Creating solutions that work for your business

Web design colour - brought to you by N - Web Design

What is colour

Colour is basically light reflected off objects.

There are many more aspects to the theory of colour, but that is the most simple explanation of its essence.

Colours in web sites

The colours used in web sites, from a technical perspective, are very important, as there are many factors that influence how they actually appear.

Different monitors, video cards, browsers, contrast and even where you are sat can have a profound effect on the appearance of colour. Add to this peoples eyes and brains (after all, this is what controls the perception of colour, isn't it?) and you will agree that it is probably very difficult, if not impossible to be absolutely sure about what colours the web site visitor will actually see.

The age old problem of colour

It isn't just the internet and web sites that present the web designer or programmer with problems. Historically, just about every medium used in the media has been the victim of colour.

There are now very sophisticated calibration systems and colour standards for ink that make printed colours less of an issue, but as any printer or print designer will tell you, that isn't the end of the story. Too much black ink on the press, different types of paper, different print processes, they can all change the colour just enough to make a difference.

It isn't just printing that can have a colour induced headache. Remember those early colour movies that were very vivid. People weren't really bright red in the 1930's and 40's were they?

Web design is no different

Colours in web design are very similarly managed to those in print, although for the internet, it is mostly RGB palettes that are used. If we are designing for print, we can pick pre-defined colours from colour swatches, that we know can be printed accurately, but onscreen may look wrong. We can't really do that too easily for the internet. If the colour looks right on our screen, it will probably look different on many others.

It can also be difficult to use strict printed colours in web designs and logos, because there isn't really any close enough web-safe colour for representation. Sometimes, a little creative thinking is required to get around issues related to colour. A satisfactory solution can always be found.

Matching web site colours

Like many other applications of colour, finding colours that compliment each other can be tricky. Again, our job is made a little easier, thanks to the world of designing for print, by using the colour wheel.

A colour wheel is a circle, full of colours, in a predefined pattern, showing colours that are compatible.

As you can see from this example, a colour wheel can give a simple but clear idea which colours to use as complimentary additions to the basic colours required.

Web Design Extras

Latest Tech News

Brought to you by 'geek elite'...