Tutorial: Colors and their meaning

Most designers know why they use a specific color for a design. However, a lot of them don’t know the exact meaning of color.
The Primary colors each have their own meaning. It’s expected that these meanings stayed the same during time. Beneath you’ll find the most important colors and their meanings. Keep in mind that everyone uses a different perception viewing a design, so a color can be read entirely different then what you wanted it to be.

Red:
When people think of the color red they mostly think about love or aggression. In short it means presence. For example, do you want to attract attention then you dress red. So if you want something to impress in a design it’s wise to use red in it.

Blue:
This is the color of reliability and truth. When you have a job interview for example it will be probably best to use blue in a CV. It’s also widely associated with power and status. For example most governments and the police use the color blue.

Green:
The color of environment and nature. When you use this color in your designs people will associate it with these words. This color also creates a calm.

Yellow:
Yellow is the color for attention! it’s the opposite of blue. For example if you have a picture with a lot of blue in it and you want to attract more attention to your slogan, it’s wise to use yellow for it.
Yellow also stands for energy, nerve and joy. This color is also the best one to use when designing for an older target.

Black:
Black is (just as the color white) a religious color. The color of mourning. It also has a rebellious meaning however. Think about it, you ever seen a pink clothed Harley Davidson driver?
Never use only black in a design! It makes it bleak and boring. Take your newspaper for example. They print it on cheap paper, mostly in black and white. It’s cheaper but it doesn’t invite you to buy and read it. Therefore they use a color printed front page!

White:
Purity, faith but also a religious meaning like stated above. It also associates with neatness and emptiness. When using white in designs keep in mind not to over use it. White makes it fresher but when using a lot of white the design is becoming less interesting and like stated earlier emptier.