Factors Influencing the Choice of Color Scheme

Be sure, there is no one particular choice which would work for all the aims. The solution heavily depends on numerous factors covering not only the user’s side but also business goals, market conditions, and current design trends. Let’s review the essential factors which have to be considered regarding the issue.

Readability and legibility

These terms are both directly connected to the perception of the content presented with text. Readability defines how easily people can read words, phrases, and blocks of copy. Legibility measures how quickly and intuitively users can distinguish the letters in a particular typeface.

These characteristics should be carefully considered, especially for the interfaces filled with a lot of text. Among many other factors, the color scheme chosen for the interface plays a crucial role in the effective process of text perception. For example, as well as with physical objects perceived on different backgrounds, black copy shown on white or light background seems to be larger than the white copy on a dark background. Poor readability results in poor user experience: users aren’t able to scan the data, even more – even if the data is relevant but not readable, users feel the inexplicable tense struggling with the text or may even miss the critical information.

Does it mean that interfaces with a light background are more readable? Not always. One of the famous gurus of user experience design Jacob Nielsen mentioned: «Use colors with high contrast between the text and the background. Optimal legibility requires black text on a white background (so-called positive text). White text on a black background (negative text) is almost as good. Although the contrast ratio is the same as for positive text, the inverted color scheme throws people off a little and slows their reading slightly. Legibility suffers much more in color schemes that make the text any lighter than pure black, especially if the background is made any darker than pure white.» So, any color scheme may be readable enough if the designer studies the peculiarities of copy perception on different backgrounds and works carefully on the font choice.

Museu landing page

Hair beauty website design

However, some scientific studies dating back to the 1980s show that big bulks of text light background appear to be a more effective choice for the majority of users. Studying how advertising carriers worked, D. Bauer and C.R.Cavonius shared their explorations in the paper “Improving the legibility of visual display units through contrast reversal” (1980). In particular, they found that participants were 26% more accurate in reading text when it was featured with dark characters on a light background.

Why may that be so? Jason Harrison from Sensory Perception and Interaction Research Group (University of British Columbia) explains this phenomenon the following way. People with astigmatism (which according to various stats present about 50% of the population) feel it harder to perceive white text on black than black text on white. Part of this has to do with light levels.  With a bright display (white background) the iris closes a bit more, decreasing the effect of the “deformed” lens. With a dark display (black background) the iris opens to receive more light and the deformation of the lens creates a much fuzzier focus at the eye. So, based on this, if the interface presents a lot of copy and suggests a long-reading experience, a light background may feel more user-friendly.

Accessibility

Accessibility is mostly defined as the ability of the web or mobile interface to reach as many people as possible and provide its functionality regardless of any discriminations. So, the decision “to use or not to use” has to be mostly grounded in users’ needs and preferences, not on their physical abilities. The color scheme is mentioned among the top factors affecting this aspect. Selecting the palette and color combinations, a designer needs to take into account the users of different ages, special needs, or disabilities which can also determine the choice of color for the background and layout elements. User research becomes a great help providing UX designers with data that helps to get closer to the target audience.

Landing page for a babysitting service uses the light background for all the parts with text content for a high level of readability

Clarity

Clarity defines the ability to see and distinguish all the core details on the screen or page. First of all, it deals with simplicity and intuitiveness of navigation: being able to scan the layout and find zones of information and elements of interaction, users don’t need to put much effort into getting what they need. If this aspect is not tested properly, it may lead to weak visual hierarchy and turn the screen into a complete mess. Contrast plays a big role here and color scheme becomes the foundation for it. To check, if the interface is clear and contrast enough, don’t forget about a good old trick of “blur effect” when you look at the screen or page in the blurred mode and check if everything vital is easily reached and noticeable.

Landing page for the digital agency

Responsiveness

Responsiveness of the interface means that users get it usable and functional whatever it the device they use it on. What looks stylish and appealing in Sketch in the high-res professional monitor may transform into a dirty stain on the small low-res screen. Therefore, some color schemes looking nice at the design stage may lose their beauty in a variety of everyday conditions they are applied in. As color scheme directly influences color, shape, and copy perceptions, it should be tested on diverse devices before making the final decision.

Responsive website design for the forest camping service

Environment

Web and mobile interfaces are used in environments that may be pre-supposed as typical if the target audience is researched carefully. For instance, concerning constant use under natural light, a dark background can literally create the effect of reflection, especially on glossy screens typical for tablets and smartphones. On the contrary, in conditions of the badly-lit environment, a dark background can take the light away from the screen which has a bad influence on navigation and readability. So, the issue of color combinations, contrast and shades draw big attention here.

Slumber mobile app 

Checklist for color scheme selection

With the factors mentioned above, we offer here a short checklist of basic steps to follow while selecting a general color scheme for web or mobile interface.

1. Define the purpose of the interface. Having determined the core points of the interface utility and problem-solving capacity, you make the choice of the color scheme more reasoned. If the UI is text-driven (a blog, news platform, e-reader, etc.), light background tends to be an effective choice. Light makes the screen airy and spacious and it will be easier to concentrate purely on the copy. On the other hand, if the interface is visually driven and moves around images rather than text, a color scheme with a dark or bright background may be a good solution as the colors of the images feel deeper and the general layout gets stylish or even luxury look.

