Choosing and Testing Colors
Let have a few facets and statistics talk about how the colors affect our target audiences, psychological cues are run when we see different colors. Colors evoke emotions, moods, and feelings.
Amazingly, 84.7% of people said that color was the primary reason they bought or use a particular product. People make a subconscious judgment about an environment or product within 90 seconds — and between 62 and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone!
We can choose and test colors by following these simple steps.
STEP 1: Choosing Primary Color
Based on facts should be more precise to choose the right color for the right users for the right purposes. to do that we have to stick with color theory as a powerful tool to choose the right and suitable color.
What Is Color Theory?
Color theory is a set of guiding principles that can be used to create harmonious color combinations. These ideas are represented in a variety of diagrams color wheels, triangles, and charts that help designers understand color interactions, select and combine colors, and construct pleasing and effective palettes.
For further information, I recommend reading the articles below.
STEP 2: Choosing ( In fact Generate) Secondary Color
Choosing secondary colors very easily (It seems to look generating the color more than choosing), we should understand first color relationships (color schemes). Here are six basic color relationship concepts that can be applied to an infinite number of color combinations.
1- Complementary
These are color pairs that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. They represent the most contrasting relationships. The use of two complementary colors will cause visual vibration and excite the eye.
2- Split Complementary
These are the three-color schemes in which one color is accompanied by two others that are spaced equally from the first color’s complement. The contrast is toned down somewhat, providing a more sophisticated relationship.
3- Double Complementary
This is the combination of two pairs of complementary colors. As complements increase the apparent intensity of each other, not all color sets will be pleasing. Avoid using equal volumes of the four colors to make the scheme less jarring.
4- Analogous
These are combinations of two or more colors that are spaced equally from each other on the color wheel. These colors have similar light ray wavelengths, so they are easiest on the eye.
5- Triadic
These are combinations of any three colors that are spaced evenly around the color wheel. Triads with primaries are garish, but secondary and tertiary triads provide softer contrast. Triads in which two of the colors share a common primary (e.g., purple and orange share red) may seem more pleasing.
6- Monochromatic
These are color schemes made up of shades and tints of a single color. Use one hue and explore variety in saturation and lightness to form an allied combination of similar colors.
Google Material Design gives us a tool for choosing colors and helps also to generate secondary colors that meet the accessibility standards.
STEP 3: Testing the color
The contrast of color use is vital to accessibility. Users, including users with visual disabilities, must be able to perceive content on the page. There is a great deal of fine print and complexity within the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 that can easily confuse web content creators and web accessibility evaluators.
Conclusion
To choose the right color there is a color theory we have to follow, when we have done from choosing a primary color, easy to generate secondary by understanding the color relationship (color schemes) (Monochrome, Complementary, Analogous, Triadic,….). the final step is to test color contrast and the ability to recognize the color and their amazing online tools can help with that.
