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3. Pleasing Color Combinations
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When you select a handful of basic colors for your web site you will greatly simplify your work. You do not have to make a new color decision when you start a new page. Also, your web site will have a consistent look and feel. Now, how do you go about choosing that perfect handful of colors?
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Web Theme or Concept. You need to come up with a general theme or concept for your web site. This decision may lead to some obvious color choices. For example, if you web site that deals with wood, you will probably want to lean towards browns and tans. If your web site is to appeal to small children you will want to use strong, bright primary colors.
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Principle Colors. You will need to select two colors that are visually very different. One could be your primary background color and the other will be the color for your text. There needs to be a high constrast so that people can easily read your main message. If the colors are too similar, it will be difficult to read. The most common such colors are either black on white (like this text) or white on black. Other good choices are colors from opposite sides of the color wheel such as reds and greens. You can also use similar colors if one is dark and the other light. For example, light blue lettering on a deep, dark blue.
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Secondary Colors. It is nice to have one or two secondary colors that fit well with your principle colors but are not so bold. If you only use your principle colors, your web site will seem stark and plain. This is where the color wheel comes in strong. You might be able to find muted version of your principle color.
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Some Standard Color Schemes
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There are several color schemes that have been successfully used over a long period of time. These are some good schemes to start with until you get more experience.
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Complementary Colors. A complementary color scheme is very common and very often seen in nature. Two complementary colors come from opposite sides of the color wheel and will have the highest contrast. You are very familiar with the Christmas colors of red and green. A sunset is usually composed of yellow and purple. If complementary colors are too bright, they hurt your eyes. But a soft yellow against a deep purple is very pleasing. Using a color wheel it is very easy to pick complementary colors and a variety of intensities.
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Homogeneous Colors. Homogeneous colors are basically the same color but with different intensities. For example, a light blue over a pure blue.
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Triad Color Schemes. A Triad color scheme will have three primary colors. Rather than being from opposite sides of the color wheel, they come from three, equidistant spokes on the color wheel. For example, a deep maroon with wedgewood blue with a light yellow green.
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We have selected a color scheme for EZ-Net University. It has been very helpful to provide consistency and clarity to this web site. We have chosen standards that emphasize clarity, ease of reading, and speed of downloading. To help us remember the standards we have established, we have created a page of standard colors and fonts. The link below will take you to that page.
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Developing a color scheme may seem like a huge task. However, by flowing the principles discussed in this short course, you should be able create an appealing web site. Good Luck.
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