Colors

Color	Psychological response	Notes of interest
Red	Power, energy, warmth, passion, love, aggression, danger	Red changes meaning in the presence of other colors. With green, it becomes a symbol of Christmas. When combined with white, it means joy in many eastern cultures.
Blue	Trust, conservative, security, technology, cleanliness, order	Used in the U.S. by many banks to symbolize trust.
Green	Nature, health, good luck, jealousy, renewal	Does not do well in global markets. There are problems associated with green packaging in China and France. Green has been successful in attracting investors in the Middle East.
Yellow	Optimism, hope, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal	Yellow is sacred to Hindus.
Purple	Spirituality, mystery, royalty, transformation, cruelty, arrogance	Purple appears very rarely in nature.
Orange	Energy, balance, warmth	Signifies the product is inexpensive (in the U.S., and outside of Halloween and St. Patrick's Day).
Brown	Earth, reliability, comfort, endurance	Food packaging in the U.S. is often colored brown, to great success. In Columbia, brown discourages sales.
Gray	Intellect, futurism, modesty, sadness, decay	Gray is the easiest color for the eye to see.
White	Purity, cleanliness, precision, innocence, sterility, death	Signifies marriage in the U.S., but death in India and other Eastern cultures.
Black	Power, sexuality, sophistication, death, fear, unhappiness, elegance	Signifies death and mourning in many Western cultures. In packaging, conveys elegance, wealth, and sophistication.

This table was adapted from Satisfying Customers with Color, Shape, and Type from WEBTechniques November 1999, Volume 4, Issue 11.

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Shapes

Shape	Psychological response
Circle	Connection, community, wholeness, endurance, movement, safety. Refers to the feminine: warmth, comfort, sensuality, and love.
Rectangle	Order, logic, containment, security. Rectangles provide a fourth point, which is mathematically the foundation for three dimensional objects, suggesting mass, volume, and solids.
Triangle	Energy, strength, balance, law, science, religion. Refers to the masculine strength, aggression, and dynamic movement.

This table was adapted from Satisfying Customers with Color, Shape, and Type from WEBTechniques November 1999, Volume 4, Issue 11.

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Fonts

Type category	Description	General attributes
Serif	Type faces with strokes, called serifs, decorating the letterforms. A common example is Times New Roman or Times.	A formal style. Serifs tend to express organization and intellect. Very elegant and conservative in most circumstances.
Sans-serif	Typefaces with rounded letterforms and no strokes. Popular sans-serif fount include Helvetica and Arial.	A less formal, more warm and friendly type style, a sans-serif typeface typically makes an excellent screen font as it is clear and easy to read.
Monospace	Each letter in a monospace face takes up the same amount of space as any other letter. An I is as wide as a W. A good example of a monospace font is Courier.	Reminiscent of typewritten documents, monospace type has been used in Web design for code samples, and pre-formatted text. In recent years, monospace fonts have become popularized by alternative "grunge" designers.
Decorative	Typefaces that are very variegated in design. Author and designer Robin Williams has suggested that is you see a typeface for body of text that makes you sick to your stomach, it is probably a decorative font.	Because of the variations, decorative forms can evoke a wide range of psychological attributes. They are best used for titles and decorative type, and should be avoided as body type.
Script	Typefaces that mimic handwriting. These typefaces are also known as cursive.	A sense of elegance, sophistication, and a personal touch can be evoked by script faces. Use them sparingly, as you would a decorative face.

This table was adapted from Satisfying Customers with Color, Shape, and Type from WEBTechniques November 1999, Volume 4, Issue 11.