Color Theory for the Color-Blind
Category: Design...
Posted Tuesday, August 02, 2005 at 10:37 PM [GMT-6]

Digital Web Magazine has a useful article for anyone who is "color-challenged," and I put myself squarely in that category. The author makes an interesting argument that, in the computer age, one does not actually have to see colors in order to use them effectively.

Being color-blind can be a real obstacle for anyone involved in design. For Web designers, this does not need to be true. In any other field of design, it is expected that the designer has a keen eye for colors. It is generally assumed that you need to “just feel” when colors look good together and when they don’t. You should just be able to see them and say “Yeah, that looks good,” or “That looks really bad.” This is a fair expectation if you’re working with paint or ink. However, colors take on a new dimension when our work is based on computers: hexadecimal code.

By understanding the science and logic behind color theory, I—and other color-blind designers—can intellectually know why colors go well together or don’t. We don’t have to actually see them. If we extend our knowledge to why certain colors make us feel the way they do, we can also create very emotional color schemes, without actually seeing the colors.

I happen to agree with the author, even though I can understand why the artists in the audience are lighting the torches and greasing the rails. But, we're not talking about artwork here; we're talking about how to combine the members of a very limited color palette in ways that have been time-tested and even scientifically proven to evoke certain reactions.

I have in my possession a volume entitled "Color Harmony Workbook." It consists of a series of color swatches grouped and categorized into themes: Powerful, Romantic, Welcoming, Magical and so on. Each color has a number; each number corresponds to a CMYK value, which in turn can be converted into an (approximate) RGB value for web use. It's not art, but it's useful and legitimate technology, and it works.

I wish I had an artist's eye for colors, but I don't...an unfortunate but not fatal biological fact. As the author of the Digital Web Magazine article points out very effectively, there are good tools for overcoming such challenges.

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Comments

The "artist's eye for color" is just a smokescreen for artists who learn color theory while training to be artists. Color theory is really all about math. I have several art books that explain colors, and they all deal with color relationships - complementary, split complementary, etc.

The "feel" of such colors is really also based on these mathematical relationships and the color wheel.

After I started researching color theory, I was amazed at how much of it is just simple math and relationships. Just as a tone-deaf musician can learn to play the piano well, so too can a color-blind designer learn to use the color palette well.

Of course, you already know that. :-)

Posted by: bryan at August 3, 2005 08:51 AM

"I wish I had an artist's eye for colors, but I don't...an unfortunate but not fatal biological fact."

...and this from the same blogger who selected such a fetching combination of yellow, green, and orange for his layout? ;-)

Posted by: Mr. Freen at August 3, 2005 09:48 AM

Mr. Freen, as Bryan points out, it's simply a matter of mathematics.

Of course, I was never any good at math, either! ;-)

If you're seeking some "fetching" color schemes, you'll want to be sure to tune in during the Blogathon as I introduce the Gazette's "Skin of the Hour" design.

Posted by: Eric at August 3, 2005 10:01 AM

Skin of the Hour sounds almost salacious.

Posted by: jen at August 3, 2005 10:46 AM

If "salacious" means something like "tasteless," then that's probably a pretty accurate assessment. ;-)

Posted by: Eric at August 3, 2005 10:50 AM

I bought a color cube over at thinkgeek, and it has been a real boon -- and I'm trained in color theory.

Posted by: Phelps at August 4, 2005 01:42 PM

Is that anything like a Rubik's Cube, because if it is, I don't want to have anything to do with it. I never could work those things.

Seriously, though, I have to rely on "cheats"; even a simple color wheel is a big help.

Posted by: Eric at August 4, 2005 04:12 PM
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