Forum Moderators: open
Thanks for answering me.
wolfy
Without doubt.
[webmasterworld.com...]
[webmasterworld.com...]
[webmasterworld.com...]
I can tell you from experience with my own sites that colors and background images make a strong impact on women surfers.
[webmasterworld.com...]
And all those sites that try to be "cool" by using Reverse Text - yellow text on black, red on black, etc. Miserable. I want to run away.
They are soothing and well as thought provoking is used correctly!
Flashy Bold Stuff simply turns me off.
Although not looking at other threads, Ive heard plenty about colours
1. Like the American Indians and what colours were to them
2. Colours used on the walls of "padded cells" to try to alter mood
3. More of the same, mind over matter
My answer is "for sure" :) Im gonna check those other links mentioned....
Red..."danger, danger" ;) The thing is, are the effects of each colour universal or unique to each person?
OK, what about wolfy's sub-question?
I just visited a site that discusses the issue of colors in different countries and cultures the article was written "Culturally Correct Site Design" By Olin Lagon
I don't know if you've read it but I'll sticky the website address to you. Interesting article it may be of some help.
They also listed some reference material as well.
Excellent! I must agree. Wonderful explanations
I'll let you know what happens changing a red color into a blue one for Japanese market.
wolfy
And sure, there is a "visual language", with rules of syntax, some structure, etc. So there is something like a native visual language for any culture.
I went through a fine art college and have had many courses on visual design and reached a few conclusions of my own. For web sites, I usually like a 4 color scheme. That is, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary (usually text) and Accent.
What colors and percent proportions to use depends on what you are trying to express. If you just want pleasing combinations, I would look at popular flowers. Flowers in nature often have a wonderful balance of unique colors and color proportions.
Or you can get technical and look at different "harmonics" around a 360 degree color wheel, like 3 colors that are 120 degress apart, etc.
If I were a better programmer, I'd write a color scheme program for web designers. There are one or two available, but not really that great yet.
You're exactly right. It's not about choosing the one right color for a website. It's about choosing colors that work well together as a palette.
Wolfy, color can guide a viewer's eye--subtly telling them where to look and what's important on the page.
I found a short color preference test [solidsurfacemagazine.com] that illuminates the fact that there are no absolutes here. (It also illuminates the fact that flat areas of color should be rendered as gif, not jpg, but that's another story.)
* Color schemes that ignore "color usability" by making text hard to read (like bad background image choices or low contrast color combinations).
* The boring white background as a sacred entity. Just because paper is usually white doesn't mean your web page has to be. Get a wee bit creative for a change.
I, for one, like black backgrounds for some sites. A monitor IS a light source and black tells your visual mind that "it's dark out". This let's the designer treat the page as a "stage set, to be carefully lighted", rather than a simulation of a magazine page. Done well, this can be quite compelling and provide a very unified look.
Sure, form should follow function, not lead it around by the nose. But a usable web page can be visually beautiful too.
It's a shame that most of us are so specialized that we can't write great code and also make great visuals and also produce compelling content. Too many site are "designer sites" (as in expression over content) or "developer" sites (as in mechanics over content), rather than a rich blend of exciting visual expression AND great content AND a great technical vehicle. When web production is compartmentalized into specialist professions, an imbalance often results.
Well, I feel better now ;)
I suggest doing a little research on colour theory. Colours do have an effect on minds.
Go to your local Barns and Noble or Boarders books, and go to the art section. There you should find plenty on Colour Theory. You will have a blast with all that you learn, even the most basic book on the topic opens your creative mind wide open. :)
Reading: "The more you know the more you know"
University Art classes are another source to learn about colour theory and art direction.
Enjoy!
eboda
When web production is compartmentalized into specialist professions, an imbalance often results.
If you have several specialists collaborating on the project, you either need someone to keep an eye on the overall picture, or need a team that understands that they need to work together to produce the website.
The graphic designer, code developer and content writer have to understand a little bit about each other's jobs and be willing to listen and compromise. If someone in the web-team is a primadonna, the project will become lopsided rather quickly.
It has been suggested that people with good creative abilities are usually not very good with logic, where vice versa also applies.
So some of us could maybe get all code-happy and make a spankingly great web site, only to be let down by our immature abilities to draw :) It is a generalisation, almost a rule of thumb.
Programmers, do you source designers? Designers, do you source programmers?
Back to colours. Interesting to think that all code rendered across the web, and in fact in computers, is absolute. IMO although colours are quantifiable in the same way, they are abstract. It is interesting to point out that human beings are a cut above other species due to our ability of abstract thought. (On the same note, why do bulls get pi**ed off with red?)
IMO, theres more than what meets the eye. Any psychologists in here? :)
Ok back to the main topic :)
/added, I wrote this offline, conveniently others have towed the line :)
I just found out I am an asian. It explains why nobody in the UK appreciates my dress sense:)
>Boy, I've learned a lot about color here. Good subject wolfy.
Ditto. The use of color, as you can see from this and past threads, is always a keen interest point.
Very interesting article however, gives a new perspective on a lot of color-related issues.
<University Art classes are another source to learn about colour theory and art direction>
I've never thought to go listening university art classes but now...nice idea!!
As suspected - total nonsense. The answers we're pretty mixed with a lean towards us being asian, surprising for an almost entirely European office. Not a big cross-section I admit but my results go even further to support Tedsters statement "there are no absolutes here", and apparently I'm romantic. pah.
I used to own a set of Luscher cards and we sometimes hauled them out at parties - results were pretty accurate, and even revealing at times. But the results also vary from day to day.
The online explanation is simplistic - a full test takes many color cards
