Design the Rainbow

I knew how important color was in terms of design, but I had never realized how much color meanings can vary. Like words, colors have a context that can greatly influence their meaning within a particular design. For example, one of the readings mentions that red in western cultures often signals aggression, while in China it generally means prosperity. Being aware of the colors that we use and how we use them is another tool we have as designers to really include (or alienate) our users into our websites.

The color wheel and graphs that displayed the complementary and analogous colors was helpful. I like to think that I have a pretty sense of color, but these will be useful tools in putting together color schemes. My favorite color strategy was using nature to pull colors that work together well. I guess I've probably done it, but I've never actually thought of doing it as a color strategy.