Picking the right set of colors for your mobile app design is as important as the UX and other crucial elements in app development. After functionality, it is arguably the second most important aspect of your app. Once the wireframes are created and the app functionality is in place, it’s the visuals or the colors that add more value to it. Color themes are the heart of your mobile app design, and if that doesn’t attract your target users, it could dwindle the value of your mobile app. Users get attracted to quality designs, and the right colors shape the right perception for brands. So what should you do to find the right color fit? Let’s find out.

Browse the app store and you will see hundreds of apps with various color combinations. The colors of your mobile app will depend on what type of application you are building or want to build. For better understanding, we have put forward a few key points that could help you rightly analyze the colors while picking your mobile app color palette.

1. Perceive the Emotions of your Target Audience

Colors evoke emotions, and each color portrays a different meaning. For example, Red color indicates excitement and stimulation, Yellow represents jubilation and optimism, Orange signifies eagerness and enthusiasm, Blue portrays trust and quality, Green is concerned with the environment and wealth. Although there are many more colors, these few are relatively more popular than others. So before you pick a particular color for your app, make sure to take its meaning into consideration.

Psychologists have assessed how colors influence people and how it connects to human emotions. For instance, popular food brands like KFC, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut use red color in their logo to ignite hunger. Online food delivery app Zomato also uses Red background in its logo. Silver, Gold, Black, and White are generally used in the logos of luxury brands such as Prada and Michael Kors.

Give this a thought while you choose your mobile app color themes. Ask yourself what emotions should arise when someone thinks about your app or brand. Invest your time in this and then pick the relevant app color accordingly.

2. Pick Color based on the App’s Category

The choice of app color is heavily driven by the app category. Just like we discussed above, red will be the primary choice if you are planning to have a food-related app. Studies have revealed that past experiences and perceptions direct us to reality. If we get a relaxing experience by watching the sea from the beach, we will link the feeling of relaxation with blue color. Similarly, we relate food brands or the feeling of hunger with red, based on our previous experiences.

Another example that you can consider is the connection between blue color and social media apps. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype; all use different shades of blue as their app color.

This isn’t a coincidence. Users relate social media with blue and these popular brands are counting on this fact. Moreover, blue goes well with the text. It’s easy to catch and doesn’t take over the entire screen. Had it been yellow instead of blue, the text would have been difficult to spot because of the light background.

Research and take note of all these things before you finalize your mobile app color schemes. In a nutshell, you should have a clear idea of what color combinations do the apps of your type use, which set of colors hit people’s minds when they think about the concerns your app deals with, and also which colors can create a negative perception of your brand.

3. Select Color for the App Icon

The first thing that your ideal customers would notice when they come across your application on the app store is the app icon. It does affect their mindset on whether or not they should download the application. The color of the app icon, therefore, should display the utility of the app in a concise and coherent manner. Subsequently, the mobile app color palette you choose for your app icon will symbolize the entire app. Figure out which colors indicate your brand philosophy and go perfectly with the app icon design.

We have listed down a few facts that could prove helpful here.

1. Gaming apps mostly have faces in app icons. Research puts 38% of the popular gaming apps on that list. While some of the faces are of humans, a few are of cartoons. This is because, for gaming apps, it’s important to display the emotions of people so that users could connect to them.
2. Blue is the widely-used color and one of the most preferred for logos. Research says that 23% of the top applications in the app store have blue as the primary color, followed by red and white; 13% each.

Key points for stand-out color designs

Your mind can be in turmoil when picking the right mobile app color themes. It’s important to know the DOs and DON’Ts as there are certain chances that you end up choosing the wrong color or the one with which you are not much satisfied. The first step is to understand the basics.

1. UI Hierarchy

The mobile app color themes should ensure an explicit visual hierarchy of UI elements. At a glance, your target customers should be able to tell which UI elements are interactive and how perfectly they settle with other elements on the screen.

2. Legibility

Text and background should be legible corresponding to the background they are placed on. Make sure that the light background doesn’t contain any white text or vice versa as it can hamper readability.

3. Colors for Interactive and Non-Interactive elements

Avoid using the same color pattern for interactive and non-interactive UI elements. Using the same color for multiple things can create confusion and make the app highly non-intuitive for users.

4. Contrast Ratio

The color contrast ratio should be adjusted well enough to make the content readable. The minimal ratio for an optimal contrast range is 4:5:1, however, the ideal ratio is 7:1 as it matches most of the accessibility standards.

5. Monochromatic Color Schemes

Monochromatic mobile app color schemes are the easiest to create as each color is taken from a similar base color. These colors compliment each other and deliver a soothing effect. This app color scheme provides a comforting experience to the eyes, especially with green and blue shades.

6. Analogous Color Schemes

These mobile app color schemes are produced from related colors but don’t set themselves apart from each other. Here, one color is utilized as the central color while other colors are used to enhance the color scheme. While this one is easy to accomplish, the trick lies in deciding which vibrancy of color to use.

7. Complementary Color Schemes

Complementary colors are opposite colors and create a strong contrast to grab the user’s attention. When using a complementary color scheme, it is crucial to pick a dominant color and use its opposite color for accents.

Final Thoughts

Selecting a color palette is a critical part of the app development process. This is why for a company which is into mobile app development, they should have experienced UI/UX designers who can infuse life into your mobile app design and give advice or feedback regarding color selection.

At Dew, we have a team of highly qualified UI/UX designers who possess years of experience in delivering high-quality mobile app designs. For any project-related queries, you can reach out to us at info@dewsolutions.in or submit them here.
Colors are the mainstay of a mobile app and a perfect color theme can make your app stand out from your competitors. Consider all the things mentioned in this write-up while choosing your mobile app color palette or color theme to enrich your app design.