color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combinations.

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3
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2answers
94 views

How can I make this footer “more corporate”?

I created a footer for a dental lab. I was trying to keep it warm and inviting, but now being told it "looks too casual" or "looks too simple". I heard the blues and grays are "too subtle" So before ...
4
votes
1answer
70 views

Designing GUI for mobile apps working in bright sunlight environment

I'm going to create GUI for a mobile app that will work in bright sunlight environment (inside a car so it will not be fully exposed to sunlight) and the usability and visibility of certain GUI ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views

For the main image on the landing page, can a dark contrasting background help increase conversion?

BACKGROUND OF PROJECT Initially I envisioned that the header would have an image that can span the entire width of the page. I was thinking centered, and it would be so wide that as you stretched it, ...
5
votes
7answers
237 views

Is there a good way to establish a Green-Yellow-Red colour scheme?

Basic colour theory tells us that a colour palette of Green, Yellow and Red is a laughably ugly, they are colours that clash. If we take Green as the prominent colour, the analogous colours that go ...
4
votes
3answers
93 views

How to calculate the best type colour for a random background colour?

I might need to present content at multiple levels depending on the distance of the observer to a display. Let's say from far away the user perceives a flat colour, but from a close distance the user ...
0
votes
3answers
108 views

How to pick large color palettes?

An institution I know has chosen the following colors for its theme: It is used as a banner at bottom of web pages, and the first green is used as the main “institutional” color. I wonder: does ...
1
vote
2answers
63 views

Dark Theme vs Light Theme in Web Applications

I am designing a theme for our web application & I really like the new Adobe Photoshop layout (which is dark, though not black), so I took the cue & created my own dark layout. However, our ...
4
votes
3answers
40 views

Can adjusting color (or grayscale) properties of an image affect its visibility in daylight?

I'm trying to find ways to make images more visible under daylight (i.e., when daylight reflects off the image screen/print). For my project, I want to display digital images on an electronic display ...
80
votes
11answers
3k views

Tips and sources for beginning designers

Thanks to the internet, graphic design and programming are becoming increasingly overlapping fields. As a programmer, I constantly find myself needing basic knowledge of Graphic Design, but have ...
3
votes
1answer
134 views

Differences in color conversion (RGB to CMYK) / How to choose Corporate Color

I figured out that there are possibly more than one methods to convert RGB to CMYK. Using Adobe Illustrator CS6 (Mac) the color conversion is completely different as the conversion via Wolfram Alpha. ...
2
votes
2answers
152 views

Given a color scheme, how do I apply to website design?

Just so there is something concrete to discuss, say I have this color scheme: http://www.lavishbootstrap.com/?image_url=http://design-seeds.com/palettes/12/SpringTones505.jpg There are many articles ...
5
votes
1answer
134 views

Given a number, how to find that many colours that are well-distinguishable?

I'm interested in getting an method for obtaining n well-distinguishable colours, where n is just a given number. The purpose is for it to be implemented in an algorithmic way. I have read other ...
6
votes
2answers
229 views

How do you avoid bands of prominent color in gradients?

So this is more scientific visualization than graphic design, but I think the theory is the same. In colormaps used for visualizing data, there are often bands of color that stick out when they ...
5
votes
3answers
203 views

What is the relationship between hue, saturation and value?

I see people adding color on top of a gray-scale drawing and their colors look great, but when I do myself, the colors look terrible (dirty, not the color I seem to pick from the color wheel). People ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views

How to get RYB complementary colors in RGB imaging software

I am looking for a way to get RYB complementary colors in software. This means, complementary color pairs I am looking to get would be: red - green yellow - violet blue - orange However, when ...
1
vote
4answers
250 views

Darker shade of a given color

What does it mean and how do I get a darker shade of a given color. For example if I have the color R = 53, G = 140, B = 205 or H = 204, S = 74, B = 80, or #358CCD What value do I change in ...
2
votes
2answers
68 views

How do I make alternating lines in a graphic visually distinct?

