On Color and Design

But first, a note about my Typography Assignment. Somehow I managed to be first for the in-class reviews last week. I was very pleased with the feedback I got on the layout and design. Surprisingly to me, the footnotes (the code of was stolen directly and quite successfully from Professor Petrik’s article on footnotes.) worked and were actually a big hit with the class. It seems I am actually getting the hang of this after all. Quite encouraging on the whole!

So I’ve spent much of the past week trying to understand color and design. This is yet another topic that seems overwhelming in its complexity, even with the understanding that I’m just dipping my toe in the immense color pool. There is just too many variables when it comes to color and design. Fortunately, I read about how even the experts can be overcome with the depth of “color theory.” This put things in perspective for me. Now, instead of having to learn a whole new body of research, I just have to remember a few rules of thumb and otherwise go with something that looks good to me. Much more manageable!

So, my rules of thumb:

• Use color to direct the focus
• Reds warm, blues cool, yellows action
• Keep it simple!!

Clagnut's Compendium of Color Tools is an excellent collection of resources. I also really like the technique presented by David Shea, in his Photographic Palette article. Here he suggests developing a palette by taking base color and overlaying a white and black square with varying opacity to make a shade lighter and a shade darker. This kind of sensible approach is perfect for the web designer who wants a considered color palette but doesn’t have the time or patience to engage in a full-on color theory development.

Comments

[Mark Stevens]

Chris,

You said:
Keep it simple!!

Comments:
Amen!!!!!!! I had begun to think that the choices I made for color at the beginning of this project were insufficient in that there was not enough diversity. Then I went back and reviewed more sites on the same topic as I am doing, Holocaust survivors. Again I found a basic use of darker reds and grays were the most useful on the more well done sites. I will, however, keep thinking about slight alterations to the color scheme in ways that might help better tell my story.

[Tad]

Ah, someone else who appreciates the beauty of theft!

Seriously, the thing I love about this whole web-design thing is that if there's something you can't get to work, code-wise, you can always JUST STEAL IT. The code isn't someone's personal intellectual property. It's part of the language, and nobody can OWN a language.

This means that assembling a web page is really more an act of bricolage or esemblage than construction, and then tweaking the elements to put your personal stamp on it. (I find this incredibly reassuring...)

[Karin]

I also found all the different variables for oclor a bit confusing. I think I have six or seven different color palettes saved on my desktop right now. Out of all the sites on color I visited this week, I still like www.colorblender.com best. I'm all about simple and straightforward at this point.

[Maureen Guignon]

I agree with you and also think 'keep it simple' is an important element in web design. Minimalist artists argue that by not showing the hand of the artist, the viewer sees what he/she wants from the work of art. It can be challenged that it also means less work for the artist...and usually more money these days. But, the minimalist approach certainly looks better on the web.
Thanks for the great link to the CSS box site. It has been a big help in trying to figure out how to organize more than one image on a web page.