2. Analyze your target audience. Definition and analysis of the target audience are the primary things a designer should do. Knowing who is your potential user and what they will want to get from the website or app sets the solid basis for a usable, useful and attractive interface. Middle-aged and older people tend to prefer interfaces with the light color scheme as they find them more intuitive and navigable. Younger people often find well-performed interfaces with a dark background more original and stylish so that can be the way to involve target users. Teenagers and children are attracted to interfaces using bright backgrounds and funny details. The choice of color obviously depends on the nature of the interface functionality and content. But the preferences of the target audience are always a good clue to user-centered decisions.

Nature Encyclopedia app based on dark background and contrast yellow and white for images and copy content

3. Research the competition. Another aspect to keep in mind is that your product isn’t going to appear one in a blue ocean. Vice versa, it will fight for user’s attention in conditions of great and dynamic competition. The choice of the color scheme also becomes the way to make an app or website outstand and lead to such a precious first wish of interaction from the user’s side. Time spent on exploration of the existing products in the segment saves time and effort otherwise wasted on the redesign of ineffective solutions.

4. Test, test, test. The points described above are convincing about a key thing to do: as the color belongs to the factors directly affecting usability and attractiveness of the interface, every design solution should be appropriately tested, in different resolutions, on various screens, and under diverse conditions. Testing reveals strong and weak sides of the color scheme before the product comes on the market, gets discussed and loses the chance of stunning first impression if the design solution is inefficient.

Compromise Solutions

Not wishing to stick to the strict color schemes, user interface designers sometimes find compromise solutions, like the following ones.

Dark interface, white tabs for copy

As we mentioned in the review of UX design trends, this trend got especially popular for interfaces based on the dark background scheme. It features one more approach to proper readability which is often the issue of debates: applying boxes or spaces with the light background for core data blocks, designers solve this problem and add elegant contrast to the screen or page. One of the cases, when it was applied efficiently, is Watering Tracker app designed by the Tubik team.

Giving the choice of color scheme to the user

Another approach is giving users a choice of modes. That is what we did for Upper, a to-do list app that offers the user a selection of color schemes. On the one hand, it makes the product really friendly to users and makes a choice more personalized according to not only usability issues but also aesthetic preferences. On the other hand, it takes additional work hours for designers and developers to work out all the schemes.

Useful Reading

Dark Side of UI: When Dark Is Good for Users
The Impact of Web Page Text-Background Color Combinations on Readability, Retention, Aesthetics, and Behavioral Intention
Visual Perception: An Introduction
Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye
Colour Choices on Web Pages: Contrast vs Readability
The Dos and Don’ts of Dark Web Design
Why light text on a dark background is a bad idea
When to Use White Text on a Dark Background
Design Glossary: Basic Color Terminology
How Color Influences User Behavior

Originally published in Tubik Blog

Сообщение UI Design: How to Choose Between Light and Dark Theme появились сначала на Design4Users.

At first sight color science may seem not that difficult to master but diving into the details it’s obvious that there are many peculiarities which demand to be comprehended. In the article Color Theory: Brief Guide For Designers, we touched upon the basics of the science helping designers in their craft. Today we gathered a handy glossary with the essential terms of the color theory which will help graphic and UI designers get a better understanding of how color works.

Color

Before we step any further, it’s important to figure out the essence of color itself. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as a phenomenon of light (such as red, brown, pink, or gray) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects. Simply put, color is a quality of an object which is caused due to the light being reflected or emitted by this object. Color can be verified visually by measurement of its properties such as hue, saturation, chromaticity, and value. To gain proper awareness of color meaning let’s define its characteristics.

Color Properties

Hue

The term hue is often mistaken for the color so it needs to be cleared out. First, we should understand that “color” is a general term that people use to name all the hues, tints, and tones. On the other hand, a hue is exactly the thing we mean asking “what color is it?”. Basically, it is a family of twelve pure and bold colors presented on the color wheel.

A hue serves as a basic material that can be transformed in three different ways – tinting, shading, and toning. Depending on the applied technique, a hue is modified into tint, shade, or tone.

They are easy to distinguish. A tint is created by mixing a hue with white, while a shade is a mix of a hue and black. Toning is a more delicate process because it requires adding both black and white the reason why the results may seem more natural than shades and tints.

Source

Value

As we said above colors have certain characteristics by which they can be recognized. Value is a property telling how light or dark a color is. The characteristic is defined by the level of whiteness. The more white has been added to a hue, the higher the value it receives.

Chromaticity

Chroma, or chromaticity, shows the purity of a hue. The characteristic is measured by the presence of white, grey, or black in a color. Twelve basic hues described above have the highest level of chromaticity since they don’t contain any additional elements. Colors with high chroma usually look bold and vivid.

Saturation

This characteristic has much in common with value and chroma, so sometimes they may be mistaken. Still, it’s vital to understand the differences. Unlike two previous properties, saturation doesn’t apply to mix hues with any other colors. It is about how a color looks under different lighting conditions. Saturation describes how bold or pale color is according to its look in the daylight and weak light. The property is also known as the intensity of a color.

Color Wheel

If you had any lessons related to painting, you must have seen the circle consisting of different colors. It is called the color wheel and helps to understand how different colors relate to each other and how they can be combined. The color circle is usually built of primary, secondary and tertiary colors which are also known as hues.

The color circle was created in 1666 by Isaac Newton in a schematic way and since then it has gone through many transformations but still remains the main tool for color combination. The idea is that the color wheel must be made that way so colors would be mixed appropriately.

