Avoid hectic color schemes or too many & conflicting colors
With so many wonderful shades and hues out there, it’s easy to go overboard with color. Though bright and bold color schemes are at the cornerstone of many designers’ aesthetics, when you put too many colors too close together, the visual noise that is created overpowers the rest of the web design.
Stick with a simple color palette and neutral background colors. A toned-down background makes instances of color — such as colors on call-to-action buttons, menu items, or other design elements — stand out and get the attention they deserve. Sometimes all you need is a simple white, black, or neutral background.
Here is a great color picking tool just remember to save your hex code/color codes to use the exact same color codes throughout your website and for other marketing material.
Color symbolism in art and anthropology refers to the use of color as a symbol in various cultures. There is great diversity in the use of colors and their associations between cultures and even within the same culture in different time periods.
A lack of color, texture or pattern can make a website feel a little lifeless, selecting the right wall finishes and colors can breathe life into your space. It may be hard to believe, but a color can also have an affect on your mood.
When choosing my color scheme I always follow these 6 rules:
- Prioritize the user experience, first. Leverage natural inspiration.
- Set a mood for your color scheme.
- Consider color context.
- Refer to your color wheel.
- Use the 60-30-10 rule.
- Draft multiple designs.
Always keep the user in mind when designing remember both the user & your brand persona, we covered that here, and work to communicate it clearly and effectively. Setting the mood again has to do with the your brand & user persona and what style you would like to reflect this will help you consider the color context.
Remember there are few things in design that are more subjective—or more important—than the use of color. A color that can evoke one reaction in one person may evoke the opposite reaction in another, due to culture, prior association, or even just personal preference. Color theory is a science and art unto itself, below I broke down the color families and what they generally symbolize.
- Warm colors include red, orange, and yellow, and variations of those three colors. These are the colors of fire, of fall leaves, and of sunsets and sunrises, and are generally energizing, passionate, and positive. Red and yellow are both primary colors, with orange falling in the middle (making it a secondary color), which means warm colors are all truly warm and aren’t created by combining a warm color with a cool color. Use warm colors in your designs to reflect passion, happiness, enthusiasm, and energy.
- Cool colors include green, blue, and purple, are often more subdued than warm colors. They are the colors of night, of water, of nature, and are usually calming, relaxing, and somewhat reserved. Blue is the only primary color within the cool spectrum, which means the other colors are created by combining blue with a warm color (yellow for green and red for purple). Because of this, green takes on some of the attributes of yellow, and purple takes on some of the attributes of red. Use cool colors in your designs to give a sense of calm or professionalism.
- Neutral colors often serve as the backdrop in design. They’re commonly combined with brighter accent colors. But they can also be used on their own in designs, and can create very sophisticated layouts. The meanings and impressions of neutral colors are much more affected by the colors that surround them than are warm and cool colors.
Colors play an exceptionally prominent role in our lives. They influence our thinking, inspire our decision-making, and impact our moods. From causing changes to changing reactions, colors are more powerful than we think. Depending on our interpretations, they can be used for both good and evil. Fortunately, we have the power to welcome some colors and shun others.
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