These days, the internet can be accessed from almost anywhere – a website that is created in Australia is no longer only visible to people currently living here. This has led to a number of issues surrounding the use of colour in web design, as many cultures attribute different meanings to each shade. How is the colour pink, for example, viewed by other cultures?
- Western (Australia, North America and Europe)
Pink is often seen as being the colour of femininity (it is used to signify the birth of a baby girl). It is also used to represent sweetness or childhood (especially shown by its use in lollies and other sweets), and is a colour associated with fun. - Eastern and Asian
These cultures also view the colour pink as being associated with femininity, but it is also used to represent marriage. Some Asian cultures associate the colour with trust, and the Chinese have only just recognized pink as being a colour at all. - South America
Pink is used frequently in web designs that come out of these cultures, as it doesn’t have many strict associations at all. It is often thought of as a colour of architecture thanks to its use as a building colour. - Middle East
Like South American cultures, people from the Middle East do not really view pink as being associated with anything.
As you can see, there are a number of different associations with the colour pink, but it is probably one of the safest colours to use in web design. This is thanks to the fact that around half of the world’s cultures view pink as having a similar interpretation, whilst most of the other half don’t see it as having any associations at all.
