Color shade is an important web design theory for web designers. It involves human perception, cultural associations, and color psychology. The practical application of color shade theory enables designers to create sites that successfully improve a visitor’s UX, allows them to find the information they need, and respond to Calls to Action (CTAs).
What is Color Shade Theory
Color shade may imply simply choosing attractive color schemes for a site, but it is a vast field of knowledge with practical implications.
Essentially, color shade is far more than just a psychology-based theory but has rules, guidelines, and terminology for different color combinations and their uses.
Research shows that considering visual factors and using the right color combinations has a tremendous impact on brand recognition, product messaging, and customers’ purchasing decisions.
The Impact of Colors in Web Design
Colors are crucial in both physical and digital environments as they help guide the users through your website and improve the overall experience. Although there are about 16 million colors to choose from when designing a website, selecting the right combination can make or break your marketing campaigns and overall success in pushing prospects further up the sales funnel.
The 7 Main Color Terms
The most common terms and characteristics to help you make the right design decisions are:
1. Basic Color Wheel – 12 primary colors
2. Color Relationships – central color relationships or schemes: Monochrome, Complementary, Analogous, Triadic
3. Color Warmth – cool (e.g., blue and purple hues), warm (e.g., yellow and red hues), neutral (e.g., white, black, and gray)
4. Color Systems – RGB, CMYK, and HEX
5. Tints and Shades – adding different levels of white or black
6. Hue, Saturation, and Lightness –
- Hue: color similarity
- Saturation: color intensity
- Lightness: color brightness compared to pure white
7. Contrast – crucial differentiation between elements involving background color and text.
How to Choose Color Shades for Your Website
When choosing color shades, an important design consideration is that colors mean different things to different target audiences. For example, while red may be a robust and energetic color, it can symbolize positive and negative emotions and ideas.
Some users associate it with love and passion, but it can signal danger or anger for others. There are also different cultures at play. Therefore, always research your target audience and test their color preferences. Furthermore, perform additional testing to establish whether your color scheme is optimal on all devices.
