The Ultimate Guide to Basic Color Theory for All Artists Photo: Stock Photos from KRIACHKO OLEKSII/ShutterstockThis post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info. Color is one of the seven elements of art and one of the first things we learn in school. Used by painters, graphic designers, interior decorators, and anyone working in visual culture, color theory is an essential part of any creative’s toolkit. Scroll down to learn the basics of color theory. History of Color Theory Color wheel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1809. While it may seem like standard theories about color have always existed, that’s not the case. Initial explorations in color were from a scientific point of view. Later publications, The Theory of Colours by German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and The Law of Simultaneous Color Contrast by French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul, are considered the founding documents of color theory. Werner’s Nomenclature of Colors, 1821.
How to Evaluate a Website – The Visual Communication Guy: Designing, Writing, and Communication Tips for the Soul A lot goes into making a good website. Whether you use a website for your small business or for your personal portfolio, usability and user-experience matters. You want to make sure that whoever visits your site has a good experience. But how do you know if the website you’ve created or use is effective? You can do a usability test, which requires you to find several prospective users of your website and evaluate how they use your website. Below, I’ve created a checklist below of 41 of the most important (and easy to identify) usability guidelines for evaluating a website. Branding and Homepage #1: PurposeAs simple as it sounds, the most important thing a website needs to communicate is what the website does. #2: PossibilitiesYour visitors will want to know what they can do with the site. #3: Starting PointStrangely enough, some websites are hard to figure out where to start. #4: Visual AppealAesthetics matter! #5: PersonalityYou have total control over your website’s personality.
50+ Free Map and Navigation PSD Designs (Google Map, Pins, Markers) When it comes to Image editing or photo enhancement, Adobe Photoshop is usually the primary option to consider. However, the software package itself is a quite hard to learn — and extremely hard to master. And of course, Not all design lovers are web designers. You can find numerous amount of free design stuff online. In this compilation below, you’ll find some of the best Free downloadable Map and Navigation PSDs which might handy for your design projects. Map and Navigation Related PSDs Google Maps UI Controls Map Pins & Tooltips 3D Map Pack Map Controls Google Map UI Kit Colorful Map Tags Map Pop Up Google Maps UI Kit Map Pin User Bubble Google Maps Bubble Clean Crisp Map Tooltip Pins Set Map, Pin & Tooltip Map Overlay Graphic World Map Set with Pins Map UI Mobile Map UI Road Map Classy Custom Gmaps Tooltip Overlay World Map & Pin Map Markers Map icon Map (FPEW) World map Map Complex Map Pop Up Window Pixel World Maps Pixel World Maps 2 Dotted world map Pins, Markers, and Navigation Icons PSDs Map Pins Free
HTML Colors Color Wheel Pro: Classic Color Schemes Monochromatic color scheme The monochromatic color scheme uses variations in lightness and saturation of a single color. This scheme looks clean and elegant. Monochromatic colors go well together, producing a soothing effect. The monochromatic scheme is very easy on the eyes, especially with blue or green hues. Analogous color scheme The analogous color scheme uses colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. Complementary color scheme The complementary color scheme is made of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. When using the complementary scheme, it is important to choose a dominant color and use its complementary color for accents. Split complementary color scheme The split complementary scheme is a variation of the standard complementary scheme. Triadic color scheme The triadic color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. Tetradic (double complementary) color scheme Related topics: Color Theory Basics Visual vs.
Top 10 worst websites you'll wish you hadn't seen - Edit. Remember back in the mid-nineties when websites were a bit of a novelty? They didn’t really serve much of a purpose and, all things considered, were pretty hideous to look at. Common design features were primary colours, flashing letters, poor quality pictures (sometimes hastily Photoshopped together to create a digital collage). As the web has evolved considerably over the last couple of decades, site design and functionality have changed massively, too. Unfortunately (and surprisingly) there are some websites that are still stuck in a bit of a time warp, sporting clunky designs, an overload of information and some pretty poor quality images. Uglytub.com Thinking of replacing your old bath tub? Mrbottles.com Presumably, bottle collecting enthusiasts the world over already know about Mrbottles.com, the online hub for everything you need to know about your bottle collection. Jamilin.com Wholsesalemeatscoventry.com Turn your sound on for the ultimate online experience… Gatesnfences.com
Designing a Color Graphics Page (Checklist) Step 3: Design perceptual layers Now that we understand the data to be displayed we're ready to design graphics that support our users' tasks. Contrast Polarity. The first graphics choice is the contrast polarity--will the display be "radar-like" (bright symbols on dark backgrounds) or "map-like" (dark symbols on light backgrounds). Both have been successful in various applications; both have pros and cons. More on Choosing Background Colors. Build the Perceptual Hierarchy--Managing Attention. Salience can be manipulated by adjusting luminance contrast, symbol/font size, line weight, flashing, and auditory alerts. More on Creating Perceptual Layers. Step 4: Decide where chromatic color will be used and why In this step we are not yet choosing the labeling colors. Step 5: Choose colors With the first iteration of planning done we're now ready to choose specific colors. Constraints. Cultural constraints. Step 6: Solve problems Return to "Perceptual Hierarchy" Step. Other Related Topics:
Chuck Green's curated list of Web Design resources - Ideabook.com These are some of my favorite web design-related resources for graphic designers, marketers, and other creatives. Check back occasionally, the list is always being added to and updated. And when you have some time, try clicking through link-by-link—there are some real treasures here—some that might not jump out at you at first blush—people, products, tools, organizations, and so on, that will help you dig deeper into an area of interest. Most of the links are resources I use personally and/or discuss in posts here on ideabook.com (no one pays for links except for the obvious ads).