Programming Forums > Web Development and Design > HTML / XHTML / CSS

OpenLoop · Aug 9th, 2005, 12:04 PM

ok first, look at my website: http://www.cheaito.com and you can tell that I am not a web designer. I've been trying to find a good color set for quiet some time now with no luck. I think the reason is that I'm not using any background images but I'm sure I can get it to look nice without images

. Any suggestion as of what colors to use? any help would be much appreciated.

DaWei · Aug 9th, 2005, 12:31 PM

You need to use complementary colors, generally speaking. There are sites that will show you good partnering colors if you choose a "theme" or main color. I don't have a link handy, but I ran across a couple the other day. Google will probably fix you up. The fact that the colors are complementary doesn't mean that they're a good choice, of course, only that they go together. The basic choice is a personal matter. Personally, I despise dark red text on a black background, but that seems to be "k00l" in some 31337 circles. Images aren't really necessary. When I use them, they're muted, watermark level, subject-appropriate. Since they're not to be outstanding, one can reduce their size (byte-wise) considerably without the degradation being apparent.

iignotus · Aug 9th, 2005, 8:27 PM

Either remove the purple or remove the light and dark blues; they clash with each other. Some light shades of yellow (close to tan) will probably work here.

OpenLoop · Aug 9th, 2005, 9:19 PM

Thanks for the advice DaWei and iignotus. I'll try to cook something up keeping in mind what you've said.

thechristelegacy · Aug 9th, 2005, 9:24 PM

To be honest, I kind of like the colors

Lich · Aug 9th, 2005, 9:35 PM

Wow. Ok, take a look at the color wheel (just google for it and you'll find it). Use a color as your "base", then a neighboring color as the offtone for it. Like, for example, a navy blue for a base and a sky blue for an accent. Then take something opposite the wheel and use it as the accent. Like a white, yellow, etc.

I know that doesn't sound like alot, but it goes a long way. It's just like painting a room in your house.

OpenLoop · Aug 9th, 2005, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechristelegacy

To be honest, I kind of like the colors

christe, you must be color blind or maybe you're just as good as me with colors

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lich

It's just like painting a room in your house.

AHA why didnt u say that before. Oh wait, all the rooms in my house are white

.
I just googled the color wheel, never knew such a thing existed. This should be very helpful, thanks for the info Lich.

EverLearning · Aug 9th, 2005, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OpenLoop

color wheel, never knew such a thing existed.

:eek:

I am not exactly an artist, but purple just gotta go

OpenLoop · Aug 9th, 2005, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EverLearning

I am not exactly an artist, but purple just gotta go

Just to clear things out, it didn't look purple on my laptop display. It looks gray. But either ways, I agree that it's ugly. I'm remodeling the whole thing now using the color wheel, let's see what my next creation will look like. MUHAHAHA...

DaWei · Aug 9th, 2005, 11:02 PM

In addition to the color directly opposite on the wheel being complementary, the colors a third of the way around in either direction often also work. Whether you're muted or vibrant or in between is more or less a reflection of the dynamism of your site. Look at some sites designed to sell things to el richo people, tropical clothing sites, stuff like that, and you can get a feel for the different approaches which project a particular image without being obvious.

Aug 9th, 2005, 12:04 PM	#1
OpenLoop Expert Programmer Join Date: May 2005 Location: East Lansing, MI Posts: 663 Rep Power: 4	Color Issues ok first, look at my website: http://www.cheaito.com and you can tell that I am not a web designer. I've been trying to find a good color set for quiet some time now with no luck. I think the reason is that I'm not using any background images but I'm sure I can get it to look nice without images . Any suggestion as of what colors to use? any help would be much appreciated.

Aug 9th, 2005, 12:31 PM	#2
DaWei Resident Grouch Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,453 Rep Power: 10	You need to use complementary colors, generally speaking. There are sites that will show you good partnering colors if you choose a "theme" or main color. I don't have a link handy, but I ran across a couple the other day. Google will probably fix you up. The fact that the colors are complementary doesn't mean that they're a good choice, of course, only that they go together. The basic choice is a personal matter. Personally, I despise dark red text on a black background, but that seems to be "k00l" in some 31337 circles. Images aren't really necessary. When I use them, they're muted, watermark level, subject-appropriate. Since they're not to be outstanding, one can reduce their size (byte-wise) considerably without the degradation being apparent. __________________ Abstraction doesn't make it impossible to write bad code; it makes it possible to write superior code. Contributor's Corner: Grumpy on C++ Exceptions DaWei on Pointers

Aug 9th, 2005, 8:27 PM	#3
iignotus Professional Programmer Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Nowhere Special Posts: 466 Rep Power: 4	Either remove the purple or remove the light and dark blues; they clash with each other. Some light shades of yellow (close to tan) will probably work here. __________________ (Toggle Plain Text) % rc4 hexkey < input > output #define S ,t=s[i],s[i]=s[j],s[j]=t /* rc4 hexkey <file / unsigned char k[256],s[256],i,j,t;main(c,v,e)charv;{++v;while(++i)s[ i]=i;for(c=0;(v)++;k[c++]=e)sscanf((v)++-1,"%2x",&e);while(j+=s[i] +k[i%c]S,++i);for(j=0;c=~getchar();putchar(~c^s[t+=s[i]]))j+=s[++i]S;}

Aug 9th, 2005, 11:02 PM	#10
DaWei Resident Grouch Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,453 Rep Power: 10	In addition to the color directly opposite on the wheel being complementary, the colors a third of the way around in either direction often also work. Whether you're muted or vibrant or in between is more or less a reflection of the dynamism of your site. Look at some sites designed to sell things to el richo people, tropical clothing sites, stuff like that, and you can get a feel for the different approaches which project a particular image without being obvious. __________________ Abstraction doesn't make it impossible to write bad code; it makes it possible to write superior code. Contributor's Corner: Grumpy on C++ Exceptions DaWei on Pointers

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Aug 9th, 2005, 9:19 PM	#4
OpenLoop Expert Programmer Join Date: May 2005 Location: East Lansing, MI Posts: 663 Rep Power: 4	Thanks for the advice DaWei and iignotus. I'll try to cook something up keeping in mind what you've said.

Aug 9th, 2005, 9:24 PM	#5
thechristelegacy Expert Programmer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Somerset, Pa Posts: 708 Rep Power: 5	To be honest, I kind of like the colors

Aug 9th, 2005, 9:35 PM	#6
Lich Professional Programmer Join Date: May 2005 Location: Detroit Posts: 254 Rep Power: 4	Wow. Ok, take a look at the color wheel (just google for it and you'll find it). Use a color as your "base", then a neighboring color as the offtone for it. Like, for example, a navy blue for a base and a sky blue for an accent. Then take something opposite the wheel and use it as the accent. Like a white, yellow, etc. I know that doesn't sound like alot, but it goes a long way. It's just like painting a room in your house.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Programming Forums > Web Development and Design > HTML / XHTML / CSS

Color Issues