Color Types

Primary colors

They are three pigment colors that cannot be formed by any combination of other colors. The primary colors serve as the basis of a whole system. The primary colors vary depending on the type of color system. A subtractive system is based on cyan, magenta, and yellow, while red, green, and blue colors form the additive system. And the painting system RYB includes red, yellow, and blue.

Secondary colors

These colors appear by the combination of two primary colors. Since each system has different basic colors, the secondary colors vary too. Here is a schematic explanation of secondary colors appearing in each system.

RGB:

• green+red=yellow
• red+blue=magenta
• blue+green=cyan

CMYK:

• yellow +magenta=red
• magenta+cyan=blue
• cyan+yellow=green

RYB:

• yellow+red=orange
• red+blue=purple
• blue+yellow= green

Tertiary colors

The mix of the primary and secondary colors gives us the tertiary colors which usually have two-word names such as red-violet or yellow-orange.

Cool, warm and neutral colors

All the colors we described above can also be divided into three types: cool, warm and neutral.

Cool colors are the ones on the green-blue side of the color wheel. They are called cool since they bring the feeling of cold. Warm colors are opposite to the previous due to the warm associations which they possess. Yellow, orange, and red are the hues relating to the warm type. Last but not least, neutral colors are absent on the color wheel including gray, brown and beige.

Health Blog using a warm palette

Color Systems

RGB

RGB color system considers red, blue, and green as primary colors. The system is the basis of all colors used on the screen. The combination of primary colors in equal proportions of this system produces secondary colors which are cyan, magenta and yellow, but you need to remember that the more light you add, the brighter and lighter the color becomes. Results obtained by mixing additive colors are often counterintuitive for people accustomed to the subtractive color system of paints, dyes, inks and other tangible objects.

RYB

RYB (red, yellow, blue) is also known as a painting color system often used in art education, especially in painting. It served as a foundation for the modern scientific color theory which determined that cyan, magenta, and yellow are the most effective set of three colors to combine. This is how the color model CMY has been formed.

CMYK

The system CMY has been modified with the appearance of the photomechanical printing. It received the key component meaning black ink and the system was named CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). Without this additional pigment, the shade closest to black would be muddy brown. Today this color system is mostly used in the printed design.

Source

Color schemes

The color balance is vital in design since users make their impression of the website or application by the first look, and colors have a big influence. Designers distinguished the basic color schemes, aka color harmony, which works effectively.

Monochromatic

It is based on one color with various tones and shades of it. The monochromatic harmony is always a winning choice since it’s hard to make a mistake and create a distasteful color scheme.

Deetu Business Cards

Analogous

To create analogous harmony, you need to use colors located right next to each other on the color wheel. This type of color scheme is used for the design where no contrast is needed including the background of web pages or banners.

Binned Logo Animation

Complementary

The complementary scheme is the mix of colors placed in front of each other on the color wheel. This scheme is the opposite of analogous and monochromatic since it aims to produce high contrast. For example, the orange button on the blue background is hard to miss in any interface.

Home Budget Dashboard

Split-Complementary

This scheme works similar to the previous one but it employs more colors. For instance, if you choose the blue color you need to take two others which are adjacent to its opposite color meaning yellow and red. The contrast here is less sharp than in complementary scheme but it allows using more colors.

Financial Service Website

Triadic

When the design requires more colors you can try a triadic scheme. It is based on three separate colors that are equidistant on the color wheel. To save the balance in this scheme, it is recommended to use one color as a dominant, the other as accents.

Dating App Landing Page

Tetradic/Double-Complementary

The tetradic color scheme is for experienced designers since it is the most difficult to balance. It employs four colors from the wheel which are complementary pairs. If you connect the points on the chosen colors they form the rectangle. The scheme is hard to harmonize but if you do everything right, the results may be stunning.

Business Card App

Let’s sum up with the prosaic quote by RyPaul: “The whole point is to live life and be – to use all the colors in the crayon box.” Learn how to use colors effectively both in your life and work and the results will please you.

Useful Articles

Color Theory: Brief Guide For Designers
Design for Diversity of Cultures: Color Perception
Color in Design: Influence on User Behavior
Design Tips: How to Choose Colors for Interface
3C of UI Design: Color, Contrast, Content
How Shape and Color Work in Logo Design

Originally published in Tubik Blog

Сообщение Design Glossary: Basic Color Terminology появились сначала на Design4Users.

The tech world continues to evolve and provide people with problem-solving tools for different fields. UX designers are often under pressure and need to provide a high-quality outcomes within strict deadlines. That’s why it’s important to have a set of effective design tools that would advance the workflow. In this article, we have gathered a list of useful tools for UI and UX designers based on our experience and additional research. Let’s see what they are.

Illustration by Tubik

Wireframing and prototyping tools

Sketch

Sketch app is by far the most demanded tool among interface designers. The biggest advantage Sketch provides to its users is a simple and clear functionality. It can be used as a prototyping tool as well as the software to create icons and illustrations. The program is vector-based and gives the opportunity to work with layers and shapes which can be easily manipulated via the tools panel.

Moreover, the tool provides effective guidelines, for example, you can see dimensions of the components and spacing between them only by holding the alt key. Due to the concise functionality, the program is light, so it works much faster not overloading the computer which saves time (and nerve!) for designers. Yet, there is one specific feature about Sketch: it works only on Mac and there are no exceptions.

