Chapter 3: Defining a Color Scheme

In This Chapter

check.png Choosing colors

check.png Discovering the basics of using color on the web

check.png Creating and using a color scheme

Every website has a color scheme. Now, we didn’t say that every website has a consciously defined color scheme. But consciously or not, every site does have a color scheme. That color scheme — the set of colors used in the pages for images, text, links, background colors, and artwork — is critical to how inviting and accessible the site is.

The color scheme applied to a website is part of the message that site conveys: An edgy gray and black color scheme might be perfect for a trendy clothing designer’s portfolio, but it wouldn’t be so welcoming when applied to a site marketing children’s toys.

You should make an informed and conscious decision on the colors used in your website, but you must also consider technical issues (how color works on the web, hexadecimal values, and so on) and how to generate and apply a color scheme. We cover all these points in this chapter.

Finding Colors for a Color Scheme

Before we get into finding colors for a color scheme, we must first cover the most basic rule of color schemes, which is that you ...

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