Orange is a playful color that can grab instant attention. It is a strong color that stands out, which can make it all the challenging to use in a web design.

The Meaning of Orange

Orange is a warm, vibrant color that exudes energy. Businesses whose target audiences are the younger generations generally like to incorporate orange into their brand. However, it is not just limited to youth. Companies that want to portray power and energy can incorporate orange in their brand and use it to compliment other colors. Examples of businesses that use orange in their branding strategy are sports, kids’ apparel and food. It’s also a seasonal color, typically used during the fall and Halloween.

Using other bright colors like yellow and green along with orange create a vibrant color scheme, great for websites. Colors like grey or black tone down a vibrant theme for a more professional look. Orange can be used in lighter or darker tones if you feel the bright shades are too much.

Today, I thought of showcasing websites that use an orange theme effectively – especially now that we’re in the season of fall this color scheme is seen more and more!

Did we miss any orange website that you love?  Let us know!

Yellow is a warm and happy color. It invokes the feelings of optimism, cheerfulness and even caution. While sparingly used in logos, this color adorns many web designs. Now businesses no longer shy away from using bright shades of yellow on their website.

Meaning and Usage of Yellow

Yellow is a high energy color that stimulates spontaneity. Some web designers use yellow to highlight specific areas of the design while others design complete websites around this color. It is a primary color that has a tendency of becoming overpowering, therefore web designers are advised to proceed with caution when using it as a background color. Being a vibrant color it is the most favorite of the food, communication and automobile industry. Yellow also represents innovation which is why companies that want to highlight their new products prefer using this color.

It is an inviting and attention grabbing color so you can be sure that nothing will go unnoticed on a yellow website! Since it’s not a subtle color, when used properly, it can give a website a lot of personality.

Today we are showcasing some great yellow websites for inspiration.

Hope you enjoyed our collection today. Is there a yellow website that should be our list? Do tell us about it. Just leave a comment below.

If you take a look at some of the most popular logos today that have become household names, you will find that colors played as crucial of a role in their success as did the overall layout and design. Color scheme is extremely important for a successful logo or website. Get that wrong and the entire marketing campaign can come tumbling down.

Through this post I will demonstrate the importance of a rock solid color combination and how it impacts a logo as well as a company’s success.

Good Color Schemes Raise the Standard

A carefully outlined color scheme can single handedly make an ordinary logo into an extraordinary one. Some of the most successful logo designs today use a win-win color combination. It can set a company apart from the rest and give it an everlasting edge simply because people will remember the company through its logo. Can you image the Mc Donald’s logo in purple and orange or maybe the Pepsi logo in green and yellow? Not the same impact, is it?

Great for Attracting New Business

People respond to appealing and attractive things, logos included. The more memorable your logo, the more people will be talking about it and the more likely they are to remember it. They will remember your company in an instant when they see your logo on FaceBook, Twitter or any other social platform where you have an established presence. This ultimately leads to new customers and clients who are eager to do business with you.

For this reason, graphic designers and companies elbow out all details related to the design that might help decide on what types of colors to use such as the client’s industry, target audience and current competition. An attractive color scheme is the gateway to establishing communication between customer and client, paving the way for new ventures and a healthy customer-client relationship.

Building Your Brand One Color Shade at a Time

It is amazing to see how one thing is tied to the other when it comes to colors and logo design. A good design leads to a good audience. A good audience leads to a great clientele. A great clientele translates into a strong brand. With each successful business venture, a company is essentially building its brand via its logo one satisfied client a time.

Choose Your Colors Carefully

Ok so now that we have talked about just how important and beneficial a good color combination is, let’s talk about how to choose the right shades for a design. Too many bright colors are a big no-no. Even if your client is related to the entertainment industry, using too many bright colors can most of the times sink a logo. Stick to using no more than 2 to 3 colors max for best results. Also make sure that the logo you create would look good in black and white.

Contrasting colors are great for making a statement while sober shades, on the other hand, work well for serious businesses, which albeit bearable can get extremely boring to look at if the imagery does not complement it well and helps it stand out. The right color scheme should be a nice mix of both dark and light colors. Having a better understanding of the target audience will also help in determining which colors to go for. If your target audience is young, a good idea would be to use bold color. Older audiences like mature and professional color designs.

So there you have it! There are certain elements that are necessary and getting them wrong can be disastrous when it comes to creating a strong brand. Get the above mentioned features right and you will be able to make a powerful impact with your logo design.

To help designers understand the impact of color in web design, we will now be showcasing various website design collections regularly. This will give you an insight on the emotions that colors trigger and the impact they have on brands and potential customers.

