Color Meanings in Business

Understanding color meanings in business is essential when you are establishing a business profile. Color psychology affects our lives in so many ways, yet we often don't realize the impact of our color choices on our website colors, on our stationery and packaging, in our retail store or office, in our marketing or our business clothing.

Color has a powerful subconscious effect on every part of our lives, without even saying a word; an understanding of color meanings in business gives us an invaluable tool to get the best response to our marketing and promotional efforts and ultimately to create a successful business.

In applying the information about color meanings in business to enhance your own business profile and marketing, don't use any color entirely on its own; it is always best to use a complementary color with your main choice as over-use of any one color can negate its effect and in fact have the opposite effect.

There is almost always more than one option of color combinations to assist your business, so you don't have to choose any color that you do not like or resonate to. Or you may use the disliked color in a very small amount to get the response you want from your customer. For example, you may use just a very small amount of red to indicate your passion or energy for your business or as a call to action button on your website.

Read all the information on each color in this 'color meanings in business' section to determine the best choices for your business.



Red: color meanings in business

Red is a warm and positive color, a very physical color which draws attention to itself and calls for action to be taken.

In color psychology red means energy, passion, action, strength and excitement.

Red stimulates the physical senses such as the appetite, lust and sexual passion. Although it is often used to express love, it really relates more to sexual passion and lust - pink relates more to romantic love than red.

Red represents masculine energy, whereas its softer version, pink, is associated with feminine energy.

Red, a universal sign of danger and warning, can also show and create aggressiveness and anger, particularly if used to excess in the wrong applications.

Physiologically, red stimulates and energizes the physical body, including the nerves and the circulation of blood, raising blood pressure and heart rate. It is stimulating to the appetite and therefore a great color to use for any product associated with food and its service, including restaurants and take-away businesses.

Red excites and motivates but in excess it can cause anxiety and tiredness. It also has negative connotations associated with blood, war and violence.

The color which most complements and balances red is turquoise, although green or blue will also create balance.


Red Key Words:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • action, power, energy, speed
  • passion, desire, lust
  • strength, courage
  • attention-getting, motivating, stimulating, energizing
  • driven and determined
  • exciting, warm, spontaneous, assertive and confident

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • aggression and anger
  • domineering, over-bearing and tiring
  • quick-tempered, ruthless, fearful and intolerant
  • rebellious and obstinate
  • resentful, violent and brutal


Using Red in Business:

Often used as a warning sign, red is best used as an accent color as too much red can overwhelm.

Red will always elicit a passionate response but the response may be either positive or negative and you may have no control over this response as it will be in the hands of your potential customer.

Red encourages buyers to take action and make a purchase. For example, it could be used to tempt an impulse buy at the purchase counter in your store, as footprints or arrows directing people around your store or to your cash register, or for a 'buy now' button on a website.

A touch of red can be used as one of the colors on your website to indicate your energy and passion for your business. In larger amounts it is effective in the promotion of products or services related to food and appetite, energy, passion or speed.

For more on the psychology of the color red .…



Orange: color meanings in business

Orange is a warm, vibrant and flamboyant color. It is energy combined with fun, the color of the risk-taker, the extrovert and the uninhibited. In color psychology it means adventure, optimism, self-confidence and sociability.

Physiologically, orange vitalizes, inspires and creates enthusiasm. It is stimulating to the appetite and social conversation and therefore works well in restaurants and other food outlets. This can be achieved by using some form of orange in the décor, such as in the furnishings or the lighting. It does not need to be bright orange - salmon, coral, terracotta and other versions of orange will work as well. An up market restaurant will look more elegant with subdued versions of orange. Combine with aubergine, purple, or blue for a unique, contemporary and classy look.

Psychologically, orange gives the impression of affordability, depending on the shade chosen and its combination with other colors. Too much orange can suggest cheapness. Use your own judgment on how it affects you - if it looks cheap to you, it will do the same for others.

More gentle than red, orange represents a more feminine energy and the energy of creation.


