Does Color Impact Learning?

Color is important in our daily life and is crucial in how we learn as it plays a significant role in creating and fostering a learning environment. It is imperative to understand how each color can affect neurological pathways in the learner’s brain and create a biochemical response. According to Dr. Robert Gerard, each color has a particular wavelength that affects the brain in its own unique way. Those involved with learning design and development need to be aware of how their color selection and placement can affect a learner’s feelings and behavior.

How to use colors effectively in your learning?

The content of the learning is just as important as the design. Learning designers need to consider the emotional connections that each color makes with the learners. Each color has a different effect on the learner and the palette should be chosen accordingly. Colors have respective temperatures. Cooler colors are soothing to the eyes, while warm colors invoke passion. While these colors can be used to evoke a positive learner response, if used incorrectly, they can also elicit a negative one. Excess use of darker shades of cool colors may connote sadness, whereas darker shades of warm colors may appear borderline aggressive. It is important to choose the correct background color in particular as it affects how the screen elements will appear. A good way to make important elements stand out is to use contrasting colors.

A color palette is a set of predefined colors that are available for you to use in the design. But how will you choose from the millions of available shades? It may seem overwhelming to narrow down the list. Just keep in mind that your chosen colors should promote a positive experience. It should not fatigue the learner’s eyes. You need to zero in on the psychological effect you wish to have on the learners and then select your colors.

Here are some common connotations that are frequently attached to certain colors.

Red – This color is associated with strong emotions of intensity and excitement. It can be used to draw attention to the main points of the content.

Orange – This color is used as a stimulant. It can be used for quizzes to encourage the learners to succeed and prevent boredom.

Blue – This color is associated with serenity and calm. It should be used when the content gets complicated. Blue helps learners concentrate and overcome challenges.

Purple – This is the color of royalty and can be paired with other colors, too. It can be used in learning games or activities to create an aura of mystery.

Green – This color emits calm and is refreshing to the eye, helping learners relax. It should be used frequently to promote increased efficiency and focus.

Yellow – This color promotes memory and optimism. It stimulates mental activity and can be used to highlight points that need to be memorized.

Black – This color adds depth to the overall look and feel.

White – This color is considered to be pure and clean. Adding white spaces encourages learners to focus better and can help identify areas of important content.

It is common to use more than three colors to make the eLearning visually attractive. Learning designers need to keep the audience and content in mind and create the desired mood. They can also consider creating a color hierarchy by using one color more extensively than others.

At Designing Digitally, Inc. our team of expert instructional designers create custom eLearning specifically designed for your company’s learning objectives. Our courses ensure strong retention of information and provide innovative ways to change learner behaviors.

To get started on your next eLearning development and learn the various options available for your company, contact our team today.