I draw a graphic consisting of N lines. I want every two lines to have a different color in order to be visually distinct. Question: Which colors would you recommend? The longer the list, the better, ...
9
votes
1answer
195 views

How to make a color APPEAR the same on different backgrounds?

Background on color perception: Due to the nature of the human eye and visual processing by the brain, there's an optical illusion that the same color will look different depending on the background. ...
7
votes
3answers
135 views

What colors are good to avoid eye fatigue in dark environments?

I'm working on a program that requires a dark interface, because it's mostly used in dark rooms. After some thought I decided to add a light version too and let the user swap them, but both still have ...
2
votes
4answers
90 views

How to find matching colors for label text and border for a keypad?

I am developing a calculator app which looks like this:   I'd like to bundle a few themes for the user. So I pick a few colors for the keypad I like. However, I have a hard time to determine which ...
8
votes
1answer
158 views

Which is easier on the eyes: dark-on-light or light-on-dark?

While working on my latest website, I started actually wondering if what I learned in grade school was true. I've been taught that programs like Word default to use a white background with black text ...
8
votes
4answers
301 views

Do high-content areas of a website need to be white/light-colored?

Many websites that are designed to be easy to read (eg. nytimes.com or ilovetypography.com) use white backgrounds with black fonts to make the content easy to read. Is it necessary to only use light ...
7
votes
1answer
79 views

Is there a metric for “apparent” chroma?

I'm not sure this is the right place to ask, but is anyone aware of a metric for apparent chroma? Now I understand that "chroma" and "chrominance" are very overloaded terms, so to clarify, I ...
5
votes
3answers
452 views

Designing interesting looking websites in greyscale, minimal tones

I know a business that wanted a website to match their brand, and it would seem that they are allergic to colour. I think designs in greyscale can look amazing, especially in print, but it feels near ...
-1
votes
1answer
41 views

For a social network what theme should use ? Dark colors with high contrast or low contrast? [closed]

I'm designing layout for a social networking site, should I use bright colors with low contrast or darker colors with more contrast ?
3
votes
3answers
77 views

How to make red icon on gray background less jarring?

My app has a button to record or play videos. When there are problems with this feature, we notify the user by overlaying an exclamation point. This "red !" UI works OK elsewhere in the app but on ...
5
votes
2answers
110 views

Is there a single text color that is acceptable on both dark and light background?

Is there a single text color that, when used on either dark or light background, produces a readable (or at least tolerable) output? If it makes it easier, constraints can be put on the hue, ...
4
votes
3answers
85 views

How about a fourth primary additive color?

I'm currently reading Color Design Workbook: A Real World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design, but it's a bit short on color theory basics. I was wondering: in CMYK, black is added to the three ...
27
votes
8answers
973 views

Is there a good resource or tool to help build a palette/color scheme around colors I select?

No matter how nice the composition, flow, and lines of my design are, if I am not copying directly from nature, I have a very difficult time picking a decent color scheme. It either looks too drab, ...
6
votes
1answer
107 views

Tips for using poor colours well

This is less of a question with a definitive answer and more of a request for some tips. I am hoping that some of you may had had this problem yourself and can offer some advice. I have been ...
2
votes
3answers
95 views

Choosing color scheme? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a good resource or tool to help build a palette/color scheme around colors I select? Is there any way or tool to choose the best color scheme for a web site? ...
2
votes
2answers
184 views

What is a good illustration (or example) of the Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect?

While reading on the Lab color space, I stumbled onto the Wikipedia page for the Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect. I can honestly say that, while all the words in that page make sense individually, I ...
8
votes
2answers
724 views

How to calculate other colors with the same perceived lightness as a given gray value?

