Consistency & Color

Consistent Look.

It is essential to plan out what the look and feel of your web site is going to be before you dive in and let your artistic flare run wild. It is very attractive to have the style of a site and the contents have a synergy that creates a harmony and peace between the all the elements on the page. Figure out what the mood of your site is, and then pick a color palette that matches that mood. It is also important to have consistency throughout the entire site. Don't make people wonder if they have left your site because it looks so different from the page before. Visual association is a strong thing. Use it to your advantage.

Background colors

Often, loud colors detract from the focus of the site. At times the information you try to relay get lost all the color. We suggest using white as a background color or a very muted tone. This will help focus the visitor to reading your information, and help you to create a more consistent look.

The following is a list of colors we suggest using as an alternative to white:

Color Description	RGB Values	Hexidecimal #Number
Light Yellow/Wheat	255, 255, 204	#ffffcc
Peach	255, 204, 153	#ffcc99
Light Yellow	255, 255, 153	#ffff99
Sea Green	204, 255, 204	#ccffcc
Light Purple	255, 204, 255	#ffccff
Light Blue	153, 204, 255	#99ccff
Salmon Pink	255, 204, 204	#ffcccc
Periwinkle/Light Purple	204, 204, 255	#ccccff
Light Teal/Aqua	204, 255, 204	#ccffff

Complementary color scheme.

When designing on a color scheme be aware of the associations with color. Blues and greens are cool, relaxing, soothing; reds and pinks are hot, exciting awakening. There are two ways to relate these two sides. One, pick a section, cool or hot, and stay with in that palette. This is called contiguous colors. Two, contrast the two off of each other. This is called complementing. Our American flag is a great example; the blue and the red are complementary colors they work well with each other, they bring out the best in each other.