Why Colours Matter In Design

For many years, scientists have studied the impact of colour on human psychology, and by observing what surrounds us, the importance of colour in our world is very much evident. In everything that we observe, process and consume, different colours cause the rise of different feelings and emotions that directly affect our everyday decisions. In fact, research has proven that people typically make a subconscious judgment about a product within 90 seconds of seeing something for the first time, and up to 90% of that assessment is based solely on colour.

Memory retention and recall are also further augmented by the attribute of colour, especially when it comes to remembering products or brands, and any business worth its salt places a great deal of importance in getting its branding right, particularly its colours, in order to stand apart from their competitors and evoke specific emotions from their target audience. This applies not only to their logos, advertisements and brochures, but also to their cumulative online digital presence, helping to define their website and social media pages in a heavily saturated market.

When used properly, colour, along with solid typography, is one of the single most important aspects of almost any kind of visual design, and at Felicity, we prioritize getting the palette right at the very beginning of the project. In order to not complicate the design and overwhelm users, we typically tend to use a primary palette of one or two vivid colours in conjunction with a secondary palette of two or three relatively muted complementary colours. Every colour has its own place on the psychological index, but the rules are not always set in stone, and sometimes they can be bent in the most whimsical of ways.

Good colours make visuals more memorable and incite emotional responses, and make the user experience more enjoyable, which in turn translates into superior conversion rates. Along with a well designed user interface, helping visitors to navigate through the contents is a key purpose of colour. Colour also helps towards building a structured content hierarchy, helping to focus attention on key information and calls to action.

Working with colour can be very complicated, as there are many variables to take into account when designing anything. However, having a definitive colour palette to work with is a great first step. The importance of colour in visual design is clear – when used creatively, while taking the needs of the target audience and the content into account, it can make an immense difference to the user experience, and by association, the conversion rate.