All parts of design are important—no, I’m not kidding

A reader calling himself “areyoukiddingme” writes about color symbolism:

Why are you making such a big deal out of what color your page uses? You should be more focused on the content on your website, the drop down menus, the organization, homepage outline, etc. Color is the last thing you should worry about. Personally, though, I would go with black letters and a white background. The only color that should be different is your logo. By the way, links should always be blue.​

Do you agree? While I agree with him that text should be black on white (or very dark on very light) for good contrast and readability. But it seems extreme to say that ’[the] only color that should be different is your logo.” And I think that even if you agree completely with him, color symbolism is important. For example, if your logo incorporates a hat of some type, and it's colored green, you may be sending the completely wrong message to Chinese customers. In China, green hats are used as a term for a cuckold. Just because of the color, you have made your site logo at best funny to potential Chinese customers.
I'd love to hear what you think. Please post in the comments or give your opinion about the importance of color symbolism on web pages.
More Articles on Color and Color Symbolism

• Color Symbolism
• Chart of Cultural Color Symbolism
• Color Also Matters to Color Blind People

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