- The Color Wheel
- The RGB Color Space
- Web-Safe Colors (a Color Cube)
- Choosing Colors
- Summary
Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Choosing Colors
When designing your Web site, you will want to come up with a color scheme that you can use throughout the site, or that part of the site that you are working on.
When choosing your color scheme, there are a few basic parameters that will help you with your task, as shown in Table 3.
Table 3-Color Nomenclature
|
Parameter |
Description |
|
Hue |
The "hue" of a color is analogous to the angle of the color on the color wheel. You will usually specify hue on a "color picker" that is either circular or linear with Red or Violet at each end. |
|
Saturation |
Represents the amount of color mixed in. The primary colors are fully saturated; White has no saturation. (Black and the various shades of gray may or may not be saturated, depending on whom you ask.) |
|
Value |
Analogous but not strictly the same as saturation. Technically speaking, the average value of the Red, Green and Blue components of a color can be used as the value of that color. |
|
Contrast |
The subjective difference between two colors. High and low saturation or value create contrast; colors opposite each other on the wheel create contrast. |
|
Warmth |
Warm colors are those on the Red-Orange-Yellow side of the wheel; Cool colors are those on the Green-Blue-Violet side. |
When you are designing your site, think about those aspects. Highlight the important stuff with contrasting value or hue; use a warm or cool color scheme to impart the feeling that you want for the site. Experiment a little and find something that pleases you (and your client!).
When displaying text over a colored background, be sure to use contrasting value for the text; contrasting color is not enough. Use a background color at one end of the value scale and text color the other end. If the text is a light color on a dark background, think about creating a "printable" version of the text with black letters on a white background.
Where to Learn More
For a thorough exploration of Web color, I recommend the book Coloring Web Graphics by Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman (by way of disclosure, Lynda Weinman is my sister). It's been out of print for a while, but you can probably find a copy at a used bookstore or an online auction site. I have never seen a more complete discussion of the subject.
Here is an excellent article on additive (projected) and subtractive (reflected) light, by artist Lee Harrington ( http://www.leeharrington.com/articles/colorandlight.html).
There are a number of Web sites that show different views of the Web-safe color cube. This site by William Johnston ( http://world.std.com/~wij/color/index.html) includes good slices of the cube, so you can see all the colors inside. Search for "color cube" on your favorite search engine to find more.