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For example: the color red is associated with danger and prohibition as established by social convention. Talking about the environment in red colors will confuse users and distract from the message trying to be communicated

How much weight does this really carry if your product is good ? My guess, negligible. Websites just pick a theme color and go with it e.g. Facebook/twitter : blue, Youtube/Google+/Pinterest : red, etc.

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If your product is strong enough that people can link colors, shapes and typography directly to your brand, I think you need a pat on the back! For the rest of us, it’s good practice to be careful with established cannon when dealing with potential ambiguities. It’s known that certain color schemes respond to certain conventions, so as long as your brand doesn’t go against them you can use whichever color you want and still be able to communicate your message. The products you mention don’t go against any particular convention, so they can establish their brands within those color schemes.

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