How to Choose the Right Color for Your eLearning?

Approximate reading time: 5m 27s

Colors are powerful. They are art. They are emotions. And they can also matter for your business and eLearning!

The power of colors can be seen in how they affect our emotions, perceptions, and reactions. You may not even know it, but we humans react to colors instinctively!

We see this every day, when people change drastically depending on the color they wear or encounter - sometimes for the better (a happy mood), other times for the worse than expected (angry).

In a business context, colors can influence how people  perceive your brand and whether they trust it. As a course creator you should carefully choose the colors you use on your online academy website and in your eLearning or course environment, just as you carefully create your course content.

In this article, we will look at the magical world of colors in eLearning, explain how colors affect learners on an emotional level, and how you can use this powerful tool in your online academy and courses.

5 reasons why you should carefully choose colors in eLearning

You probably already suspect that colors are not just about the beauty and design of courses and their appearance. Using colors in your online course design can affect everything from purchase decisions to knowledge retention.

Eliciting emotions during learning

By using colors strategically in eLearning design, you can guide learners' feelings and reactions: you can draw their attention to essential information, "wake" them up, or calm them down (for example, during assessment).

Improving the learning experience and information retention

Adding colors to highlight specific information in your graphics and infographics allows learners to create associations and absorb information faster and for longer. Color also directs their attention to important parts that they might otherwise miss or overlook.

Overcoming boredom

There is nothing wrong with black and white, but they are not the most exciting colors when used repeatedly. Even a small boost, such as using the same color in different shades, will create an engaging online learning environment for your learners.

Improving perception

Color also serves a practical purpose by making content easier to read. This helps improve the accessibility of your course and helps learners with visual impairments navigate the course more easily.

Building your brand

Using the same colors consistently throughout your course and website is elegant and professional. In addition, building a brand sends site visitors and learners the message that there is consistency in everything you do, which helps them trust you more.

Color psychology in eLearning

Color psychology is a subfield of behavioral psychology that studies how colors influence human behavior and evoke different emotions. The impact of colors varies across ages, genders, and cultures.

Blue

Blue is the color associated with the sea and the sky. It lowers heart rate. Blue creates a sense of calm and serenity, while also conveying stability, trust, security, and reliability. Bright blue is refreshing and energizing.

On the other hand, blue can feel cold and distant when used excessively. It also suppresses appetite, so if your course is related to food or cooking, it is best to avoid it.

Use blue in healthcare, high-tech, science, and corporate training.

 

Red

A stimulating, intense color, red has an opposite effect to blue. Red creates urgency and increases heart rate and appetite. Bright red shades are bold and energetic and attract attention, while warmer shades such as burgundy and brick are soothing.

Red is also an aggressive color, with negative connotations of danger, anger, and violence. So, as the color red itself would say, proceed carefully and in moderation.

Use red in navigation buttons to highlight important information, such as safety warnings in compliance training. It is also a good option for courses and websites related to food, fashion, sports, and healthcare.

 

Yellow

The color of the sun, yellow is the most energetic color, evoking feelings of happiness and optimism. Bright yellow attracts attention (which is why some warning signs are yellow), while darker shades are associated with authority and expertise.

Some negative associations with yellow are deceit and cheapness. In addition, yellow should be used in moderation due to its energetic nature. It can quickly become "too much" and cause eye strain or even trigger stress.

Use yellow sparingly in your course to boost mood and energy. A good color for courses aimed at children.

 

Orange

Orange is another attention-grabbing, bright color that sparks excitement and enthusiasm and is associated with energy and movement. It is a warmer and softer alternative to aggressive red. But like red, it can be overstimulating, so do not overuse it. Another drawback is that it is one of the least popular colors among adults.

Use orange for your navigation buttons. A good option for courses in technology, entertainment, food, and fitness.

 

Green

Green is the most relaxing color for the eyes. As the color of nature, green embodies calm, freshness, and harmony. It conveys a sense of growth and optimism while also being associated with money, luck, and hope. It can help customers make decisions and improve learners' focus.

Use green in your learning materials and overall course environment. Green is great for online training related to science, tourism, medicine, and the environment and sustainability.

 

Purple

The color of loyalty, purple is associated with elegance, luxury, wisdom, and taste. On the other hand, purple does not catch the eye and is generally not favored by men.

Use purple if your courses are related to spirituality, yoga, and healing.

 

Pink

Pink is a color associated with femininity, fun, youth, and romance. In its softer shades, pink can be very calming and soothing, but bolder shades are stimulating and have a red-like effect.

Use pink if you are addressing a younger audience, especially women. Prefer lighter shades for the background.

 

White

White is associated with simplicity and minimalism. In Western cultures, it is associated with purity and innocence. In most cases, it is used as a supporting color in the background. Remember to add white space in your web design to create a sense of calm and avoid visual clutter.

 Use white for courses in the healthcare industry or if you sell high-tech products.

 

Black

Black emphasizes other colors. It is timeless and conveys authority, formality, power, sophistication, luxury, and elegance.

But remember that in many cultures, black is also associated with death, the occult, and evil. It can become overpowering and feel threatening.

Use black in moderation for high-priced product courses and to convey an overall sense of luxury and professionalism.

 

Brown

Brown is another nature-related color that conveys warmth, confidence, and reliability. At the same time, it can be quite dull and conservative, which is why it is one of the least popular colors. However, it works very well for food-related businesses!

Use brown and its lighter alternatives (beige and tan) in the background and for courses related to wellness, pets, or food and cooking.

 

Gray

Gray shares some characteristics with black, as timelessness, sophistication, and professionalism stand out. However, it lacks the strong character of black and is quite a dull color that does not attract the eye or evoke much emotion.

Use gray in the background, especially if you want to emphasize professionalism, sell expensive courses, and soften emotions.

 

How to choose the best colors for your online course and when ordering eLearning: 5 selection rules

Let's look at 5 basic guidelines that will help you use the right colors in the right place.

Soft or bold

Use colors in images, pop-ups, and buttons. Color should also be present in the background, in headings to draw attention and make reading easier, as well as in banners and borders.

Background colors should be soft so that the main colors stand out, and also so as not to strain the eyes. 

The 60-30-10 rule

Combining too many colors will make eLearning look dull and cheap. Limit your color scheme to a maximum of three colors and use them in these proportions: 60, 30, and 10.

Warm or cool

Generally, warmer shades (red, orange, and yellow) evoke happiness and energy, while cooler ones (blue and purple) evoke calm and professionalism.

Green is universal because it combines the calming effect of blue with the energizing effect of yellow.

Accessibility considerations

Colors affect your course accessibility. Navigation buttons and drop-down menus should use bright colors such as orange, yellow, red, and blue to attract attention.

Avoid bright colors, as they are difficult to read and also cause eye strain.

Most and least liked colors

The world's favorite color is blue! The least popular colors are brown and orange, and purple is also not liked by men.

 

Ready for... a color war?

Today we shared quite a few secrets about color psychology and its use in eLearning design. 

If you have projects to create exciting eLearning courses that achieve the company's goals of training modern, capable, bold, reliable, active, and loyal employees, contact us at tel. +359 878 685 304