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Psychology of
Color
Teacher: Michael
Bloch
Color is a very important element
of your website. Have you ever been to a page that had a yellow
background and bold red text?....how long did you stay there
for......
If you're anything like me -
color challenged - choosing the look of your web site can be
a particularly difficult task.
When color is used correctly,
it can add impact and clarity to your message and highlight
important points. When color is used incorrectly, it can compromise
your message and confuse your target audience - to the point
that they click their way out of your site as quickly as they
can, usually screaming and cursing as they do so!
Color can make visiting your
website a more pleasant experience in 2 very important ways
- Color emphasizes, highlights,
and leads the eye to important points or links.
- Color symbolizes and triggers
emotions and memories.
When I'm out scouring the net
for resources, I'm usually zapping from site to site at a rapid
rate, watching the clock to see how much time I have left before
having to move on to other things, my eyes and brain become
bored with repetition. But when I hit a site that has a particular
color scheme (lilacs, believe it or not!), I switch into cruise
mode and take my time....seriously. But color is a very personal
thing
The interpretation of a color
depends on age, nationality, profession, current trends and
personal preference. In general, the colors red, orange, and
yellow are "exciting" colors and the colors purple, blue, and
green are "calming" colors.
Black is an interesting case.
Taming the Beast.net's colors used to be black background with
silver text. This had a mixed response from people who visited.
Black is associated with death, underground, decay etc, etc,
but also has corporate overtones (hmmm, I see a pattern emerging!).
My reasons for using black were:
a) - I liked it!
b) - After cruising around on the Internet for a few hours looking at white
backgrounds until my eyes are threatening to become explosive projectiles,
I found that a black background on a site relieved them.
c) - Contrast qualities for laptop users and the visually impaired.
d) - The theme of the site at the time, portraying the PC as an evil force
to be reckoned with!
d) - I liked it!
I am by no means saying that
you SHOULD use a black background, merely stating the reasons
why I used it. As time went on and Taming the Beast.net evolved,
the color scheme was changed to blues and black.
Bear in mind that current trends
will also play a big role in color schemes - the offline fashion
world plays a very big role in influencing the online world.
A good strategy is to create your site in such a way that if
a color change has to be carried out, it can be done so easily.
For any color that you are considering
utilizing, give some thought as to the reasons for doing so.
For example, I would strongly recommend against using black
backgrounds with pink to purple text - these colors are strongly
associated with umm, undesirable sites.
As I mentioned, I'm no expert
in color psychology - so here's a link to one of the best color
resources I've come across in recent times:
http://www.websitetips.com/color/
About the teacher:
Michael Bloch
Taming the Beast.net
http://www.tamingthebeast.net
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