Projecting a professional image with colour

colour selection is a very important element in your web image because colour have an effect on your visitors before they begin to read the content of your web site. Thus, it is very important for you to consider your target audience, the psychology of colour, and the corporate image you wish to project BEFORE you construct your web site.

When colour is used correctly, it can add impact and clarity to your message and highlight important points. When colour is used incorrectly, it can compromise your message and confuse your target audience.

colour can work for your web site and printed materials in various ways:

1. colour emphasizes, highlights, and leads the eye to important points or links.

2. colour identifies recurring themes (i.e. titles and subtitles are usually the same colour).

3. Conversely, colour can differentiate, such as different colour in pie charts and bar graphs.

4. colour symbolizes and triggers emotions and associations.
   

The interpretation of a colour depends on culture, profession, and personal preference. In general, the colour red, orange, and yellow are "exciting" colour and the colour purple, blue, and green are "calming" colour

Interpretation of colour is not always a matter of personal preference. For example, in Western cultures the colour white symbolizes purity; however, in China the colour white symbolizes death.

The type of profession you are practicing also influences what colour you will select for your corporate image. The following table shows just a few examples of how the same colour are interpreted in different professions:

Colour	Finance	Engineering	Medical
Red	Loss	Hot, danger	Danger, emergency or healthy, oxygenated
Yellow	Important, substantial	Caution, warning	Jaundice
Blue	Reliable, corporate	Water, cold, cool	Death, poison
Green	Profit	Safe, environmental	Infection
Cyan	Cool, subdued	Steam	Poison, lack of oxygen

To summarize, it is very important for you to consider your target audience, the psychology of colour, and the corporate image you wish to project BEFORE you construct your web site, printed materials, and logo.