Orange Key Words:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • adventurous, risk-taking, vibrant, flamboyant
  • stimulating to the senses
  • affordable
  • warm, sociable, optimistic, enthusiastic, cheerful
  • self-confident, independent, extroverted and uninhibited
  • creative flair
  • warm-hearted, agreeable and informal

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • superficial and insincere
  • dependent, over-bearing, self-indulgent
  • the exhibitionist, pessimistic
  • cheap, unsociable, and overly proud


Using Orange in Business

Apply orange sparingly as it tends to be the most disliked color in the western world.

Use it to suggest adventure, fun, optimism, affordable yet reasonable quality, sociable and easy-going.

Orange is an invaluable color in encouraging sales in restaurants, café's, bistros and diners as it stimulates appetite and conversation, contributing to patrons eating and talking longer and spending more money.

Orange's stimulation to social communication and the senses makes it a beneficial color for hotels and resorts.

Travel websites should consider orange as one of their color choices for its association with journeys, adventure and exciting fun activities.

Sports teams can use orange in their colors to suggest energy, flamboyance and adventure.

Orange is an appealing color for the youth market as children and teens tend to like its sense of fun and adventure and its suggestion of affordability. It is also a great color to use on toys for young children, along with other bright primary and secondary colors.

A softer version of orange, such as peach is favorable in beauty salons, spas and treatment centers' and upper class restaurants.

For more on the psychology of orange…….



Yellow: color meanings in business

Yellow is a warm and happy color which creates a sense of cheerfulness and playfulness. Psychologically, it is optimistic, uplifting and illuminating, brightening people's spirits.

Yellow stimulates the logical side of the brain and mental clarity. It promotes wisdom and academic proficiency. It inspires original thinking and creative ideas.

Physiologically, yellow stimulates the mind and mental activity. It increases the analytical processes and our logical reasoning, helping with decision-making.

Too much yellow can cause anxiety, nervousness, apprehension, agitation and confrontation particularly in people who are already stressed. It can motivate people to become overly critical and judgmental, as well as deceitful.


Yellow Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • cheerful, happy, playful, fun
  • optimistic, uplifting, illuminating
  • logical, mental clarity, aids decision-making
  • confidence, originality, creativity
  • challenging, academic and analytical
  • wisdom and logic
  • communication of new ideas

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • critical and judgmental, overly analytical
  • impatient and impulsive
  • egotistical, pessimistic, an inferiority complex
  • spiteful, cowardly, deceitful
  • non-emotional and lacking compassion


Using Yellow in Business

Yellow is a great color for children's products, particularly combined with other bright primary or secondary colors. It is stimulating to their mind and their creativity.

For many leisure products, particularly those that promote playful and fun activities, yellow is a beneficial color. It will enhance the promotion of any fun and entertainment businesses.

Apart from the above types of businesses, in general it is best to use yellow as a highlight color - too much can cause agitation and anxiety, particularly with older people. Avoid its use where you are trying to impart a message of stability.

Use yellow where you want to keep people moving. Most people cannot stay for long where there is a lot of yellow. Fast food outlets use it combined with red to encourage people to eat lots quickly then move on.

It is a good to incorporate yellow in the promotion of point of sale purchases - the eyes see yellow first and with so many other distractions in retail stores, you need to capture your customer's attention quickly.

Don't use yellow to sell expensive items to men who see it as cheap and unsophisticated.

Don't use dirty versions of yellow such as mustard - they have negative connotations.

Yellow with black provides a warning and is often used in safety signs for this reason.

For more on the psychology of the color yellow…….



Green: color meanings in business

Green is a color of growth and vitality, associated with new life and renewal.

Psychologically green relates to balance and harmony of the mind, the body and the emotions. It assists in decision making by helping us to see all sides clearly.

Physiologically, green balances people's emotions, creating a sense of calm.

Green is associated with nature, health and healing, and the environment, creating a sense of compassion and nurturing for all. It encourages generosity, kindness and sympathy.

Darker greens relate to money, wealth and prestige, while lighter greens relate to growth and freshness. Green is regarded as the color of money in the Western world.

Too much green can lead to feelings of envy, greed and selfishness. Dirty olive green can have negative connotations unless it is associated with the environment.


