22 Comments // Filed in Design
Why Pink?
The short answer
image courtesy of Creating Passionate Users
The slightly longer answer
Since launching my website, the overall response has been overwhelmingly positive. However, there are some people that are puzzled by some of the colour choices I’ve made. Some have also been vehemently against it all, completely befuddled at the colour scheme.
There seems to be a bit of a stigma against pink, and it isn’t hard to understand why. According to About’s colour meaning, pink is “cotton candy and bubble gum and babies, especially little girls…It represents sugar and spice and everything nice.” That may describe Baby Gap, but aren’t necessarily the associations you want necessarily tied with a professional design organization.
However, it’s time to let the rest of the world know why people are so fond of pink and why it works here:
- “Lealea” means happiness in Hawaiian… pink symbolizes joy and happiness.
- Pink means creativity in working
- Pink is feminine
- Pink is the other red
- Pink is warm
- Pink is sexy
- Pink is punk rock!
- A darker pink, as used here, reminds you more of wine than babies, thus lending it more of an air of sophistication
- and best of all, pink can be controversial
It can be argued that a successful design can be measured by the amount of dialogue it creates. Pink, when used properly, can never really fall into the black hole of mediocrity because it’s too busy being loved or hated.
Other great examples of pink (some subtle, some blatant):
- Pretty in Pink
- Jared Digital
- The Superficial
- Rapha
- Cocky Bastard
- Fleshbot (warning: adult site)
22 blabs to Why Pink?
Add something to the conversation!
Name Zach Inglis
Date Jan 04
05:59 PM
Nice answer.
My favourite colour is pink.
Pink is contreversial and I think it shows a good designer to make a pink website. It’s not easy to make someone not think “They’re selling baby stuff too?” and its on my list of todo’s.
Name Lode
Date Jan 04
08:00 PM
I love pink!
Here’s another great example:
http://www.talesfromthecrib.be/
Name Fernando Lins
Date Jan 05
01:12 AM
Pink is really sexy, I love it. Specially with grey, black and dark red. Great work!
Name Nick Harris
Date Jan 05
08:23 AM
Another example of using pink well – http://www.t-mobile.com/
I’m personally having to fight the urge of using pink as my primary brand colour, as I think it looks damn fine, but orange is just more me!
Name Jo
Date Jan 05
09:52 AM
I like the pink on this site. It’s kinda relaxing on the eyes. Only trouble is, when I leave it, I am suddenly confronted with the glaring white backgrounds of other sites which all seem too harsh!
I think it shows you have a unique and refreshing style ;)
Name mary
Date Jan 05
08:00 PM
pink is the gross red :P
but, yeah, out of all the pinks, if i had to choose one to like, this would be it.
Cool examples too!
Name Dustin Diaz
Date Jan 05
08:35 PM
Not that this isn’t a beautiful site… but:
Tips from the basics of graphic design.
You walk into a room. White walls, white ceiling, white floor. All white.
You bring in a red couch. The room is now red.
Conclusion: You need not overuse a color to give the impression of its existence.
Name Lea
Date Jan 05
09:01 PM
Dustin, for sure. That’s why in the examples I put, like Matt Brett’s site, pink is only used in his main header or in the Superficial, just the background gradient.
As for basics in graphic design: isolation isn’t the only arsenal in your graphic toolbelt. There is room for repetition and emphasis, too. :-) I just chose one for the other. Perhaps I’m emphasizing something else altogether beyond the pink?
Perhaps it’s defiance? :)
Name Christine
Date Jan 06
03:10 PM
My site is temporarily not pink now, but some pink will be returning soon. With a name like “Big Pink Cookie” there has to be pink somewhere! Pink is a fabulous color – I think more people should embrace it!
Name beth
Date Jan 06
06:24 PM
Yoko Ono said it best: Why? Why not?
Name Koka
Date Jan 10
05:36 PM
Green is the new pink :P
Name Natalie Jost
Date Jan 13
01:11 PM
I think any color can work if you know what to do with it. You know. This is a great pink because of the darker fade. It’s closer to red at that point, and yet… it’s still pink!
Name Dave
Date Jan 13
09:55 PM
I love “pink is punk rock” … rock on! :-)
Name La Bella
Date Feb 07
05:55 PM
Pink is the new blonde!
Heck yeah!
That’s why I got pink all over my site too…
Pink runs my life! haha
Lovely site! I found you through 9rules.com
To whom my great friend, Christ from my meangirl.com belongs to as well!
;-)
Name La Bella
Date Feb 07
05:56 PM
did I say Christ?
LMBO
I meant to say, “Chris”.
Name caitlin
Date Apr 01
04:40 PM
you are so popperler
Name reese
Date Apr 02
04:03 PM
mmmm NYC peach. Love that design.
Pink obviously has people talking about you, and that’s always a good thing ;)
Name Christine Thurow
Date Apr 29
03:48 AM
My sites (infinitepink.com and thebigpinkstudio.com) always have splashes of pink on them. The color represents the breath of God to me. :)
Name Essbee
Date Aug 05
10:14 AM
Another example that deserves mention for cool use of pink:
http://justcreativedesign.com/
by Jacob Cass. Extra points for being a guy and using pink!
Name Babi Szolosi
Date Aug 07
07:02 PM
Nice job Lea, I love every detail of your site. I ended up here from your article on A List Apart – I loved it.
I have used (lots of) pink on my site-the hot one :-)
Name Ian Houghton
Date Aug 16
01:02 AM
The only criticism I’d have of your use of pink caught my eye in the comments section after the article!
The dotted dividers between the comments are useful, but all too easy to miss on the dark pink background, so I tend to read short comments one after the other as if they were written by the same person. It can be quite confusing. I like the rest of the site though :)
Name Phoenix Graphic...
Date Jul 14
07:53 PM
I love the “zone of mediocrity” – that is too true, good design is either loved or hated.