Color Theory - Color Choices and their Meaning

Whether you're new to the art of web design or you're a seasoned veteran, choosing an appropriate and aesthetically appealing color scheme can be difficult. This article will briefly describe some of the basic principles associated with color choices on the web.

The Basics

Due to the endless amount of different computer configurations, it's often difficult to determine exactly how various colors will be rendered on a particular computer. In the mid 90s, computers could typically interpret 256 basic colors derived from the primary colors. From those 256 basic colors, 216 of them could be interpreted by most web browsers. The 216 usable web colors were collectively known as the web safe palette.

Due to the creation of more advanced video graphic technologies, most users will now have a color setting of 16, 24, or 32 bit. Most web designers will tell you that the web safe color palette is no longer applicable due to these advances in graphics technology, and for the most part they are correct. It's estimated that only 9 percent of online users still use a 256 color (8 bit) setting.

What does all this mean? Well, if you anticipate that a majority of your users will be using older computers and a 8 bit color setting, then by all means stick to the web safe color palette, but for most design applications this is not necessary, but it won't hurt. A good way to alleviate color rendering issues is to limit the amount of colors you utilize in your design, because it will reduce the chances that a specific color is rendered poorly. Also, it's a general rule of thumb to avoid using more than 3-5 colors within a website design.

Which Colors do I choose?

Your color choices should compliment your site and coordinate well with your content. The colors you chose should not only be visually appealing, but include good contrast and convey a desired emotion to your audience. It's important to recognize the cultural connotations we associate with specific colors. Different colors invoke different emotions, and you should be conscious of these sometimes subtle connotations. For example, I would not want an e commerce web site aimed at selling baby clothes in a black and red color scheme, because these colors simply do not invoke the appropriate emotions.

Color Theory: The Beauty of Harmony

Many of you have probably heard the term color theory. Color theory is not a new concept, but an ancient idea that has been pondered upon for centuries. Some of the first writings on record about color theory come from Leonardo da Vinci's personal notebooks. Color theory is basically a set of principles used to create harmonious color combinations. A harmonious color combination is any grouping of colors that is pleasing to the eye. A harmonious color arrangement will appear neither chaotic nor subdued, but create a sense of balance.

One of the most common tools for determining an aesthetically appealing color combination is the color wheel. The color wheel is a circular organization of the color spectrum that will show a variety of relationships between colors. According to color theory, harmonious color combinations utilize colors opposite one another, any three colors that are equally spaced in relation to one another, or any two sets of opposing colors that form a rectangle on the color wheel. The color wheel is a very helpful tool when choosing a color combination and can be found in a variety of places all over the web.

Landon Wisser is a content developer and web specialist at NLI Media Group.

NLI Media Group is an Austin based web development and media firm that uses cutting edge online marketing and traditional advertising and promotion to create premium brand experiences for clients.

http://www.nlimediagroup.com

The Theory of Color and Design Psychology

Color theory is an entire science unto itself, and to get a full picture of how it all works, I'd suggest picking up a few art books. In this article, however, we're going to take a brief look at the essentials of color theory, in light of the concepts of Design Psychology. we'll first list a term, and then offer a short summary of how the term relates to Design Psychology.

Hue

The base name of a color without any white, gray, or black added. The terms hue and color are interchangeable.

Color wheel

A color wheel contains twelve colors, based on primitive pigments. The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. Three secondary colors (composed of combinations of the three primary colors) follow: red and blue make purple; red and yellow make orange; yellow and blue make green. Six tertiary colors (comprised of combinations of primary and secondary colors) form the remainder of the color wheel: yellow-orange, red-orange, violet, blue-green, and yellow-green. Black is the total absence of color and white is the reflection of all colors.

Value or Lightness

This denotes the degree of lightness or darkness of a hue, in relation to pure white or black.

Intensity, Saturation, or Croma:

This term describes the degree of purity of a hue as compared to neutral gray of the same value. This is the freedom from added white or gray; how bright or dull a color appears in relation to the basic hue.

Shades

These are deep tones, in which black is added to a color.

Tints

These are pastels, in which white is added to a color.

Tone

Adding gray of the same value to a hue or adding its complement creates a tone.

Saturation

The intensity or depth of color, such as dark or light.

Monochromatic Color Schemes

This term is used to describe rooms with only tints and shades of the same color. Neutral color schemes are usually monochromatic.

Analogous, Side-by-Side, or Related Color Schemes

These rooms use adjacent colors to the principal color on the color wheel. This is considered a friendly scheme, because the colors blend well and create a soft effect.

Complementary or Opposite Color Schemes

Rooms that use colors from opposite sides of the color wheel. This is considered to be a power and action scheme.

Triad

Consists of three colors, spaced an equal distance apart on the color wheel. Triad color schemes can potentially cause glaring and confusing feelings when all the colors are intense.

Tetrad

Consists of four colors, spaced an equal distance apart on the color wheel. Tetrad color schemes create interesting effects because of the potential variety available. They are best when two colors dominate.

Topographical Color Schemes

These schemes contain colors from nature, such as rocks, earth, sky, sea, and plants.

Floral Color Schemes

These schemes use brilliant or pastel colors found in plants and flowers.

Colorways

Fabrics and wallpapers come in different combinations of colors, or colorways. A fabric pattern will have several selections of colorways to choose from. A pattern may be available in colorways of: yellow, blue and green, red, blue and green; or purple, burgundy and blue.

Visual Vibration

This occurs when neighboring colors appear to clash and vibrate in our vision, creating a dizzying effect that adds to nervousness and tiredness.

Cusp Colors

These are colors on the edge of two colors that take on different values under different lighting situations, such as, dark blue/purple (periwinkle), orange/red (terra-cotta reds), and blue/greens (teal). Periwinkle may appear more purple than dark blue at night or under different lighting systems.

Simple Color

This is a true color, without additive colors, such as sky blue, grass green, or apple red. A simple color is a pure color.

Complex Color

This is a combination of colors, such as silvery blue, or lichen (grayish green-brown). A complex color is a color that requires a long description, such as “sort of a grayish-blue with a hint of pink.”

Palette

The entire range of colors used in a design project.

These are the basic terms used to describe color schemes within the concepts of Design Psychology. Learning them is the first step toward creating dynamic spaces for both the interior and exterior of your home.

by Jeanette J. Fisher

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm