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Psychology of Colour - Projecting a Professional Image with Colour
Colour selection is a very important element in your web image because colours 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)
3. Conversely, colour can differentiate, such as different colours in pie charts
4. Colour symbolizes and triggers emotions and associations

Make no mistake that emotions are the driving force behind sales. Customers making buying decisions can be influenced through visual elements towards a particular behaviour or emotion that will encourage or slow sales.

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

Culture	Colour Considerations If you trade globally, remember that colours have a different interpretation in different cultures? For example in Chinese culture, white is the colour of death.
Shopper Habits	Apparently impulse buyers lean towards red-orange, black and royal blue, and those who plan ahead prefer pink, teal, light blue and navy.
Status	Colour preference is influenced by our standard of living; brighter, bolder colours appear to attract those on a lower income, whilst those targeting higher income brackets should use more subtle colours.
Geography	The geographical location of your target market should be considered when making colour choices; those in Latin America, for example, will prefer stronger colours, whilst those in colder regions are attracted to neutrals.
	Colour's Marketing Potential In many cultures colour has the following marketing potential:
Red	The colour the eye perceives the quickest (although apparently research has indicated that middle aged and older people can find it hard to see this colour) Red can represent energy, speed, anger, danger, excitement, strength, & sex.
Blue	A cool colour preferred by most Europeans, especially men, it can hint at trust, and reliability.
Yellow	Warm and stimulating like the sun, and encourages feelings of happiness, especially preferred by young people if not used in excess. Can also be associated with betrayal however.
Orange	A warm vibrant shade without being reminiscent of danger or aggression as in red, good for encouraging impulse purchases.
Green	Fresh and cool, it is associated with nature, growth, and hope, but also with illness and superstition.
Purple	Has links with religion (Cardinals), and can also be seen as a royal colour and therefore is often linked with spirituality and dignity.
Pink	Soft, nurturing, and security and is used a symbol of love and sweetness. Too much pink can be seen as childish.
White	Purity, cleanliness, and is associated with nature and light. Take care; in Asia this colour is connected with mourning.
Black	Can see seen as sophisticated, and elegant, or mysterious but does symbolise death and the occult also, however if used in the right way (as it is often used with prestige/luxury products), such as when combined with gold, it can create a chic exclusive feel.
Gold	Prestigious and royal colour, it suggests an expensive product.
Silver	Can also be prestigious if used correctly, or to impart a scientific association.

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White Space and Web Page Layout/Design
White space, also known as negative space, is the term describing open space between design elements. It can be between letters, words, or paragraphs of text, space in and outside of graphics, and between all of the elements of the page. It is essential for providing spatial relationships between visual items, and actually guides your reader's eye from one point to another.
White space is an important layout technique often overlooked by inexperienced designers. While some artists concentrate heavily on what to put in, they can overlook what to leave out. A design that is to be visually appealing must also be easy on the eyes. Without an adequate amount of white space, text would be unreadable, graphics would lose their emphasis, and there would be no balance between the elements on a page.
White space takes on an added importance on the web because more strain is placed on the eyes than with print material. You'll find that going through the same amount of web pages as print pages can be more visually demanding, one of the reasons being that you usually find yourself staring up at monitor flickering pixels coarser than printed ink. White space provides our brains with much-needed breathing room to absorb the interface.

Treat white space as more than just a background. Treat it as an integral part to your page design. You'll find it increases your layout's appeal with less visual 'noise', while augmenting the visual power of your message.
White Space doesn't have to mean white only, but it does mean space.