Adobe XD

New approaches in UI and UX design encouraged software developers to upgrade their products and even create new ones focused on specific tasks such as layout structuring. Adobe group wasn’t an exception so they launched their newest product Adobe XD (experience design) in 2016. It came as an alternative to Photoshop and Illustrator for UI and UX designers and managed to receive quite high ratings.

This program is specially meant for UX designers creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, and vector design. It is a good chance for Adobe fans to come back to the familiar tool with the significant upgrades focused on the user interface design. For those who are new to web design, XD interface may seem a bit difficult to figure out. Adobe XD is now available for both Mac and Windows 10 operational systems.

Figma

It is one of the most trending design tools today which brings innovative solutions and opportunities for UI designers. First of all, it is the professional design tool which is based on the web enabling design teams to collaborate in real-time working on one page. Also, designers can even export CSS right inside the program which enhances the communication with a development team. Figma allows for creating wireframes, prototypes, and vector icons for free just by signing-up but it works only for individuals while teams need to pay for it. In addition, the app is available for various operating systems.

Lunacy

Lunacy started as a Sketch files viewer for Windows users, but now it’s full-scale graphic editing software that enables Windows users to open, create and manipulate Sketch files. It is especially helpful for the teams whose members work on the computers with different operating systems. Therefore, for different stages of a process, it may be the way to make the flow more productive and friendly to all the participants – designers, developers, clients, and managers. What makes it even more attractive, it’s free for everyone.

Interactive prototyping

Marvel

Marvel is a free cloud-based tool for interactive prototyping which requires no coding skills. You can download wireframes from Sketch and Photoshop or even take a photo of a sketch made on a paper and then create realistic prototypes of a mobile app or website. Marvel offers to create unlimited projects for free with commenting on your first 3 projects. Also, you can get a paid premium plan with unlimited projects and comments along with removed Marvel branding and more additional features.

InVision

It is a free tool for creating interactive prototypes. InVision got the popularity since it enables to import files easily files from Sketch or Photoshop and build animated design. Interactive prototype in InVision looks like the real-life project because designers can link the pages simulating the usage of a real website or mobile app. Moreover, InVision helps to improve feedback process allowing to provide comments right on a prototype.

One more special feature is organizing UI components in different columns showing the status such as to-do, in progress, or approved. This way both a client and designer can control the workflow more efficiently.

Principle

This is a simple app which aims at creating animated UI design. The significant feature of Principle is that it can work even offline so your work progress doesn’t depend on the quality of the Internet connection. Interactive prototypes can be easily converted into a GIF or video and be shared in a portfolio on Dribbble or elsewhere. The interface of this tool is quite similar to Sketch app, so it would be easy to use for many designers. Also, an interesting feature is that you can preview designs on iOS devices. And here comes a pitfall. Principle software is only available for the iOS system, so Windows fans need to look for alternatives.

UXPin

The UXPin team is known as experts in user experience design field who constantly share their knowledge in various books and articles. Their product, UXPin editor, is a web-based tool for prototyping which can be used for creating wireframes along with high-quality mockups and turning them into interactive prototypes. Also, designers can download their wireframes from Sketch or Photoshop for prototyping in UXPin. In addition, the software can automatically generate style guides and specs for developers.

Color choice tools

ColorHexa

This is a free web-based tool helping to generate effective color schemes. You just need to enter a color value into the search field and you get detailed information: tints, shade, and tones as well as the alternatives and suggested color schemes. One of the biggest privileges of this tool is that it shows how a color will be perceived by people affected by a color vision deficiency. This way designers can make sure that their design will look good for users with colorblindness too. In addition, ColorHexa provides alternatives for color in different formats.

Paletton

Paletton is a free web tool assisting to pick color harmony for user interfaces. It is the software which UI designers have been using for color choice for a long time. Paletton has a simple functionality: people need to choose a color on a color wheel or enter its value and the tool generates beautiful schemes. Also, users can choose a type of color scheme and see similar schemes in different tones.

Flat UI Color

The flat design direction keeps being popular so a tool for choosing flat colors is a must-have. Flat UI Color is a website providing sufficient flat color schemes. All colors contain the HEX codes which can be copied right into the main software like Photoshop or into a style guide. The app has a narrow focus but it’s extremely useful for those who often work with flat design.

Material Design Color Tool

Color Tool is a free web-based app which is a part of Google’s material design resource which many of you may be familiar with. The app is focused on mobile design providing material color schemes. Users can try schemes on mobile templates which are also available in Color Tool. In addition, you can find the data on the accessibility of the chosen color schemes and adapt it if needed.

Pictaculous

To find color inspiration many designers go searching for beautiful photos. Pictaculous helps to analyze colors presented on images and output similar color schemes. You just need to upload a photo from a computer and you get exact colors with the HEX codes right at your disposal. In addition, the suggested color schemes can be saved as Adobe Swatch file.

Typography tools

Google fonts

Typography is one of the basic parts influencing user experience of digital products. That’s why it’s important to have handy tools helping to create effective typography.

Google fonts is a popular free web application featuring over 600 font families. Each of them can be previewed in different size and within a custom text. Also, you can see the loading time of each font so that you could make sure it wouldn’t take too long. Google fonts provide the data on embedding specific fonts into a product. You can just copy the code generated specifically for the chosen font in the right section of HTML document.

