PURPLE

Luxurious, Magical, and Villainous

Purple is a cool color. I read a book once titled, Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Comic Book Universe. Author Tim Leong brings data and history together to discuss comics and theiruse of color. Two notable pages focus on the heroes and the villains. "Color Me Bad" highlights those colors commonly associated with the villains--green, orange, and purple are "conventions" throughout comic book history, if you see a character in this combo--they're probably trying to kill the hero (or their loved ones).

Purple and Hidden Messages

Pixel 77 comes with a nifty list of those traditional perceptions of purple: "power, royalty, nobility, welath, luxury, wisdom, spirituality, magic, mystery, dreams, fantasy as well as with ambiguity and uncertainty". These last two could be problematic for the audience of a page. When using purple on a page, I think it best to carefully pair it with complementary colors and fonts that speak to what your site's purpose is (duh) but be mindful of the perceptions of your audience. If you are attracting an audience of comicbook enthusiasts, they may see the hidden message of your villainy.

Purple is commonly associated with femininity and, while not as aggressive as Barbie and her radiant pink lends and delicateness that is calming. QuickSprout notes that women are prone to purple, while men are turned off by the color. There can be no doubt that purple stands on the feminine side of the spectrum. But how about all those royalty donning the shade for their royal pompousness?

Example Sites

This page highlights a deep tone of purple as the university color. Used on the homepage, it gives neither gender a preferencem but invokes a wise character.

This representation of purple turns the tides on the typically effeminate pairing and applies it to men. The color, paired with a strong yellow, is made more regal.

Encompassing the feminine is the Purple Pelican Designs site. This invokes earthiness while selling jewlery to an average consumer that we can assume is female. The lavendar shade of purple is delicate and inviting.

Both images are invoking the spirit of royalty.