Color Harmonies for your Web Pages
- In visual experiences, color harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye.
- It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order and balance.
- When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic.
- The human brain will reject bland, under-stimulating information
- The human brain will also reject visuals that are too busy and overdone with color.
- The visual goal is that we present an effective color harmony that delivers visual interest and a sense of order.
- Avoid using colors of similar lightness, even if they differ in saturation or color.
- Exaggerate lightness differences between foreground and background colors.
Some Formulas for Color Harmony
There are many theories for color harmony. The following illustrations and descriptions present some basic formulas.A color scheme based on complementary colors Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green.
A color scheme based on monochromatic colors
Monochromatic color schemes are tints and shades of one color. For example tints and shades of green like above. This type of color scheme works well for website design, providing
a harmonious looking site.
A color scheme based on monochromatic colors
Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green. In the illustration above, there are several variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several variations of red-purple in the orchid. These opposing colors create maximum contrast and maximum stability. This color concept works well also.
A color scheme based on nature
Nature provides a good example for color harmony. In the illustration above, red yellow and green create one kind of harmonious design.
Ideally, a more toned down color scheme would work better for educational purposes.
A color scheme based on Analogous colors
Analogous colors are any three colors which are side by side on a 12 part color wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange. Usually one of the three colors predominates. This works very well for an effective website color scheme.
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