Understanding the Value of Color Schemes in Web Design

May 29, 2017

Choosing a color scheme for a future website is one of the major challenges that we face during the initial stages of web development. This may sound like something so simple and easy to handle that we often underestimate the importance of a cleverly chosen color scheme for our websites. Moreover, the success of your online project is heavily dependent on the hues that you pick for its showcase. So, why is the proper choice of a color scheme so important for website owners and what are the most impressive examples that can inspire us on the way to the ideal online presentation of our business, personal or simply creative projects? Let’s find it out in this post.

Color Theory Fundamentals

When talking about color theory, we refer to both the science and art of working with colors. Color theory explains the way a human mind understands different colors and their combinations, as well as how we reflect on them.

On average, it takes people 90 seconds to acknowledge whether they enjoy a certain product or not. 90% of this decision is based on color. We perceive the things that surround us based on the color they encompass. On seeing a color, the data from our eyes is sent to the brain, delivering information about the way an item that is placed in front of us is designed. Depending on different combinations of objects, people form different opinions about them.

We differentiate products from a range of others based on their coloring. For example, whenever you need to find a can of coke in a row of similar cans and bottles, based on what criteria will you search for the right item? Usually that’s the color. Vivid red featuring a recognizable handwritten logo will make it stand out from other similar cans.

Color Wheel Basics

The first color scheme ever was invented by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. Based on this, artists and designers from all around the world were (and still are) developing color mixes and palettes that complement and harmonize with each other.

color_wheel

The color wheel is made up of:

three primary colors (red, green and blue);
three secondary colors (the ones that are created as a result of combining primary colors, i.e. green, orange and purple);
and six tertiary colors (these are the colors that are made from the combinations of primary colors with secondary ones, i.e. red-violet).

Warm vs Cool Colors

All colors included in the color wheel are divided into two big groups – warm and cool colors.

Warm colors include reds, oranges and yellows. These are commonly associated with energy, action and brightness.
Cool colors are blues, greens and purples. These mean calmness and peace.

It’s recommended that you make your choice of the best color schemes for your site based on the meaning that you want it to convey to the audience. Also, keep in mind which particular business niche your site represents. Thus, business sites intending to look professional and trustworthy in the eyes of the potential clients, make use of cool colors like blues.

If you build a site for a food-related industry, then it is important that you want your content to appear appetizing and mouthwatering. Warm yellows and reds are the best choices for that purpose.

Color Symbolism

We’ve already said a couple of words about the symbols that warm and cool colors deliver. Let’s now dig deeper into more detail.

Red, yellow and orange are the primary warm colors in the color wheel. Any combination of these three hues is also considered to be warm. A sunset, fireplace and the Fall season are some of the best examples of warm colors. Some of the brightest associations are passion and positivity, so incorporating such colors into your own designs will help you represent enthusiasm and vitality through your content.

When used in web design, the color orange delivers an energizing and friendly feeling. As a rule, it can be found in CTAs or other design elements of business, sports, technology, food, travel, and medicine sites targeting the youth audience. The positive and negative associations connected with the color orange include:

orange

The color red is one of the most energetic and attention-grabbing hues in the color wheel. In web design, it is used to draw the user’s attention to the content that is worthy of special attention, as well as to encourage an action. The latter is commonly achieved while using red in the design of CTAs. The topics of sites on which the color is the most appropriate to be used are related to food, cars, fashion, holiday, flowers, travel, and design. The most common associations with the red color include:

red

Compared to warm colors, cool colors feature muted tones. Out of all three cool colors, only blue is considered to be the primary one. The other two are combinations of blue with warm hues. Thus, green is a result of the combination of blue with yellow, whereas purple is a mixture of blue and red. As per the most vivid examples of cool colors, we can attribute water and nature. Used in web designs, these deliver a comforting, soothing atmosphere.

Green has a strong calming effect in web design. This is the second most frequently used color after blue. It can be used safely on websites targeting both male and female audiences. Promo banners and CTA buttons are the most common on-page elements where the color green is being used. The most popular topics of sites where it would be appropriate to use green are agriculture, advertising, medical, healthcare, household, energy, and technology web pages. The associations of the color green are:

green

Purple is a feminine color that encourages creativity in web designs. It is also commonly used on eCommerce web resources with the purpose of delivering the feeling of royalty, virtue, comfort, and wealth. Fashion, beauty, wedding, medical, handmade, and technology stores commonly use the power of the purple color on their pages, with the following set of associations included:

purple

A separate group of colors is neutrals. These are such colors as black, white, gray, brown, and cream. As a rule, these are used as background hues that complement brighter colors. However, these can also be used separately within web designs, delivering an elegant tone to sites. One of the most popular, classic combinations is a black-and-white design.

Color Schemes

Generally speaking, there are three types of color schemes that can be found in web designs. These are complementary, analogous and triadic variations.
Complementary colors are the ones that are placed in opposition in the color wheel. For example, these are yellow and purple, red-orange and blue-green, etc.

color-schemes

Analogous color schemes are made of the hues that are placed one next to another in the color wheel. For example, these are blue-green, blue and blue-violet.
As for triadic color schemes, these are made up of the colors that are spaced evenly around the color wheel. The colors from such color schemes are commonly very bright and dynamic. For example, these may be blue, red and yellow.

Picking the best color scheme is important for the efficiency of your web project. The choice of colors, fonts and the overall layout structure of your site should be created with a close connection to one another. Depending on how cohesive these appear within a design, we can judge about the readability and appeal of a web design project.
So, make the right choice of colors based on the specification of your project. In order to help you manage this challenging task more effectively, we offer for your consideration a couple of ready-made web designs from TemplateMonster featuring stunning structures and cleverly selected color schemes. Watch and be inspired!

impresta