Colors are powerful as they can trigger a variety of emotions and attract different senses. Web designers use colors not just to make their designs eye catching but to invoke feelings in us which in turn will attract us towards a brand. Smart, no?

Our color inspiration for this week is Red.

Meaning and Usage of Red

Red color has the power of attraction. It’s strong and exciting and is associated with a variety of emotions. Love, passion, hunger, danger, strength and life are all defined by the bold red color. There are a variety of businesses that use red in their logo and web design. When using red though, web designers need to make sure that it complements the overall theme of the site. Even a small amount of red color can emphasize details and make a design stand out.

Red is a popular color and can be used in a variety of shades. Dark shades of red are used to give a sober touch to the design and are generally used by companies catering to food, health and corporate businesses while bright shades are mostly preferred by clothing, telecommunication, entertainment and design industry. Of course there are no limitations to using this color however designers should make sure that text on the website is readable when they are using red as a background color.

Today we are showcasing some great handpicked websites that use red as an essential color.

While we tried to add as many as we could to our collection, I am sure we missed quite a few. You are welcome to share your favorite red color web design with us.

I gave you a brief insight into the world of colors in a previous post, starting from color history to color psychology. Now, I want to educate you regarding the technical side of colors that needs to be offered to be a successful graphic designer. Remember that this field requires extra research, experimentation and practice.

1. The Color Wheel

There are three sectors of the wheel. They are called the primary, secondary and tertiary colors.

Primary includes:  Red, Yellow & Blue

These are the three central colors from which other hues are derived. These three colors are unique and cannot be created through a combination any colors.

Secondary includes: Green, Orange & Purple

These colors are formed through the combination of the three primary colors. Green is created by combining blue and yellow. Orange is created by combining red and yellow and purple is created by combining red and blue.

Tertiary includes: Yellow – Orange, Red – Orange, Red – Purple, Blue – Purple, Blue – Green & Yellow – Green

These are hues are created by combining primary and secondary colors. Hues are also added during the combination.

2. Cool vs. Warm Colors

Colors are divided into two categories: cool and warm.

• Cool colors are shades of blue, green, pink, purple, violent and indigo.
• Warm colors are shades of yellow, orange, brown, red and shocking pink.

Cool colors induce relaxation and a soothing effect, whereas warm colors excite and attract attention. Corporations and professional business industries typically prefer cool colors to reflect professionalism. Commercial businesses such as food, beauty and the entertainment sector tend to prefer warm colors to garner attention. When you create a logo design, make sure the colors clearly reflect the correct industry.

3. Color Harmony

Color harmony is the art of creating various visually appealing color combinations. As a designer, you must know the art of combining colors in a way that they attract the viewer. For example the pairing of blue with yellow, red with green or yellow with green in various shades are pleasant combinations. The observer should not be repelled by overdone color combinations or color clashes. An example of this is yellow and orange, which are two bright colors that can be visually overpowering when used together.

4. Color Context

Graphic designers should also understand how one color affects the presence of another. In technical terms this is also known as color context. Understanding this will help you create backdrops, foreground and background images more efficiently. For instance, red color is best visible against a black or white background but against a pink or brown background, the red would seem dull.

5. Color Schemes

There are various color schemes used by artists. The most common are:

	Monochromatic: This effect can be used when you want one single color to stand out in an artistic design. For example, you can create an underwater portrait using all the shades of blue with tints of white (which is also known as absence of color) to highlight various features.
	Analogous: The colors in this scheme are typically three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. This is one of the best ways to create a harmonic design.
	Complementary: The colors in this scheme are typically opposite of each other on the color wheel.For red, yellow and blue, there is green, purple and orange respectively.

Good knowledge of colors can help a graphic designer go a long way. Understanding colors, their uses and meaning will allow you to manipulate colors in design. Once you have a grip on color psychology, this will enhance your skills. Always research and experiment to improve your knowledge.

There is a saying that if you want to be good at math, you’ve got to know your formulas. In that same context, if you want to succeed in graphic designing, you have got to know your colors. Colors are the buildings blocks of any artistic design and graphic designers must know how they work, what impact certain color schemes can have and which color combos should they use for various businesses and industries.

Being a good designer means you must be aware of color standards. These are color scales that are used for various printing and digital viewing purposes. They are known as the RGB, CMYK and Pantone color modes.

RGB – RED, GREEN, BLUE

RGB is the native color display mode of CRT monitors, LCD screens and plasma displays. Cameras and scanners also use the RGB mode. Website designs are designed in RGB. This color standard is best for designing website designs, digital images, blog templates and online brochures.

