The Color Black in Web Design

by | Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing

 

The Brain Responds Certain Ways to Certain Colors

While that can be understandable, it is important to keep in mind that colors do convey often subconscious messages and research has shown that certain colors work better in terms of marketing a particular type of business.

Also, the colors that you choose for your website must be appropriate in terms of the product you are selling and match accepted industry norms set by your industry and larger industry-specific stalwarts.

For example, if you’re opening a new hotel, you may like bright colors, but unless you’re going to base that hotel in Miami, and then stick a particular design palette you don’t want to deviate too far from what larger giants such as Marriott or Hilton have done online or your online presentation is likely to look off-putting.

This research is also supported by in-depth research conducted by Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Laboratory, and their affiliated Web Credibility Lab which studies specifically how this research impacts (and should guide) professional web developers and digital marketers (such as myself).

In order to capitalize on reaching your ideal consumer base effectively, it’s also reasonable that you must also know your target audience well so you can choose the colors that will have the greatest psychological impact.

Obviously, you want to use color in your website in a way that will not only attract potential customers and convey the message you intend, but also cause them to spend enough time on your website to either consider buying something online or visit your brick and mortar store. Using color wisely, with some thought to the psychology behind color and business, can assist you in reaching this goal.

Here are some of my favorite Denver, Colorado based companies who have demonstrated an exemplary use of color in their website design.  I will focus on black in this article and in future articles, I will focus on white, green, purple and blue in terms of business promotion and web design.

Use of Black in Web Design

The first thing to keep in mind when considering whether to use black as the primary color in your  web design is that black symbolizes value, luxury, elegance, sophistication, authority, power, proficiency, prestige and intelligence. This is just one of the reasons why people wear black to formal events, black is the color of more authoritative vehicles, and it’s considered the “go to” color when in doubt.

It is also the color of that which is timeless and classic.

Taking this into consideration, what types of businesses would do well to consider the copious use of black in their web design?

Businesses that sell high-value luxury items such as designer purses and clothing, high-end furniture, luxury cars, jewelry stores, interior design firms and luxury salons would be advised to use the color black in their marketing designs and consequently their professional online presence

Here are three Denver-based businesses we took note of for using psychological design principals in appealing, smart ways:

The darker the tone, the more luxurious it is, says our internal color psychology. An article from Lifescript describes black as “elegance, sophistication, power,” which is exactly what luxury designers and high-end e-commerce sites want you to feel. The article goes on to describe black as the color of “timeless, classic” which helps further explain the use of black in high-value products.

In a Business Insider piece on color and branding, the author relates the significance of black:

Black – It is a good matching color for automobile industry and jewelries. Black is often preferred by web designers as it symbols luxury and proficiency.

Black can be used to create a dramatic effect when combined with bright, rich, jewel colors such as red, emerald, cobalt, yellow, magenta and orange. However, in general, using too much black can be intimidating and unfriendly – think of the salesman with the black suit and tie or the black shirt and pants.

For more information here are some related links conveying tips for using black as your primary color in web design: