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.

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.