Green Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • growth and vitality, renewal and restoration
  • self-reliance, reliability and dependability
  • being tactful, emotionally balanced and calm
  • nature lover and family oriented
  • practical and down to earth
  • sympathetic, compassionate and nurturing
  • generous, kind and loyal with a high moral sense
  • adaptable and flexible
  • encourages 'social joining' of clubs and other groups, a need to belong

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • possessive and materialistic
  • indifferent and over-cautious
  • envious, selfish, greedy and miserly
  • devious with money
  • inconsiderate, a hypochondriac and a do-gooder


Using Green in Business

Green is beneficial for anything to do with health and healing.

Green is an ideal color to promote natural, safe, organic products. It is also beneficial in the promotion of environmentally friendly products.

Green suggests something 'new' and fresh. Lime green creates an anticipation of the potential of what is on offer.

Green motivates people to join social groups and satisfies their need to belong.

Dark green is a good color for money and financial websites.Use green where you need people to see both sides of a situation as it aids in clear thinking and decision making.

For more on the psychology of the color green…….



Turquoise: color meanings in business

Psychologically, turquoise represents clarity of thought and communication. It inspires self-expression, encouraging people to tune into their own needs.

Physiologically, turquoise calms the emotions and recharges the spirit, invigorating depleted energy levels and inspiring positive thought.

Turquoise is a beneficial color for any business related to communication, including teachers, trainers, public speakers, media communication and computer technology.

Turquoise is a good color for health clinics and practitioners as it balances the emotions and calms the spirit.

Using turquoise for cleaning products is ideal as it reflects cleanliness and purity without being too sterile.

Too much turquoise creates indecision as people swing between the blue energy and the yellow energy that comprises turquoise. Balance it with either some red, pink, magenta or purple.


Turquoise Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • communication, clarity of thought
  • balance and harmony, calmness
  • idealism, creativity and inspiration
  • self-expression
  • compassion, healing and self-sufficiency

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • boastfulness
  • secrecy
  • unreliability and reticence
  • fence-sitting
  • aloofness, deception and off-handedness


Using Turquoise in Business

Turquoise is suitable for use in any business involved in media communication, teaching, public speaking or computers. It aids self-expression, clarity of thought and logical thinking.

Turquoise works well with businesses promoting water, whether it be pure water filtration companies, pool cleaning businesses, or water sports.

It has an innovative quality and appeal for sports related businesses and combines well with red, orange or yellow for these types of businesses.

Turquoise is suitable for both the male and female market and for all ages.

Combined with pale pink, lavender or pale lemon, turquoise has a feminine energy, ideal for the fashion or beauty market, gift or home wares stores.

For more on the psychology of the color turquoise…….



Blue: color meanings in business

Blue is the most universally favored color of all and therefore the safest to use. It relates to trust, honesty and dependability, therefore helping to build customer loyalty.

Blue indicates confidence, reliability and responsibility. It relates to one-to-one communication rather than mass communication. It inspires wisdom and higher ideals but is also conservative and predictable.

Physiologically, blue is calming, reducing tension and fear. It slows the pulse rate and reduces appetite. Being a cool color it creates a sensation of space.

Blue adds strength and unity, and is therapeutic to the mind and body. It brings harmony to the spoken word.

Blue works well for the corporate world and is often used for more conservative types of businesses such as accountants, insurance companies, banks and other financial companies where trust and reliability are important.

Younger people see blue in general as a color relating to maturity and the adult market, unless it is a bright electric blue of course.

Too much blue can encourage boredom, manipulation or a rigid outlook.


Blue Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • loyalty, trust and integrity
  • tactful, caring and concerned
  • reliability and responsibility
  • conservatism and perseverance
  • idealistic and orderly
  • authority, devotion and contemplation
  • peace and calm

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • rigid, deceitful and spiteful
  • self-righteous, superstitious and emotionally unstable
  • too conservative, predictable and weak
  • unforgiving and frigid
  • manipulation, unfaithfulness and distrust


Using Blue in Business

Blue is best used for conservative corporate businesses where trust, dependability and honesty are important.

Communication websites which market to individual customers on a one-to-one basis would benefit with some blue in their marketing.

Hi-tech and computer technology businesses can benefit from most shades of blue combined with gray.

As with turquoise, blue is recommended for any business involved in the area of cleanliness, whether it be cleaning products, water purification or mineral water. It is also beneficial to businesses, such as airlines, boating or air conditioning companies, that relate to the common associations of blue with the sky, air and water.