This is related to a question I asked on tex.stackexchange, which has a color aspect. The result of that question is the following image: I have drawn a series of gray squares on the left, with a ...
1
vote
1answer
156 views

Layout Desgin and Color Scheme for a Crisis Mapping Web Application

here are a few screenshots of a web-based crisis mapping software, basically built for both governors and people. The design is somehow combined by ideas from different persons, so we are interested ...
4
votes
2answers
403 views

Looking for suggestions for making type more readable with a drop shadow

I want to show a menu with indented items on top of a black background. I tried a lot of colors but can't find the right ones. I'm using css property text-shadow: text-shadow: 1px 1px #191919 , -1px ...
0
votes
2answers
75 views

Need suggestions on elements arrangement and picking colors

I'm making a new site, but I feel like colors or elements dimension aren't that good at all, I want it to look elegant and makes the user comfortable when looking at it. Right now I'm not getting that ...
3
votes
6answers
600 views

Improved splash screen design

The splash screen at the moment for my application is far from catching, but I'm no graphic designer and apart from the fact it looks bland and boring, I can't really work out what I need to do in ...
0
votes
2answers
160 views

What colors look nice in gradients

I'm creating a gradient programmtically with HSB Colors. My Question is what kind of colors do fit good together in a gradient. Which of the Values H(ue), S(aturation), B(rightness) needs to variate?
3
votes
4answers
2k views

What are the true complementary colors and their values ?

Being a webdesigner I learned that Green= 00FF00 Blue= 0000FF Red= FF0000 Yellow=FFFF00 Correct ? And color theory says that Red is the complementary color of Green. Yet when I use ...
4
votes
1answer
108 views

Is there an equation to easily convert a color to its matching color in another hue?

I am trying to design a site with a couple color schemes. I am looking for a way to make color schemes that match mathematically. For example, I know that #FF0000 matches perfectly with #00FF00 and ...
4
votes
3answers
373 views

How to design sites with dark colours (red and black palette)

The graphic designer for my club created a red and black logo (major color is black highlighted with red). Everyone thinks it looks great, and I agree. The issue lies with designing the site. We've ...
2
votes
2answers
83 views

Determining text color on top of a selectable background color

I have a requirment to have users be able to select button colors, I want that according to the background color they select, an appropriate, contrasted button text color will be determined ...
0
votes
1answer
93 views

waves, tide minimal effect.. some ideas on to improve a attraction “hotspot”

Some advise is wanted from you great guys and gals on the below image. the idea is to represent a "hot spot" of "waves" where your eyes are drawn into. This concept makes you feel like clicking the ...
-1
votes
1answer
90 views

Which color i have to add on neutral grey to get white

I am using gimp with a large text image. Unfortunately there is no way to change the color of the individual words. So I changed the text color to a neutral grey (#7f7f7f) and added layers above the ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views

Color space term? (RGB / I values)

I found ascii document with 3d data. It was said: ascii text file of point cloud with RGB / I values Here you can see part of document: 0.805, 10.301, -1.860, 165, 66, 65, 66 0.806, 10.311, ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views

Theorical Colors ranges - Color Theory

I'm looking for specific ranges of colors here. I want the range (in Hexa or RGB) for warm colors and cool colors, active and passive colors for exemple: Warm color from #DD6421 to #FF0000 (random ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views

Color mixer that can mix 3 or more colors?

I'm looking for some sort of service, tool or application – even manual techniques – where you can digitally mix/blend 3 or more colors (i.e. not 2 as in most applications out there) and get the ...
2
votes
2answers
346 views

Choosing between Analogous, Complimentary, and Triad Colour Schemes

Background information: I'm working on an Android game for which I need to pick colours. But, I want the answer to this to be general to ANY kind of graphic design. How do I choose between using a ...
5
votes
4answers
224 views

If these colors all have the same lightness, then why does my brain tell me some are lighter than others?

My human brain has a certain sensation of how "bright" a color is. More formally there is Lightness: Human vision has a nonlinear perceptual response to brightness: a source having a luminance ...
2
votes
1answer
151 views

Site / App color schemes

I have a Color scheme for an app lets say I'm using the colors from this swatch http://kuler.adobe.com/#themeID/1746892. I am about to create another app and I'd like all of the apps created by my ...

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