nature, and money. A calming colour also that's very pleasing to the senses. Dark forest green is associated with terms like conservative, masculine and wealth. Hospitals use light green rooms because they too are found to be calming to patients. It is also the colour associated with envy, good luck, generosity and fertility. It is the traditional colour of peace.

Yellow

Cheerful yellow the colour of the sun, associated with laughter, happiness and good times. Yellow is associated with optimism but be careful with yellow it is also the colour of lames and studies show babies cry more in yellow rooms and tempers flare more around that colour too. It has the power to speed up our metabolism and bring out some creative thoughts (legal tablets are yellow for good reason!). Yellow can be quickly overpowering if over-used, but used sparingly in the just the right place it can be an effective tool in marketing to greater sales. Some shades of yellow are associated with cowardice; but the more golden shades with the promise of better times.

Orange

The most flamboyant colour on the planet! It's the colour tied most this fun times, happy and energetic days, warmth and organic products. It is also associated with ambition. There is nothing even remotely calm associated with this colour. Orange is associated with a new dawn in attitude.

Purple

What colour were the robes of kings and queens? Yes, they were purple, our most royal colour that is associated with wealth, prosperity, rich sophistication. However, when overused in a common setting it is associated with putting on airs and being artificial/ Use purple most carefully to lend an air of mystery, wisdom, and respect. Young adolescent girls are most likely to select nearly all shades of purple as their favorite colour.

Brown

This colour is most associated with reliability, stability, and friendship. More are more likely to select this as their favorite colour. It's the colour of the earth itself "terra firma" and what could represent stability better. It too is associated with things being natural or organic. Caution however, for in India it is the colour of mourning.

Colour psychology is complicated field of study and goes deep into the meaning of combining colours for a particular desired effect. We will broad brush some basics that may well enough for you to make good colour choices for a web site with marketing in mind.

Monochromatic Colour Scheme
This is the use of a single colour in varying shades. This can be a clean and interesting look on a web site. It's soothing and pleasing to the eye especially in the blue or green hues.

Complimentary Colour Scheme
This is using high contrast of colour by selecting colours directly opposite from one another on the colour wheel (such as pink and lime green). This puts a warm colour with a cool colour and is pleasing to the eye.

Triple Colour Scheme
This scheme uses three colours equally spaced from each other around a color wheel. It's popular with web designers and allows for a harmonious color scheme.

You ARE that first flash of colour seen on your web site it's important to remember that colour is the first thing registered by a person who goes to your web site. It that is pleasing, they will read on -- if it's displeasing you may lose them in a nano second. So first select your background colour and then select two other colours for your web site. Remember to keep in mind the meaning and harmony of colours.