What is the meaning of purple?

Why do so many luxury brands use purple in their marketing? Learn what makes purple the color of both royalty and mystery.

Color choices are a crucial part of effective design. We associate different meanings and emotions with colors. Using the right color in the right place can have a significant impact on your design — but what exactly are the meanings of colors?

Let’s look at the meaning of purple to learn what emotions and concepts it brings to people’s minds, and how you can use purple to reinforce your message.

The mysterious color of nobility.

Purple is a rare color in nature, and for the longest time, purple dyes were extremely difficult and expensive to produce. As a result, only the wealthiest and most powerful people could afford it. To this day, we think of purple as the color of royalty and luxury. Consequently, it brings up a feeling of trust and reliability.

Purple’s rarity also gives it an air of mystery. It’s associated with creativity and the realm of fantasy — think about how many times magic gets portrayed as purple in popular culture. Purple can also be an inspirational color that sparks the imagination and encourages us to try new things.

Often, people consider purple a feminine color. Due to this, and its association with the arts, too much purple in a design can make people think it’s overly emotional. That’s not a fair judgement to make, but some color associations are deeply ingrained in our subconsciousness. However, that also gives you a chance to use purple creatively to challenge those presumptions.

Overall, purple is best used in design when you need to inspire people or create a sense of luxury. Many premium product brands use purple, and it’s also popular with various women’s organizations. Discover design tips to help improve how you use color and more your projects.

Bring luxury to your designs with rich purple tones. Make everything from logos and icons to illustrations and poster art with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.