Gender Preferences for Colors

To be successful, choose the right colors.

Favorite Colors

Everyone has their favorite color. If you ask a selection of random people, you will likely get a wide range of answers, from the primary colors to various shades of those colors. Understanding a little about the types of colors that are most attractive to your prospective audience can help you design a website, or storefront that attracts more visitors. For instance, did you know the top favorite color for both men and women is blue? Using a variation of blue for your website or store offers a neutral site that appeals to both genders. However, there are other colors at the top of the list for different genders. Women are more likely to prefer purple with red and green close behind. The next two colors for men are also red and green, but purple is nowhere to be found.

Bright or Soft Colors

Another major difference between the genders is the type of color you choose. During the course of experimenting with color preferences for men and women, it was discovered that light and dark colors carried the same level of appeal among all individuals. However, women were found to enjoy softer colors, while men preferred bright colors.

Tints and Shades

The terms tints and shades are often used interchangeably. However, in the world of art, the two terms mean different things. To create a tint from a color, you must add white to lighten the color. Adding black to a color creates varying shades. Similar to the preferences between bright and soft colors, women tend to prefer tints, and men favor the darker shades.

Identifying Colors

While it plays little role in which colors you choose for your site, it can be useful to understand one of the major differences between how men and women see colors. If you show the same range of colors to a man and a women and ask what color each one is, you are likely to receive different answers. For instance, men have a tendency to see colors in simpler terms. Even when viewing several shades of red, they will call each one red. However, when you show that same range of reds to women, they are more likely to name them specifically, such as maroon, cherry and cayenne.