Typekit

Typekit is a time-tested tool with a library of fonts. Here you can find the variety of fonts from the classic one to the brand new choices. To use Typekit you just need to subscribe and get the access to all fonts. The tool has a clear interface with all the essential data about fonts including weight and style. Even more, it allows for seeing each font in different sizes and some colored backgrounds.

Fontjoy

One of the biggest dilemmas in typography creation is font pairing. There are thousands of fonts and it can become an endless process of choosing a perfect match. Fontjoy is a handy tool for font pairing integrated with Google fonts library. You can just choose fonts setting the right characteristics like size and weight.

This free tool pulls a full library of fonts straight from Google Webfonts and curates them together on one page. Then you choose which font(s) you’d like to test including the size, weight, and line height on the page and wait for the match. In addition, you can regulate how contrasting or similar you want a pair to be just by using a slider on the top of the app.

Typetester

Sometimes we can’t decide which font of the two chosen suits better. Typetester is a quick solution for testing and comparing fonts. It provides previews of multiple fonts on one page with their parameters including leading and tracking. Fonts can be chosen from different sources such as Google fonts or Apple Mac defaults and tested by adjustment of their size, alignment, as well as with customized text and backgrounds.

Calligraphr

Custom fonts is an effective way to add originality to a product. Calligraphr can create fonts based on handwriting. You need to download a template with your writing and the tool will generate it into vector fonts. After they are generated you can edit the details to polish your custom font.

Icons and graphics tools

Icons8 app

Icons8 is an app for Windows and Apple containing about 90,000 icons for digital products. Even more, every day new icons are added to the library. The app guides you through the library helping to find the right pack of icons by categories. Here you can find icons for iOS, Android and Windows platforms available in various formats. The selected pack can be copied right into Sketch, Figma, and others. Moreover, all icons can be recolored and resized in your editor. Icons8 allows downloading PNG icons on 100×100 for free. If you want to get access to all the icons in different formats, you can get a paid license.

Free Icon Maker

If you don’t like any of the icons found on the Web you can make them by yourself. Icons can be created in one of the visual editors such as Sketch, Illustrator, and Figma, or you can apply some free web-based tools. Free Icon Maker allows for creating and editing icons online. When you register there, you are free to use all the features such as downloading icons from the SVG files to modify them in this tool.

IconJar

Designers often download hundreds of icon packs and then it becomes hard to find the right one. IconJar is an effective organizer providing folders for specific icons. For example, if you need to find a “home” icon, you can search for it by the name and the tool will show you the icons from all sets. IconJar is available only for MacOS but soon there may be a Windows version. The program is paid but it has a free trial.

Ouch

UX designers that aren’t skilled in drawing can face the problem of the boring content for app screens and web pages. Ouch helps creators to overcome the lack of quality graphics. At the moment, the resource presents illustrations in 14 styles for 23 typical UX screens such as “fatal error”, “message set”, “downloading”, “subscribe” and many others. You can use them free for a link to the resource or buy the license to get the access to editable files and use the graphics without credits.

Collaboration tools

Trello

Our personal preference for projects monitoring as well as in-studio information flow is Trello. This tool is simple, effective, clear, and intuitive. This tool for communication provides clear systems of boards and cards which have a gear deal of features. It makes possible to split any task into sprints and enables us to carry out the project providing constant updates and presenting images. It is easy to set deadlines (due-dates), delegate specific tasks to specific people, create checklists and mark out the most important and urgent tasks. It also has one more really precious feature. Trello has not only thoroughly thought-out website but also efficient and smart applications for iOS and Android. This gives an additional opportunity for fast feedback so it saves time, efforts and makes management of the projects very comfortable for the customers. Trello is a great option for creating the spot where designers, project managers, and customers could together make a fast and effective workflow.

Zeplin

A successful design project is built upon effective communication of the creative team and clients. Zeplin is a platform for enhancing the collaboration between designers and developers. The major feature is a detailed style guide generator which makes sure design elements are implemented appropriately. Designers can upload wireframes from Sketch adding them to project folders in Zeplin. This way developers get all the data about designs including sizes, colors, and CSS suggestions for UI components.

Presentator

Presentator is a free web-based collaboration tool enabling to share designs with team members, developers, and clients. You can download a file and decide on permissions to it. For example, some may have full access with the ability to leave comments while others may have read-only access. The biggest advantage of this tool is that it’s absolutely free for everyone.

A useful tool works effectively only for those who know what they are doing. So, don’t forget to constantly learn and improve your professional skills. Stay tuned!

Originally written for Tubik Blog
Title illustration by Ouch

Сообщение UX Design: Big List of Handy Tools for Design Process появились сначала на Design4Users.

To create good design and employ colors more effectively, you need to understand how colors are formed and how they relate to each other. That’s why students at art schools, colleges, and universities study the science of color theory devoted to colors’ nature. Today, we offer you to remember (or maybe even learn) the basics of color theory about the color combination which can be effectively applied in your design creating process.

Color Wheel

If you had any lessons related to painting, you must have seen the circle consisting of different colors. It is called the color wheel which helps to understand how different colors relate to each other and how they can be combined. The color circle is usually built of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. The primary are those three pigment colors that can not be formed by any combination of other colors. Combining primary colors, we get the secondary ones, and the mix of the primary and secondary colors gives us the tertiary colors which usually have two-word names such as red-violet.

The color circle was created in 1666 by Isaac Newton in a schematic way and since then it has gone through many transformations but still remains the main tool for color combination. The main idea is that the color wheel must be made that way so colors would be mixed appropriately.

Color models

Before you start mixing colors you need to understand that color has two different natures: the tangible colors which are the surface of objects and the others which are produced by light such as the beams of TV. These types create two color models by which the color wheel is formed: additive and subtractive.

The additive color model considers red, blue, and green as primary colors so it’s also known as RGB color system. This model is the basis of all colors used on the screen. The combination of primary colors in equal proportions of this system produces secondary colors which are cyan, magenta and yellow, but you need to remember that the more light you add, the brighter and lighter the color becomes. Results obtained by mixing additive colors are often counterintuitive for people accustomed to the subtractive color system of paints, dyes, inks and other tangible objects.

The subtractive color model obtains colors by the subtraction of light. It consists of two color systems. The first is RYB (red, yellow, blue) also known as artistic system often used in art education, especially in painting. RYB was the basis for the modern scientific color theory which determined that cyan, magenta, and yellow are the most effective set of three colors to combine. This is how the color model CMY has been formed. It was mostly used in printing and when the photomechanical printing included black ink, the key component, the system was named CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). Without this additional pigment, the shade closest to black would be muddy brown.

Source

Additive vs subtractive

You should remember the major difference between these two systems: additive is for digital screens and subtractive for print media. If the design project you are working on is meant to be printed, don’t forget the simple but crucial rule: colors you see on the screen never look the same in print. Additive color spectrum is wider than CMYK, which is the reason why designers are recommended to convert their projects to the subtractive system of colors before printing so that they could see the result close to what they would get. However, if you work with digital products, RGB color system is the wise choice because it allows creating amazing things with its wide color spectrum.

Color Harmony

The word “harmony” usually associates with something orderly and pleasing. The color harmony is about the arrangement of the colors in design in the most attractive and effective way for users’ perception. When colors are organized, viewers feel pleased and calm, while disharmony in design gives the feeling of chaos and disgust. The color balance is vital in design since users make their impression of the website or application by the first look, and colors have a big influence. Designers distinguished the basic color schemes that work effectively.

Monochromatic

It is based on one color with various tones and shades of it. The monochromatic harmony is always a winning choice since it’s hard to make a mistake and create a distasteful color scheme.

Deetu Business Cards

Analogous

To create analogous harmony, you need to use colors located right next to each other on the color wheel. This type of color scheme is used for the design where no contrast is needed including the background of web pages or banners.

Night in Berlin App

Complementary

The complementary scheme is the mix of colors placed in front of each other on the color wheel. This scheme is opposite to analogous and monochromatic since it aims to produce high contrast. For example, the orange button on the blue background is hard to miss in any interface.

Rome Illustration

Split-Complementary

This scheme works similar to the previous one but it employs more colors. For instance, if you choose the blue color you need to take two others which are adjacent to its opposite color meaning yellow and red. The contrast here is less sharp than in complementary scheme but it allows using more colors.

Be Bright App

Triadic

When the design requires more colors you can try triadic scheme. It is based on three separate colors which are equidistant on the color wheel. To save the balance in with this scheme, it is recommended to use one color as a dominant, the other as accents.

Toonie Halloween Stickers

Tetradic/Double-Complementary

The tetradic color scheme is for experienced designers since it is the most difficult to balance. It employs four colors from the wheel which are complementary pairs. If you connect the points on the chosen colors they form the rectangle. The scheme is hard to harmonize but if you do everything right, the results may be stunning.

MoneyWise App

Color theory is a complex science that requires more than one day to learn. However, it is vital to understand the basics so that you could create an effective design with the knowledge of what you’re doing.

Recommended reading

Here are some materials we could recommend for those who would like to get deeper into the topic:

Design for Diversity of Cultures: Color Perception
Color in Design: Influence on User Behavior
Design Tips: How to Choose Colors for Interface
3C of UI Design: Color, Contrast, Content
How Shape and Color Work in Logo Design

Originally written for Tubik Blog

Сообщение Color Theory: Brief Guide for Designers появились сначала на Design4Users.

Here we are going to consider some points of importance about this significant stage of UI design.

Aspects affecting the choice

Lots of discussions are raised here and there about the color scheme, which is more effective in creating good interfaces. Although lots of participants in this big debate try to find a universal solution, here in Tubik, we suppose the cure-all does not exist. Every project in UI/UX design is highly individual and needs a thoughtful approach weighing all pros and cons.

There are several vital aspects that should be taken into account in the initial stages of choosing the general color scheme for a website or application.

Clarity

This aspect should include the ability of the user to clearly see and distinguish all the necessary details on the screen or page. The color scheme and combinations should support easy and intuitive navigation and make the most functional elements of the layout stand out effectively. Case, when this aspect is not considered or not tested properly, can bring to the products which make a complete mess on the screen in which users do not see what they really should. One of the ways to check it is widely used “blur effect” when you look at the screen or page in the blurred mode and check if everything vital is easily and quickly observed.

Readability

The choice of background for the screen usually influences the level of readability – the ability of users to read text easily. This aspect should be considered among the first, especially if an app or a website is text-driven. Poor readability level is the main reason why users miss important data or feel inexplicable tense using the product as all the way they have to struggle with the text, which takes considerable effort to be read. No need to say that lack of readability can be a serious reason why users are not retained even with attractive products.