Websites promoting technology, medical equipment, cleanliness, male products, or both male and female products should use some blue in their colors.

Blue should not be used for food related businesses as it is a color that does not occur naturally in food, except for blueberries, and it is associated with mould and 'off' food. The only exception is sugar, where blue or blue-pinks are used on packaging because blue and pink are associated with sweetness.

Light blue relates well to the health and wellness industry, to travel and relaxation.

Dark blue is a serious color which inspires integrity and honesty and is often used by political organizations, religious organizations and legal firms for this reason.


For more on the psychology of the color blue….…



Indigo: color meanings in business

Indigo or deep midnight blue is a powerful color related to the right side of the brain. It resonates to the 'New Age' way of thinking.

Psychologically, indigo conveys integrity and deep sincerity and stimulates creativity and intuition. While it is connected to structure, tradition, ritual and ceremony, it can also transform people's thinking and beliefs into developing new insights and a pioneering spirit. It imparts a message of great responsibility and high ideals.

Physiologically, indigo helps broaden the mind and free it of fears and inhibitions.

Indigo is also the color of the fanatic and the conformist as well as the addictive personality. It can be depressing and boring to some people.


Indigo Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • integrity and sincerity
  • structure and regulations
  • highly responsible
  • idealism
  • obedience
  • highly intuitive, practical visionary
  • faithful
  • commitment to the truth and selflessness

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • fanatical, judgmental, impractical
  • intolerant and inconsiderate
  • depressed, fearful, self-righteous
  • a conformist addictive
  • bigoted and avoiding conflict


Using Indigo in Business

Indigo is a good choice when integrity and sincerity is your message. Funeral service businesses are an example of those that would benefit from the use of indigo as one of their colors.

Indigo is an advantage in businesses where structure and tradition are important, such as educational institutions, law firms and banks.

In businesses that look to the future indigo can help transform people's thinking.

Indigo combines well with other bright jewel colors such as magenta, emerald green, turquoise, and pink.


For more on the psychology of the color indigo....



Purple: color meanings in business

Purple suggests wealth and extravagance, fantasy and the world of dreams. It enhances spiritual pursuits and enlightenment.

Physiologically, purple heightens people's sense of beauty and their reaction to more creative ideas.

Purple is often used to denote a high quality or superior product, such as Cadbury's chocolate or some women's cosmetics.

If you are in a service business, use some purple in your marketing to denote your premium service.

Purple is often connected with the 18 to 25 year old market as they see it as sexy and rebellious, while innovative designers connect it with sophistication and power.

Purple is most often used by businesses in creative fields -designers, psychics and cosmetic manufacturers are common users of it.

Purple is a color that works well with gold, taupe, turquoise, jade green, deep red, magenta and yellow. Combined with orange it creates a unique contemporary look.


Purple Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • unusual and individual, creative and inventive
  • psychic and intuitive
  • humanitarian, selfless and unlimited
  • mystery, fantasy and the future

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • immaturity
  • impractical
  • cynical and aloof, pompous and arrogant
  • fraudulent and corrupt
  • delusions of grandeur and the social climber


Using Purple in Business

Purple is more suitable for products and websites related to women or children, although younger men are slowly becoming more attuned to it.

Academic institutions often use medium shades of purple or violet as they inspire intellectual thought and achievement.

Purple portrays wealth and extravagance when combined with the richness of gold. This is difficult on a website as gold tends to look like a dull yellow which is not particularly positive in its message. It works very well on packaging and print material.

Pre-adolescent children are attracted to purple along with the other bright primary and secondary colors and these colors should always feature on products and marketing designed for this age group.

Lighter versions of purple are suitable for products and services targeted specifically at the female market. Lavender suggests nostalgia and works well for businesses selling old lace, sentimental handmade craft items and antique goods.

For more on the psychology of the color purple……



Magenta: color meanings in business

Magenta is a color of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life.

Magenta represents universal love at its highest level. It promotes compassion, support and kindness and encourages a sense of self-respect and contentment in those who use it. It can assist ambitions and desires to become reality.

Physiologically magenta helps us to flow with life and let go of old ideas.

