Create An Effective Website Color Scheme By: Mark Spencer     One of the hardest parts in web design is creating a unique, effective color scheme. Not only will your site's colors give it personality, it will create a lasting impression on your visitors. Contrast Pick colors that provide enough contrast to make your text stand out. Stay away from using light on light or dark on dark. Remember your emphasis is on getting your message read. An unread message is a useless message. Keep It Simple Choose 3 or 4 colors for your site, and use only those colors (or shades of those colors). Decide ahead of time which colors you're going to use, and stick to it. Complementary Colors Complementary colors are opposite each other on a color wheel. The 3 most common sets are: * red and green * blue and orange * yellow and purple. These colors work surprisingly well together. Complementary colors also are a good way to pick colors that will be easily readable against a certain background: look for the exact opposite color to maximise readability. Analog Colors Another approach: Pick one main color, and choose colors near it on the color wheel to support it. Red, for example, goes well with its analog colors, orange and yellow. If overdone, this can make your site look too bright, but in moderation the results can look good. It's no coincidence that these combinations often occur in nature. Chromatic Colors Another method, chromatic colors use different shades and hues of 1 color for your entire design -- nothing else except black and white. For example, you might use light blue, bright blue and dark blue together. This creates a sleek and professional look. Take Colors From Nature Lack of ideas for a color scheme? Go for a walk outside. Take a look at plants, landscapes, and animals. Nature knows how to use colors -- learn from it. Color Blindness Try to make sure that your design uses color to make itself aesthetically pleasing, but doesn't rely on the color scheme for anything essential. Statistics show that perhaps 10% of the web users are at least partially color blind, so make sure they can at least read your text. About The Author Mark Spencer is a graphic designer currently living in Seattle, WA. His latest project is http://www.ontora.com which features this color scheme article [http://www.ontora.com/article/21] and more. Article Source: zeronese.net article directory. Article Word Count Appx. : 389 Article Category: Articles » Web-Design » Web-Design-Color-Theory See all articles by Mark Spencer Note: Copying of article contents in whole is permitted provided that article body and article author by-lines are kept intact and unchanged. Hyperlinks and/or URLs including article source link provided by authors and/or zeronese must remain active at all times.       The views and opinions of authors expressed on Zeronese Article Directory web sites do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Zeronese.net .