Joseph's
eJournal
Thursday February 8, 2007
COLOR and Design
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I like the combination of different shades of gray or dark blues because I find them soothing to the eye. With a light gray background, I like to use dark text for emphasis. I almost never use bright colors since they are too loud for me. Another reason I like grays and also blues is because colors have meanings, and according to the Sessions School of Design, blue means comfort, loyalty & security while gray means Business, Cool & Distinctive. In addition, gray is a neutral color. When I say neutral, it is simply a synonym for Achromatic color scheme. An Achromatic color scheme, according to The Color Wheel Company is a colorless scheme using blacks (including blue-blacks), whites, and grays. On occasion I will use a black background with light text. The type of color wheel I have is Pocket Color Wheel manufactured by The Color Wheel Factory. |
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There should be consistency to color use when designing an interface. This is because an interface that is designed with color consistency appears well-balanced. According to McCracken and Wolfe in chapter 9.5 of User-Centered Web Development, "In tests involving short and long passages, black text on white background and black text on light gray background rated high. In both cases, the background has a high level of brightness and low saturation. The text was always low on the brightness scale. As a general guideline, use dark text on a white background or a background that has high brightness and low saturation. When choosing text and background combinations, it's best to avoid bright saturated colors. Combinations of bright colors such as red and green, and red and blue, or magenta and green create a perception of vibration between the two colors and cause eye fatigue." However, vibrant colors can be used based on the occasion. If it is a product or an event that is colorful like a casino atmosphere, if a product is geared toward kids, then I think it is appropriate to use bright colors with the appropriate background. Below are two examples: The first one in Mercedes Benz and the second on is M & Ms.
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In the case of the Mercedes Benz interface, grays, blues, and black work very well since they create a neutral aura. Also the clientele of this particular product tend to be business oriented and conservative so it would not be in order, if they used bright colors like Orange, Red and Yellow to sell their product. Because of these facts, they chose the right color combination to appeal to their audience.
In this second example of M&Ms, using vibrant colors like Orange, Red, Yellow, work very well. I like this site very much because it has an interactive color scheme that lets you pick the colors of your choice. Using colors like grays, and dark blues would not work very well since the audience for the M&Ms are normally of a younger age, and also women who tend to have a natural addiction to candy. These vibrant colors are appropriate in getting their attention and evoking excitement to the visual senses.
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