CMYK – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key

CMYK is a four color mode that is used especially for printout purposes. Whether it is a billboard poster, a greeting card or magazine print, all make use of CMYK colors. Black cannot be produced in RGB, and for printing, it is one of the most essential colors. The K in CMYK stands for KEY (black). This color standard is best for business cards, stationary designs, t-shirts and other marketing collateral.

PMS – Pantone Colors

Pantone colors are vibrant and solid, which makes them perfect for logo designing. In fact company policies of Logo Design Guru strongly stress that logo designers submit drafts only in Pantone color standard. This is mainly because Pantone offers true solid color which gives the flexibility to convert them into RGB or CMYK, as needed. This saves precious time and money. The best part is that colors will appear the same in print form as they do on screen.

We hope that now you have a much better understanding of colors standards. Knowing which color standard to use is one of the most fundamental steps that many graphic designers get wrong. The information mentioned above will prevent that from happening and ensure that you start every project on a positive step and in the right direction.

If you don’t know about colors, you’re going to have trouble becoming a professional designer. It is crucial for designers to understand the meaning of color and its impact on design. Lack of an understanding can result in undeveloped and redundant color combinations which can label you as an amateur designer. As a graphic designer you must study, research and find ways to use color to bring your designs to life.

Various Color Representations in Logo Design

Here’s a brief look into the emotions represented by the ten most common colors and their use in logo design for specific industries.

Black

Represents: Authority, Power, Mystery, Boldness, Elegance and Sophistication

Black is used to commonly target youth and a high-end audience. It creates a mystery while representing power, authority and elegance in the logo.

Red

Represents: Passion, Love, Anger, Hunger, Health, Excitement and Life

Red has the power of attraction and is one of the most popular colors. Used mostly in food, health, beauty and entertainment logos, it grabs the attention of the consumers. Several red foods, such as red peppers or red wine, are known to help increase metabolism.  This is one simple reason that some restaurants prefer to use red for interior décor.

Yellow

Represents: Happiness, Warmth, Innovation and Caution

Yellow is a warm color that invokes the feeling of happiness, warmth and relaxation. Generally it doesn’t play a central role in logos and is sparingly used to highlight important features of a logo. Used alone in bright shades, the color can be overpowering which is why it is a difficult color to use. Yellow is most commonly used by the automotive and food industries.

Blue

Represents: Professionalism, Trust, Authority, Power and Loyalty

Blue is used in corporate logos as it creates a sense of security while showing loyalty and professionalism. This color is used by various businesses related to software, finance, pharmaceutical industry, government and banks.

Green

Represents: Harmony, Natural, Healthy, Renewal and Plentiful

Green is mainly used to represent eco-friendly companies or businesses revolving around agriculture, recycling, landscaping, gardening and solar power. It is the color of nature and gives a calming effect while representing growth.

Orange

Represents: Vibrant, Playful, Happy, Artistic and Energetic

Orange is another beloved color of the food, art and the sports industries. While in one sector it evokes an appetite, in others it suggests playfulness, creativity and energy. Being bright makes orange the favorite color for industries dealing with kids’ products and foods. Some creative industries also love using orange to help them stand out and show off.

Purple

Represents: Royalty, Luxury, Celebration, Education and Elegance

Being a color of royalty, purple is mostly used to represent religious institutes and educational organizations.  It is seldom used for commercial services, unless it can clearly represent the main essence of the company it stands for. Chocolate is one food which is often represented by purple logos. There’s no need to shy away from purple and limit it to represent feminism, luxury and beauty only.

White

Represents: Pure, Peaceful, Spiritual, Clean and Goodwill

White is a neutral color that implies purity. It is also the essential color in negative spacing logos. The FedEx and the Adobe logo make the best use of white. FedEx has a white arrow while the ‘A’ in Adobe is designed in white over a red background.

Pink

Represents: Feminism, Innocence, Youth and Beauty

Pink is often taken to be a feminine color, which is why it is popularly used in logos related to beauty, fashion and others. It is also used for companies dealing with children’s clothes and accessories. Because it is playful and innocent, it is not suitable for the corporate or industrial unit.

Brown

Represents: Reliable, Solid, Masculine and Earthly Aura

Brown is a neutral color that is reliable, solid and dependable. This color is most commonly used for agriculture, construction and legal industries. Some food related products like coffee and chocolate are also best represented by brown.

Colors play an important role in giving your logo life. If you want to create a winning logo design, play with colors, experiment with various shades and see which of them best represent the essence of your client’s company. Be sure not to forget the target audience and how they will relate to the colors in the logo design.