Website Colour Schemes
Selecting the right colour scheme for your website can be difficult. Ensuring the website is readable, cross-platform compatible, and aesthetically pleasing on screen, are factors that should be taken into consideration. However, you also want the website to have unique elements of design. In order to select the right colour scheme, you need to have a clear understanding of the colour wheel.
The colour wheel helps you mix and match colours in a harmonious fashion. It contains the three primary colours: red, blue and yellow, as well as the combination of how these three colours make up the secondary colours; green, purple and orange.
There are three fundamental colour schemes that can be applied to when selecting a website colour scheme.
Analogous - this colour scheme uses colours that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel. Designing a website based on this colour scheme allows the layout to be consistent and harmonious. However, avoid combining colours that are too similar to each other, that the content of your website becomes camouflaged.
Complimentary - this colour scheme uses colours that are opposite to each other on the colour wheel. Designing a website based on this colour scheme makes the design bold and captivating, but at the same time contrast harmoniously without having colours clash with each other.
Monochromatic - this colour scheme uses the tints and shades of a pure colour. For example, add black or white to the colour red to make up a monochromatic colour scheme. Designing a website based on this colour scheme makes the design bold and consistent, and is perfect for building a strong brand identity.
Take caution when choosing colours that do not fit any of the three categories, often they clash and become strenuous to view, or give the design a blurred, murky effect. Remember that these are just guidelines on how to pick the right colour scheme for your website. Don’t forget to experiment and use your instincts to build up an eye for good colour schemes.
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