Color means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Some of them may be positive or negative. Thinking of a “Clear Blue Sky” brings about a completely different emotion than thinking about “Feeling Blue”. Below are some general meaning for a few of the many colors that are out there. You should take color psychology into consideration when getting ready to design your website.

  • Red – Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.
  • Pink – love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm.
  • Yellow – Joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship.
  • Blue – Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.
  • Turquoise – calm.
  • Teal – sophistication.
  • Aquamarine – water.
  • Purple – Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning.
  • Lavender – femininity, grace and elegance.
  • Orange – Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
  • Green – Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.
  • Brown – Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
  • Grey – Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring.
  • Silver – calm.
  • Ivory – unification, quiet and pleasantness.
  • Beige – unification, calm and simplicity.
  • White – Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.
  • Black – Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures).
Matthew Minten

Matt is a techy, web guy that loves to program but am also blessed with a creative streak. He does graphic design, web design, augmented reality and photography (and many other things). He believes that anything can be done on your website; if you can think it up, he can create it. Matt founded Inventive Web Design in Reno in 2009 and has been helping local business ever since.