Magenta is a strong and inspiring color which can appear outrageous and shocking on one hand or innovative and imaginative on the other. It is particularly attractive to the non-conformists in the community.


Magenta Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • universal harmony and love
  • emotional balance
  • helps our spirit soar
  • spiritual yet practical
  • encourages common sense
  • loving, compassionate, supportive and kind
  • imaginative, innovative, creative and artistic
  • non-conformist

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • avoids challenges
  • too relaxing
  • can be over bearing and demanding


Using Magenta in Business

In business applications, magenta is most suitable to those in artistic or creative fields, such as artists, costume or set designers, writers, photographers, inventors, artist supply shops or art dealers.

Magenta is a beneficial color for mentors and life coaches to use to assist their clients to let go of old ideas and to move forward in their lives. Its imaginative and innovative messages are encouraging to all who are looking to the future.

If you want to have an impact that says outrageous and lively in a positive way, magenta will do it for you! If you have a unique feature to your business, magenta will draw attention to it.


For more on the psychology of the color magenta……



Pink: color meanings in business

Psychologically pink is associated with compassion, nurturing, love, and romance. It is feminine and youthful in its softer shades, with more passion and energy in its deeper shades.

Pink is inspiring, warm and comforting, suggesting hope for the future. It is calming and non-threatening.

Physiologically, pink calms and reassures our emotional energies, alleviating feelings of anger, aggression, resentment, abandonment and neglect.

Pink is usually used in businesses relating to the female market such as cosmetics, fashion, beauty and romance. Combining pink with darker colors gives it more sophistication and strength.


Pink Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • unconditional and romantic love
  • compassion and understanding, nurturing
  • warmth, hope, calming
  • sweetness, naiveté
  • innocence and inexperience
  • feminine and intuitive energy

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • over-emotional and over-cautious
  • having emotional neediness or unrealistic expectations
  • being immature and girlish
  • lack of will power and lack of self worth


Using Pink in Business

Pink relates to compassion, warmth, hope and understanding, so many charities choose to use it as a major component of their marketing program.

Pink reflects a softness, sweetness and intuitive energy that works well for many products and websites promoting women's products and services, such as beauty salons, fashion businesses and cosmeticians. It is a beneficial color for candy stores and other businesses selling sweet products.

Brighter pinks are useful to promote less expensive and trendy products to the teenage and pre-teen market.

Dusty pink relates to those businesses marketing sentimental services and products, particularly to the older market.

For more on the psychology of the color pink……



Gold: color meanings in business

Psychologically gold is seen as the color of inner wisdom, quality and wealth. It is associated with prestige, luxury and material wealth, suggesting that a product or service is expensive and exclusive.

Physiologically, it can induce great feelings of happiness and bliss or alternatively, deep anxiety and fear.

Gold implies generosity of time, money and spirit. It is the color of victory, hence the use of gold medals for winners.

Gold used with purple can indicate wealth and beauty, and is associated with expensive luxury items. Used with dark blue it suggests honesty, trustworthiness and success. Used with black it suggests extreme opulence, elegance and wealth.


Gold Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • wealth and prosperity, abundance
  • value, quality, luxury, expensive, opulence
  • victory, achievement, grandeur, importance
  • happiness, beauty
  • excellence, prestige, nobility, extravagance
  • attraction, wisdom

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • pretentiousness - a sense of self-importance
  • intense and overwhelming


Using Gold in Business

Businesses marketing items of high perceived value will benefit from the use of gold in their packaging and marketing. However gold doesn't translate well onto websites - it becomes a dirty yellow which generally does not give a positive message.

Gold and navy or gold and black are good choices when selling quality products to men, whether it is used in packaging, promotional materials or on a website. Just be aware of how gold transcribes onto your website.

Gold combined with dark red, dark blue or dark green imparts a message of quality, wealth and prestige.

For more on the psychology of the color gold……



Silver: color meanings in business

Silver is a color associated with prestige and wealth. It is seen as a sophisticated color related to female energy, prosperity and modernity. With its reflective qualities it relates to intuition, clairvoyance and mental telepathy.

Physiologically, silver is calming and soothing, with a lightness that is more uplifting than gray.

Silver is a fluid color, ever changing, calming, purifying. It is the color of the moon with its ever changing moods relating to emotional and sensitive energies - it is compassionate. It has a degree of mystery about it - like the moon itself.

