Blogging 101: The Psychology of Colors and Graphics

Blogging 101: The Psychology of Colors and Graphics

You may create the most interesting and well thought-out blog posts in the history of all blog posts—complete with witty eye-catching headlines. But if you don’t take the time to select the right visuals, readers might skip right over your earnest words and stories. To get the most bang for your blogging buck, it’s important to learn a bit about the psychology of images and colors.

Photos Grab Our Attention

As Copy Blogger notes, images and photos will cause readers to feel all sorts of emotions, from empathy to happiness, anger, curiosity and more. To choose the best images for your blog, first, take an honest look at your work and ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Is your content funny? If so, try to select an amusing image that will help to put the reader at ease. If your blog is more combative and argumentative in nature, use a photo that triggers a response in your readers. In addition to images, you can also include a video that complements the topic that you are writing about. If you don’t have any videos handy, or your film editing skills are subpar, use a stock image website like Shutterstock to bring your message to life. This site is a goldmine for short videos, time-lapses and other images that can be used to liven up posts.

Color Choice is Crucial

Have you ever visited a website that had all sorts of great products at amazing prices, but something about it just turned you off, causing you to shop elsewhere? Was it the color scheme? Bloggers should read-up about color theory and psychology, and how certain colors complement each other, while others will cause readers to look away. As Web Design notes, when bloggers choose complementary colors that are on the opposite ends of the color spectrum, we feel balanced, and our eyes can easily read what is on the screen. In addition, selecting contrasting colors will help readers stay focused and cut down on dreaded eye strain that will eventually cause them to stop reading your carefully-constructed blog. As a rule of thumb, choose a light color for the background of your blog and then a very dark color for the text—for example, a cream colored background with navy blue text. Even if you adore yellow and orange, skip them. The colors do not contrast, which causes eyes to feel confused and unfocused.

Colors Influence Emotions

As You The Designer notes, bloggers need to select colors that are not only easy to read, but also awaken emotions in readers. Colors schemes act as visual and emotional cues that can help influence how your reader is feeling. If your blog is a compassionate series of animal rescue efforts, you might want to choose soothing shades of blue and green for your template or theme—two colors that represent peace, calm, and trust. If your story is an upbeat account of your recent vacation experiences, choosing lively, and bright graphics can evoke feelings of optimism and cheerfulness.