Meaning of Color

The importance of the use of colors in design are extremely important whether you can see it or not.  Using a certain color scheme can portray a certain feeling to your audience.  Below are the meanings of the most popular colors. (Source Color Wheel Pro):

 

RED   ORANGE   YELLOW   GREEN   BLUE   PURPLE   WHITE   BLACK

 

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire and love.

• Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
• Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
• Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
• Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
• Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

 

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

• Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
• Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
• Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth.

 

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

• Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
• Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.

 

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

• Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
• Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
• Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
• Olive green is the traditional color of peace.

 

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.

• Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
• Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.

 

Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

• Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
• Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.

 

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.

 

Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.

Have you ever thought about your favorite brand and what colors they instill into their logo?  Check out this graphic made by HelpScout.net.  Do the emotions and brands match up?