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There are any number of ways to look at color in your website design. You might notice, first, whether the color selections are pleasing to the eye. For example, do they subtly blend together, or do they provide stark contrast?

You also might pick up on the emotion the colors are trying to convey. Bright colors can make the design seem more energetic. Darker colors could be telling you that a more serious topic is being discussed.

Color theory is the overall term for how colors interact with each other and create a logical structure for the use of color in your design. For example, some colors are complementary. When placed next to each other, they provide strong contrast – like blue and yellow. Complementary colors work well when you want something to stand out.

Some colors are analogous, meaning they have a color in common, such as yellow-green, yellow and yellow-orange. They blend well together, creating a pleasing effect.

While there are many other examples of how colors can interact with each other, the main point here is that color is a communicator. The effective use of color in your web design isn’t a haphazard selection of personal preference but is more of a considered, purposeful use of a very important design element.

At times, a color will become part of a company’s brand identity. UPS certainly embodied the use of brown in its truck color and brand marketing. McDonald’s has its golden arches. And Coca-Cola has its red cans, among many other examples of color branding.

So, how would you like to see color in your advertising and website design? We’re 24 Communications, an advertising and web development firm in Montgomery, Alabama. If you’d like to discuss how color can communicate for you, let us know.