Color Theory

For the design research I have decided to choose color theory. As defined, color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combinations. Color theory is based on more subtractive color which is usually the color that we see around on a day to day life, or sometimes used in painting and printing. Color has played an important role in communication, psychology, and even physical health giving color power. Whether it is in interior design, graphic design, or fine art, it can set the mood and effect of the viewer in different ways. Let’s take a look at the color wheel which is important and sometimes can be intimidating for designers and artists. The color wheel is made up of twelve basic hues: three primaries, three secondary, and six tertiary (mixture of primary and a secondary). For the effects and mood colors, it can vary on how you use on website designs. Some examples are the color of cold (blue, green, and blue-green) can be associated with cold and clam, meaning the color has a feeling of cleanliness, freshness, and coldness. Another example, the color of pastel which has large amounts of white and are very soft in nature, which brings out a mood of innocence, fond memories and romance. Color can determine your website and then mood just simply by choosing the right color. People often disagree about certain colors on what they mean and what color designers should use to express certain emotion. But what can’t be argued is that consumers do have emotional responses to colors. Make sure when choosing colors for design, be deliberate. You don’t want to use colors without purpose. Make sure that when you use colors, it’s appropriate for your target audience so that the message that you want to convey and that feeling you want the user to experience when coming to visit your site. Color gives site meanings so that you don’t have to use descriptive words which can create a lot of impact if

References: Noack, Shannon. (2010.) A Look into Color Theory in Web Design. Retrieved from http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/a-look-into-color-theory-in-web-design/ Stone, T. L. (2006.) Color Design Workbook. Gloucester, MA: Rockport Publishers.