UI communication colors

Question

I'm creating message boxes with different states. One for success, one for error.

I've using colors ala http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannejanne/2492207808/sizes/o/

But I came up with 2 colors too many. Blue and Yellow.

Does anyone know any good patterns/best practices for when to use these standard "Web 2.0" colors?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Not sure it helps, but, I generally try and use colors that people are familiar with in real life:

Have a problem/issue? Then Red.

Need Caution? Then Yellow.

etc...

A List Apart has some good content regarding User Interface Design in general that may help answer your questions.