Silver is patience, reflection, perseverance, dignified, soothing & calming, self control, organization and responsibility. It is illuminating and balancing (neither black nor white).

On packaging silver looks sleek, smooth, and lustrous. It has a coolness about it that relates to the future and science and technology.


Silver keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • modern, sleek, high-tech, scientific
  • glamorous, distinguished, elegant
  • conservative, prestige
  • calming and balancing
  • illusion, intuition, imagination
  • feminine power, sophisticated
  • wealth and riches
  • aids mental, emotional and physical releasing and cleansing
  • illumination

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • cold and impersonal
  • emotional and ever-changing
  • introspective
  • fence-sitting
  • hiding from others


Using Silver in Business

The color silver reflects quality craftsmanship and artistry and would benefit businesses offering a first class quality service or product or those selling exquisite items to the prestige market.

With its modern sleek appearance, silver is appropriate for the hi-tech, innovative computer market and scientific and technological companies.

Silver also works well for any businesses promoting and featuring quality modern appliances and equipment.

Silver doesn't work well as a color on websites because it just appears gray which can be cold and impersonal. However, combined with other colors that are appropriate for your target market, gray will take on the messages associated with the other colors and it will then work well for your website.

For more on the psychology of the color silver……



Black: color meanings in business

Psychologically black means authority, power and control. In many situations it can be intimidating, unfriendly and unapproachable. Alternatively, it can be seen as sophisticated, dignified and serious.

Physiologically, black is intimidating and controlling, although its power can instill confidence in some.

Black creates an air of mystery and secrecy. Sometimes people hide behind its unapproachable facade. In very small amounts it can add strength and confidence without becoming overpowering.

Black is favored by the youth market aged approximately 16 to 25, who are still trying to find their own sense of identity and place in this world. Those who are achievement oriented and ambitious also favor black.

Black board with printing in any of the jewel colors of red, emerald green, magenta, or bright blue, or gold, silver or white will create a dramatic impression. Black packaging can make an item appear expensive and heavier.


Black Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • authority, power, control
  • protection and comfort
  • strong, contained, formal
  • sophisticated
  • seductive, mysterious
  • endings & beginnings

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • aloof
  • depressing and pessimistic
  • secretive and withholding
  • conservative and serious
  • power & control
  • sadness and negativity


Using Black in Business

Black is beneficial for businesses selling luxury, elegance and sophistication. These types of businesses include those selling high quality professional products and luxury goods, and up market car companies.

Black packaging makes an item seem heavier and more expensive and of higher perceived value. It creates a classy and elegant impression.

Using black for selling and marketing products and services to the high end youth market, including music related businesses, is seen as cutting edge and trendy. The youth market tends to be attracted to black with its sophistication and rebelliousness.

Black can be used to create a dramatic effect when combined with bright, rich, jewel colors such as red, emerald, cobalt, yellow, magenta and orange. However, in general, using too much black can be intimidating and unfriendly - think of the salesman with the black suit and tie or the black shirt and pants.

For more on the psychology of the color black……



White: color meanings in business

In color psychology white is the color of new beginnings, wiping the slate clean, so to speak. It is the blank canvas waiting to be written upon. While white isn't stimulating to the senses, it opens the way for the creation of anything the mind can conceive.

Physiologically, white is calming as it creates simplicity, organization and efficiency out of chaos. It clears the way forward.

White's basic feature is equality, implying fairness and impartiality, neutrality and independence. It is a reassuring color which helps to create order and proficiency.

White amplifies everything in its way and too much of it can give an impression of sterility, coldness, disinterest and detachment.

White is useful in businesses where cleanliness is imperative, such as dental surgeries and medical centres, but these businesses need some green or pink to assist in healing and to create a calm and caring atmosphere for patients.


White Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • innocence
  • purity, cleanliness
  • equality, complete and whole
  • simplicity
  • immaculate and neat
  • self-sufficient, pristine and open
  • new beginnings

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • sterile, stark
  • fastidious
  • empty, isolated
  • cautious, critical and boring


Using White in Business

White is probably the best color to use as the background color for websites. It allows all other colors to reflect from it and makes all colors except yellow and pastels to be very readable.

