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?
Zach Inglis said...
on 01/04/2006 03:59 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.Lode said...
on 01/04/2006 06:00 PM
I love pink! Here's another great example: http://www.talesfromthecrib.be/Fernando Lins said...
on 01/04/2006 11:12 PM
Pink is really sexy, I love it. Specially with grey, black and dark red. Great work!Nick Harris said...
on 01/05/2006 06:23 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!Jo said...
on 01/05/2006 07:52 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 ;)mary said...
on 01/05/2006 06:00 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!Dustin Diaz said...
on 01/05/2006 06:35 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.Lea said...
on 01/05/2006 07:01 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? :)Christine said...
on 01/06/2006 01:10 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!beth said...
on 01/06/2006 04:24 PM
Yoko Ono said it best: Why? Why not?Koka said...
on 01/10/2006 03:36 PM
Green is the new pink :PNatalie Jost said...
on 01/13/2006 11:11 AM
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!Dave said...
on 01/13/2006 07:55 PM
I love "pink is punk rock" ... rock on! :-)La Bella said...
on 02/07/2006 03:55 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! ;-)La Bella said...
on 02/07/2006 03:56 PM
did I say Christ? LMBO I meant to say, "Chris".caitlin said...
on 04/01/2006 02:40 PM
you are so popperlerreese said...
on 04/02/2006 02:03 PM
mmmm NYC peach. Love that design. Pink obviously has people talking about you, and that's always a good thing ;)Christine Thurow said...
on 04/29/2006 01:48 AM
My sites (infinitepink.com and thebigpinkstudio.com) always have splashes of pink on them. The color represents the breath of God to me. :)Essbee said...
on 08/05/2009 08:14 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!Babi Szolosi said...
on 08/07/2009 05:02 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 :-)Ian Houghton said...
on 08/15/2009 11:02 PM
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 :)Phoenix Graphic Desgin said...
on 07/14/2010 05:53 PM
I love the "zone of mediocrity" - that is too true, good design is either loved or hated.Leave a comment?