By M. Isi Eromosele

A site visitor forms his or her impression of your web site within the first 7 seconds. Whether the impression is positive will hinge on your site’s color scheme and its content, two very important components of any site. Your color scheme should enhance your site and its content, not distract your visitors. Color is a crucial element of corporate as well as well as business we design. Why? People react to color. It motivates them. It energizes them. It excites them. Conversely, if not done right, it repels them. It can bore them.

Whether they are conscious of it or not, visitors to your site respond to colors and other visual elements on your site. Psychology plays a vital role in this. An excited visitor is much more likely to engage in seeking the purpose of your site, whether it is to inform, entertain or sell products and services. As such, your site’s color must be in harmony with your site’s message.

Colors express a site’s mood, values, goals and personality as well as that of the company it represents. The colors of the site and those of the company’s must complement one another and synch together. In designing your site, carefully select your colors. In retail clothing, monochromatic colors such as blue and grey palette would be highly effective in allowing the clothing and models to stand out. The colors used should be relaxed and non-saturated, giving an easy going feeling. Colors chosen for the design should not obstruct the clarity of the content being offered at a website. Instead, it should give an attractive casual feel to the environment.

Websites that are built for a global audience must contain colors based on cultural and sensitive awareness. The symbolism of color should be treated with a high level of sincerity. For example, red is the color of blood and fire and should not be linked with the tranquility and godly peace offered by a church web site. In China, a man wearing a green hat signifies that his wife is cheating on him. In India, the color green is associated with prosperity and well being. As such, in global marketing, it is important to be aware of color and cultural significance and their appropriateness.

Colors should be chosen depending on the audience or the target group of the website. Men prefer blue to red and women red to blue. In other instances, men prefer orange to yellow, while women prefer yellow to orange. Websites designed for younger market segment should use bright colors while those for adults and the elderly market should have more sober and reserved colors.

While a particular color could be very loud or quite pale, it could come alive when coupled with other colors. Black and gray would be more boring by themselves. Add a touch of orange and the environment comes alive! If you are designing a site for a bathroom fixture company, consider using soft blues and teals. If you are designing a gardening site, try using green and earth tones. If you are doing an information and research site, use simple, limited color palettes that do not have any particular importance.

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

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