Using white for negative space on your website makes it look clean, open and uncluttered.

With its suggestion of simplicity, cleanliness and safety, white works well for businesses promoting hi-tech products, kitchen appliances, bathroom items, infant and health related products and those promoting order and efficiency.

Depending on the business, it is advantageous to add other appropriate colors which will reflect the individuality of the business as, on its own, white is sterile and cold.

For more on the psychology of the color white……



Gray: color meanings in business

Gray is a conservative color signifying neutrality, indifference and reserve.

Physiologically, gray can drain you of energy, be depressing or uplifting, depending on how much lightness and white is in the gray. Dark gray is more depressing than light gray.

Gray serves as a good background for other colors as it doesn't attract attention, allowing the other colors to take prominence.

Gray suggests security, reliability, modesty, maturity and dullness. It can imply that you can't make decisions, 'the fence-sitter', that you don't have an opinion on anything.

Gray lacks energy; it is neither reassuring nor soothing, neither stimulating nor exciting, neither pleasing nor inviting. It needs to be combined with other colors to give it passion, energy and life.


Gray Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • intellect, knowledge, wisdom, security
  • perceived as long-lasting, and classic
  • sleek, professional, mature
  • refined, dignified, conservative
  • controlled and inconspicuous
  • color of compromise - between black and white
  • neutral, contemporary

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • boring, rigid
  • melancholy, lonely
  • lifeless (without color)
  • bareness, subtle, staid
  • indifferent, reserved, subtle, cold, poverty


Using Gray in Business

Gray is a safe color to use in many business applications. It is neutral and serious and can be combined with almost any other color to impart different messages and to reach different target markets.

Gray is suitable for legal and financial websites to suggest power and control, particularly when combined with some white and black. Combining it with blue suggests credibility, trust and reliability.

Surprisingly, gold can work well with gray to suggest professional and high quality, but on a website the gold will tend to look like a dirty yellow which is not positive.

Light gray can create a hi-tech look when combined with other colors such as turquoise, light blue, dark blue or yellow.

For more on the psychology of the color gray……



Brown: color meanings in business

Psychologically, brown is associated with strength and solidarity, comfort and earthiness, maturity and reliability.

Physiologically, brown gives people either reassurance and comfort or a feeling of dirtiness and suffocation.

Brown relates to the acquisition of material possessions which implies security and safety, comfort and homeliness.

Brown suggests endurance, duty and stability. It relates to the outdoors, the practical and down-to-earth and the family unit.

Many men love brown due to its strength, security and practicality.

Sometimes brown is regarded as a neutral color, although the lighter versions of it such as beige and taupe tend to work better as background neutrals than the deeper shades of brown.

Be aware that many, particularly women, find brown to be boring and too earthy, even dirty.


Brown Keywords:

Positive Color Meanings in Business:

  • practical, earthy and down-to-earth
  • comfort, reassurance, strength, security, simplicity
  • reliable, dependable, credible and durable
  • friendly and approachable
  • stability, humility
  • homely, comfortable, warm
  • wholesome, natural and organic

Negative Color Meanings in Business:

  • lack of humor, too serious
  • lack of sophistication
  • heavy and dull, despairing
  • staid, passive
  • dirty


Using Brown in Business

Brown is appealing to most men due to its strength, reliability, durability and practicality (it hides the dirt). It is not as well accepted by women unless they are involved in outdoor activities and farming.

With its connection to the outdoors and down-to-earth activities, brown is suitable for businesses promoting outdoor products and services. Earth moving, landscaping and farming businesses are inspired by the use of brown, along with anyone marketing wholesome and organic products.

Durability and credibility as well as homely and comfortable are positive messages given by the use of brown.

Too much brown can be heavy, dull and boring. It can appear too staid, serious, passive and unsophisticated.

Light brown suggests neatness, openness, approachability and friendliness.

Medium brown relates well to nature, wholesome food and agricultural products when you relate it to color meanings in business.

Dark brown relates well to sophisticated and professional men's products when combined with gold or cream.

For more on the psychology of the color brown...



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For more information

on color and:

your website

your marketing, advertising and promotions

your retail business

your office

your business stationery

your product packaging

your business clothing

your target markets

business cultural associations