Accessibility

In the sphere of UI/UX design, accessibility is mostly defined as the ability of the product to reach as many people as possible. That means that the decision “to use or not to use” should be mostly based on users’ needs and wishes but not on their physical abilities. Color scheme issue is among the main factors affecting this aspect. Taking it into account, designer should think over the users of different age, special needs, and disabilities which can also determine the choice of color for the background and layout elements.

Responsiveness

Designing app screens or webpages, it is also important to remember that users are going to use the product on different devices. That can make crucial effect on usability as often what looks slickly stylish, attractive and clear on the high-resolution professional monitor can transform into a dirty stain on the small low-res screen. In every project, designers should take their time on checking their solutions on different devices and in various resolutions: that simple step enables to reveal the problems and fix them on the early stages of design. Color scheme, certainly, influences this issue among the first.

Environment

One more thing to consider while choosing the appropriate color scheme and the type of background is the potential environments in which users are going to use it regularly and frequently. In terms of constant use under natural light, a dark background can literally create the effect of reflection, especially on glossy screens typical for tablets and smartphones. On the contrary, in terms of regular use in a badly-lit environment, a dark background can take the light away from the screen, which has a bad influence on navigation and readability. So, the issue of color combinations, contrast, and shades draw big attention here.

Therefore, as we can see, choosing the appropriate background color for the layout is a vital step affecting such a key characteristic of any product as usability.

Steps to follow in choosing the color scheme

Here is the short checklist of basic things to follow, making solutions on the general color scheme.

Clearly define the aim of the product

It is very important to define the most important useful points of the product which are going to solve the user’s problems. This data will determine what kind of content drives your product.

If it is text-driven stuff like a blog app or e-reader, for example, perhaps light background will be a better choice. Light will create the feeling of a more airy and spacious screen or page, and it will be easier to concentrate purely on the text.

Online magazine

Blog App

However, if your product is visually driven and moves around images rather than text, a color scheme with dark or bright background for the interface can become an efficient solution as the colors of the images can feel deeper, and the general layout, if accomplished properly, can get stylish and sometimes even luxury look.

Architecture Company Website

Seafood Recipe Website

Analyze your target audience

As we have mentioned plenty of times in our previous articles, defining and analyzing the target audience is the first thing designer should do to work on effective design solutions. Knowing who is your potential user and what they will want to get from your product is the solid basis for a helpful, usable, and attractive interface. Middle-aged and older people tend to like interfaces with light backgrounds as they find them more intuitive and navigable. Younger people can find well-performed interfaces with dark background more original and stylish and it can be the way to involve target users. Teenagers and children can be attracted to thought-out interfaces using bright backgrounds and funny details. Certainly, it deeply depends on the nature of the product functionality and content; however, typical preferences of the target audience can also be a good clue to efficient decisions.

Social Network App

Book swap app

Ecommerce Website

Research the competition

One more thing to remember is that your product is not going to appear one and the only on the market. It is going to participate in great and dynamic competition the prize in which is popularity and users’ attention. The choice of color scheme can be the way to make a product stand out of the crowd that can be crucial to enable the first wish of interaction from user’s side. Time spent on researching the existing products in the sphere can save much more time and effort in redesigning of ineffective solutions.

Music Player App

Karaoke App UI

Test as much as possible

All the aspects mentioned above should really persuade in one key thing to do: as the color is perhaps the most important tool affecting the level of usability and attractiveness of the product, every design solution should be tested properly, in different resolutions, on different screens, and under different conditions. Testing proves the strong and weak sides of your choice before the product goes out on the market, gets discussed, and loses the chance of a stunning first impression in case of inefficient design solutions.

Healthy Food App

Social app: cooking and recipes

In practice, we have published earlier two practical case studies on UI design in which color schemes were redesigned in the process. In the case of Echo App design it was made after the problems revealed via user testing, while in the case of Tracking App it was determined by the issue of consistency for all the versions of the product. Welcome to read the cases in detail.

Useful Articles

Here’s a set of articles on more aspects and best practices of user experience design.

Error Screens and Messages: UX Design Practices

Visual Dividers in User Interfaces: Types and Design Tips

How to Design User Onboarding

Directional Cues in User Interfaces

How to Make User Interface Readable

Basic Types of Buttons in User Interfaces

Negative Space in Design: Practices and Tips

How to Make Web Interface Scannable

UI/UX Design Glossary: Navigation Elements

Originally written for Tubik Blog, graphic and video content by tubik

Сообщение Color Scheme for Interface. Light or Dark UI? появились сначала на Design4Users.

No wonder, in the sphere of UI design color is among the key things of creating efficient results. It is actually a multi-functional and diverse tool able to fulfill several needs simultaneously, such as the following:

• supporting recognizability and brand awareness;
• supporting readability;
• strengthening call-to-actions;
• satisfying aesthetic needs;
• sharpening navigation;
• enhancing intuitive interaction;
• beautifying visual solutions;
• creating clear and harmonic style.

One of the leading designers in Tubik Studio, Ludmila Shevchenko is literally a person staying on the bright side of life every single moment of the day. If you check her portfolio on Dribbble, you will definitely see that even in creating interfaces she is an artist always keen to take everything possible from the color and is never afraid to experiment. Certainly, it doesn’t matter that working on the projects, she never creates minimalist or airy-light designs – when it’s needed and required, it’s done also with thorough attention to even the smallest color accents. However, when she creates concepts or projects, she is always avid to use all the power of color and brighten the world around her. Today she has shared some of her ideas on using color in UI design based on her work on numerous design tasks for different target audiences.

