Red is the color of energy, passion, action, ambition and determination.

It is also the color of

anger and sexual passion.

Orange is the color of social communication and optimism. From a negative color meaning it is
also a sign of pessimism and superficiality.

With the meaning of colors, in color psychology, yellow is the color of the mind and the
intellect. It is optimistic and cheerful. However it can also suggest impatience, criticism and
cowardice.

Green is the color of balance and growth. It can mean both self-reliance as a positive and
possessiveness as a negative, among many other meanings.

Blue is the color of trust and peace. It can suggest loyalty and integrity as well as conservatism
and frigidity.

Indigo is the color of intuition. In the meaning of colors it can mean idealism and structure as
well as ritualistic and addictive.

Purple is the color of the imagination. It can be creative and individual or immature and
impractical.

The color meaning of turquoise is communication and clarity of mind. It can also be impractical
and idealistic.

The color psychology of pink is unconditional love and nurturing. Pink can also be immature,
silly and girlish.

In the meaning of colors, magenta is a color of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is
spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life.

The color brown is a friendly yet serious, down-to-earth color that relates to security, protection,
comfort and material wealth.

From a color psychology perspective, gray is the color of compromise - being neither black nor
white, it is the transition between two non-colors. It is unemotional and detached and can be
indeisive.

Silver has a feminine energy; it is related to the moon and the ebb and flow of the tides - it is
fluid, emotional, sensitive and mysterious.

Gold is the color of success, achievement and triumph. Associated with abundance and
prosperity, luxury and quality, prestige and sophistication, value and elegance, the color
psychology of gold implies affluence, material wealth and extravagance.

White is color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection. The color meaning of white
is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion.
Black is the color of the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, creating an air of mystery. It
keeps things bottled up inside, hidden from the world.
Color meanings and the art of using color symbolism

You see colors in everything around you, every moment of the day—but do you ever stop to
think about the impact each of those colors is having on you? Whether it’s the calming effect of
blue skies and fields of green, or the saliva-inducing red and yellow of your local fast food chain,
each color has a meaning and taps into emotions. There’s a whole science (and art) in the
meanings of colors. As an entrepreneur or designer, it’s essential to be aware of these color
meanings to help you choose your colors wisely and tap into the magical power of color
symbolism.

Color meanings can be powerful, so choose your colors carefully. Illustration by Orange Crush.

Colors can be a powerful tool—if you know how to use them. For a business—whether it’s yours
or your client’s—there are all sorts of places where color comes into play. You might
immediately think of branding elements like the logo, business cards and stationery. Color
choices will also be meaningful across online communication and marketing materials: your
website, social media, emails, presentations as well as offline tools like flyers and product
packaging.

Where do color meanings come from?

Millions of years of biological conditioning have created certain associations between colors and
objects or emotions, while some associations may be more recent. Understanding these
associations will give you a shortcut to people’s hearts, provoking a specific emotion and maybe
even a behavior. Feelings are much more powerful than rational thoughts based on facts and
figures and applying color meanings and color symbolism will make your branding efforts and
designs much more effective.

Color meanings stem from psychological effects, biological conditioning and cultural
developments. Some color meanings are deeply rooted in our brains because they’re visible all
around us, like red as the color of fire being associated with warmth or green with nature. We’re
biologically wired to pay attention to bright colors because brightly colored animals or plants are
often poisonous. We’re drawn to red fruit over green fruit because the color indicates ripeness
and sweetness.

Other colors have developed cultural meaning over time and their meanings have been adopted
by society, such as pink as a color for girls and blue for boys in Western cultures (which hasn’t
always been the case).

Here are a few things that can have an impact on the meaning of colors:

 Cultural differences—Red represents good luck in China but in South Africa it’s the
color of mourning. Americans associate green with money as that’s the color of dollar
bills but that isn’t the case globally. Black is the color of mourning in Western
 countries, while in some East Asian countries it’s white. In the US green is the color of
envy, while in Germany it’s yellow. You’ll need to be sensitive to these differences
depending on where you are operating.

 Time—Colors may also change in significance over time: red used to be seen as a strong,
masculine color while blue was a feminine color suited for girls.

 Shades and tones—A color may have a general meaning, but lighter shades can vary
dramatically compared to darker shades, while more natural, muted shades will differ
from artificial neon colors. Make sure that you look at the specific associations of the
different shades and tones. For example, if you’re using neon green, don’t assume that
just because you’ve chosen a shade of green it’s going to be a good fit for an eco-
friendly brand. Similarly, a bright magenta will have a totally different meaning from a
muted pastel shade of rosé, even if they are both shades of pink.

 Color combinations—If you’re using more than one color you need to be aware of how
color combinations affect the overall meaning. They can enhance each other, make
each other pop, blend together or fight with each other. You’ll need to give some
thought to their combined meanings and what effect you want to achieve with your
combination. Color theory will help you understand the relationships between colors.

Red is for energy, passion and danger

What red means:

Red is associated with the heat of energy, passion and love. We “see red” when we’re angry and
it’s also the color of blood, power and danger, making it a powerful color in branding. Think of
the bold red of a fireman’s truck or the ‘stop’ sign in traffic. Red is also said to stimulate
appetite, which is why it’s popular in fast food chains—most famously in McDonald’s, which
combines red with another primary color, yellow.

