COLOR SCHEME TOOLS

Resource Center » Color Scheme Tools

One of the most important elements of web or graphic design is color. Color is known to evoke feeling and emotion, as well as to stir the imagination. Effective color use on a company’s web site can define image and credibility. Successful graphic designers have used color to draw readers and consumers to their web sites; this sets the tone for their products or services.

There are different types of color schemes, and each brings unity to your design with a logical combination of colors. The following is a description of the classic color schemes:

A monochromatic color scheme uses a single color along with variations of that color.
An analogous color scheme includes a dominant color and accents that dominant color with colors adjacent on the color wheel.
A complementary color scheme uses a dominant color and a second high-contrast complementing color at the opposite of the color wheel.
A split-complementary color scheme uses a base color and two adjacent complementary colors instead of one.
A triadic color scheme uses three colors that are equally spaced, separated by 120 degrees, on the color wheel.
A tetradic, or double complementary color scheme, uses two pairs of complimentary colors balanced in equal amounts.

It is imperative to choose the correct color combinations as they relate to the web site’s purpose. If the focus is on selling corporate promotional products, it may benefit you to consider whether or not the consumer will better trust a site with a professional-looking color scheme. A business that sells custom paper may find a better response if their web site is crisp and colorful.

There are many software programs and useful online tools for creating effective color palettes, patterns, and trends. Online resources for finding and using color include:

ColourLovers: a creative outlet which monitors color trends and provides news and commentary about marketing, art, and product design.
Color Scheme Designer 3: offers a color palette picker tool and allows users to create harmonious color schemes.
Color Combos: offers tools, such as a web site color-grabbing tool and search function to help pinpoint colors found on other sites. With its application you can see how different color combinations work on your computer screen
Color Schemer: allows the user to translate any color on the screen into RGB, HEX, HSB or CYMK color codes. Using a visual color wheel, appropriate color relationships can be determined.
Colourmod: a dynamic color picker with different versions branded to suit the needs of the user.
Easy RGB: offers color tutorials, a color conversion calculator, and mathematical color formulas.
Sessions Interactive Learning Unit: provides an interactive color wheel and an integrated clipboard to mix colors and create designs. This tool can be applied to both print and web design.

Students and designers alike can benefit from the valuable tools designed to research, contemplate, and harmonize colors. It's important to associate the appropriate colors with the graphics and design of a web site; a haphazard or distracting color scheme has the power to repel customers!

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