Calendar App 

Working over the first variants of style for an app or a website often feels like a bit of magic and color choices and combinations are obviously the major part of this process. When asked what could be a fairy wand on this path, Ludmila says that she would make it out of four main components actually basic for any creative process: a good mood, a desire to transfer positive emotions and feelings, inspiration, and love for the job you do. This combination motivates her to find great solutions by being persistent and hard-working at this stage. This basic approach empowered with deep knowledge of art and readiness to search can bring out amazing and – what is more – efficient and user-friendly designs.

Ludmila working over a UI concept

Let’s look through some tips from the perspective of color choice and application in UI design.

Don’t be afraid of experiments

It’s not a secret that today designers have great support in color choice in the aspect of making color matches. One of such helpful traits is a huge number of ready-made pallets of various combinations, sometimes even featured in sample screens and pages. Software and tools enabling a designer to catch different harmonic combinations between one breath and the other are getting more and more sophisticated and highly functional so they become a great help, especially in cases of big workload and hot deadlines.

However, as usual, standing on the solid ground of ready-made solutions and standard well-checked combinations, designers should always be ready to add their own two cents as well as sometimes go far from the offered decisions. Don’t resist standard solutions; however, don’t see them as your Bible in design. Be ready and keen to experiment – this is a great way to develop your design skills and create something that is out of the box. Certainly, it doesn’t mean that this very moment you should start something revolutionary new, but still take your time for experimenting and thinking over new tricks. Stay wise but have no fear to let your creativity fly higher now and then.

Colorful Wallpapers 

Don’t set strict limits on the color palette in your portfolio

Your portfolio is actually your design face for the customers who do not know you personally. And for sure it’s only you who decides what this face will express. If you want to show only one side of your design style, if you want your potential customer to see you only smiling, or only deeply serious, or perhaps childish, then this tip is not for you. A limited color palette of portfolio works is one of the fastest ways to do it. Nevertheless, practice proves that showing diverse color choices and combinations in the portfolio in a harmonic way enhances the better presentation of design skills and higher chances of getting involved in interesting design projects.

Try gradients

Sure, this advice, as well as all the others, should be used wisely. It has to be mentioned that in many cases designers today prefer to avoid gradients working out colors for their designs. However, gradients are able to liven the accomplished task and strengthen the potential of color in different design solutions.

Stats Concept 

Colors should feel clean in any combinations

Trying different color combinations and their functional features in creating user-friendly interfaces, it is very important to remember that in any case, even the most venturesome color matches and blends should feel clean. No dirt on a screen or a page. Clarity enhances usability rate, supports readability, and makes all the colors do their best in their interface.

Try using colors as a background, not only in the work itself

It often happens that presenting their works, designers concentrate on the work itself not paying too much attention to the background colors. However, in many cases background color can become one more way to liven up the main image or screen and make it look even more efficient and expressive. Don’t miss the chance to try, perhaps it’s applicable right in your case.

Travel Notes App 

Check the efficiency of color choice via black-and-white

Talking about interfaces, whose aim is not just to transfer visual messages but also to enable easy and successful interactions with a product, a good way to check your solutions is the black-and-white look of the accomplished screen. Observing it, you will quickly understand if the elements, which have to be noticeable and functional, work like this or get lost without colors. Don’t neglect this easy way to check the efficiency of your design as it will not only reveal ineffective combinations but also will easily show you what are the potential problems of your interface for color-blind users.

Get inspired by the art

A great way to get inspired and transform this inspiration right into interface design is art. Classic art, modern art, digital art. Watercolors, oils, charcoals, pastels. Any kind of manifesto of artistic creativity which appeals to your heart strings. It is especially efficient in the perspective of color choice and application and useful in the case of creative block. Finding the sources of inspiration in works of artists who you like and admire is very helpful. Get inspired and try to create your interface like a piece of art. The results can be stunning not only for your clients but even for you personally.

Art Gallery App

Keep attention to details

Famous American designer Charles Eames said: “The details are not the details. They make the design”. That is a key law of working over UI design for applications or websites, in particular when you choose and combine the color palette. Nothing should be left without your thorough analysis and attention. Color is one of the methods to make all the details visible and therefore efficient. Although, color shades and shadows become an effective way to strengthen the visual hierarchy of the elements and their interconnection.

Remember that usability is a key

Creating interfaces is never an act of pure creativity. It is the act of providing users with a product that will heal their pain and make their life happier. So, from the perspective of color choices and usage in UI, a designer should always remember that the interface should be highly usable and clear. All the slightest aspects of color choices should increase usability, utility, and harmony. Use color coding of categories, provide color markers, and use color to improve and speed up navigation – there are so many aspects that can become much more efficient and user-centered just with the help of the great power of color.

Entertainment App 

Useful Design Articles

If you are interested to learn more about colors in user interface design, this pack of articles may help.

Bright Colors in UI Design: Benefits and Pitfalls

Design Glossary: Color. Terms and Definitions

Color Theory: Brief Guide For Designers

How to Choose Between Light or Dark UI

Color in Design: Influence on User Behavior

Color Matters. 6 Tips on Choosing UI Colors

3C of Interface Design: Color, Contrast, Content

Originally written for Tubik Blog

Сообщение Color in UI Design: How to Look on the Bright Side появились сначала на Design4Users.