Netflix uses red to attract users to its platform, with red calls-to-action to join or sign in. Another
famously red brand is Coca-Cola (and, as the story goes, it was Coke’s marketing campaign that
branded Santa Claus red). It will be interesting to see what happens with Coca-Cola’s recent
packaging redesign as they move away from that iconic red to match its new Diet Coke flavors
with other colors.

Red and black is a bold combination that’s masculine and powerful. Design by torvs.

If you have a loud brand and want to stand out, then red could be the color for you. Its high
energy makes it a great choice for caffeine drinks, fast cars or sports. With its appetite-
stimulating qualities, it’s a good match for restaurants who want to bring in hungry customers. It
can also be used as an accent color to draw attention to something on your packaging, or to get
visitors to ‘buy it now’ on your website.

Orange is for creativity, youth and enthusiasm

What orange means:

As a secondary color, orange combines the warmth and heat of red with the playfulness and joy
of yellow. It attracts attention without being as daring as red, and is used for warning signs like
traffic cones and high-visibility clothing. It’s an energetic color that can bring to mind health and
vitality, given its obvious link to oranges and vitamin C. It’s a youthful color as well, bringing an
element of vibrancy and fun.

A good example of using orange to connect with a young audience in a fun way is Nickelodeon.
To promote energy and activity, Gatorade uses an orange lightning bolt, while orange is also a
popular color for tropical drinks like Fanta. There may be unusual historical reasons behind a
brand’s choice of color: luxury brand Hermès chose orange because it was the only paperboard
available during World War II! It’s a confident color but not usually associated with luxury.

The orange brings an unexpected creative touch to the finance business in this logo by Cross the
Lime.

Orange can be a great choice for a youthful and creative brand that wants to be a bit different to
the mainstream. It’s a friendly color that also stimulates action so, like red, it can be used as an
accent color to catch the eye and promote activity.

Yellow is for happiness, hope and spontaneity

What yellow means:

Yellow is the color of the sun, smiley faces and sunflowers. It’s a happy, youthful color, full of
hope and positivity. It’s another color that grabs your attention and for that reason can also be
used to signify caution, like red and orange.

The golden arches of McDonald’s (well, they’re yellow, really) are a globally recognized symbol
that can be seen from far away and immediately gets associated with fast food. In the same
way, Best Buy’s yellow tag indicates a reduced cost for its cost-conscious customers (say that

quickly three times!).

This shade of yellow works well for a happy, healthy brand like Why Bar in this packaging
by Martis Lupus.

Yellow is a great choice if speed, fun and low cost are attributes that you want associated with
your brand. Be careful with different shades, though: a bright yellow will grab people’s attention
right away and it’s a useful way of highlighting or accenting a design, a pale or warm yellow can
look natural and healthy, while a neon yellow can instead be very artificial.

Green is for nature, growth and harmony—but also wealth and stability
What green means:

Green is universally associated with nature, linked as it is to grass, plants and trees. It also
represents growth and renewal, being the color of spring and rebirth. Another association is
“getting the green light” to go ahead, giving it an association with taking action. In the US, green
(and especially dark green) is also associated with money and so represents prosperity and
stability.

Green is also often seen as a fourth color on top of the primary red, yellow and blue
(think Microsoft and Google), bringing a sense of visual balance and, as a result, a soothing and
relaxing influence. Famous brands that use different shades of green
include Starbucks, Spotify and Whole Foods Market.

The green works well with the natural material in this organic bamboo packaging
by tomdesign.org for Midori Way.

The connection to nature makes green a natural choice (see what I did there?) for a brand that’s
ecofriendly, organic or sustainable. As with yellow, be wary of the fact that while muted or
lighter shades of green can represent nature, neon versions will have the opposite effect and will
feel more artificial and less harmonious. On a website, a green call to action can suggest ‘go’—
although the battle rages on with red buttons, which can instead suggest urgency.

Blue is for calm, trust and intelligence

Blue is a serene and calming color that represents intelligence and responsibility. Blue is cool
and relaxing. Light baby blue is peaceful, while dark blue can signify depth and power. It is the
most popular color in the world, both when it comes to personal preferences (for both genders)
and usage in business logos. It’s the go-to color for trusted, corporate institutions, often in
combination with a mature grey:

 Blue is also the natural choice for professional network LinkedIn.

Interestingly, blue is the color of choice for many other social networks too. Facebook is blue—
apparently because founder Mark Zuckerberg is red-green color blind and blue is the most vivid
color that he can see. The association with trust and dependability does work well in the context
of a social network, with all the concerns around data privacy and so on, and you’ll find that
Twitter is also blue, as are Instagram, Russia’s VKontakte and even social media site Mashable.

Purple is for luxury, mystery and spirituality

What purple means:

Purple is an interesting color: it’s both warm and cool and combines the passion and energy of
red with the calm and serenity of blue. Because of its associations with royalty, purple is
inherently prestigious and luxurious. Purple dye was historically expensive, which meant that
only wealthy rulers could afford it. The ruling classes and kings and queens of old would wear
purple and Queen Elizabeth I even forbade anyone outside of the royal family from wearing it.
Purple is also associated with religion and spirituality, since the ancient rulers were thought of as
descendants of the gods and the color holds a special meaning in religions including Catholicism,
Judaism and Buddhism. On top of all that purple is on trend, Ultra Violet being Pantone’s choice
for color of the year 2018.