This week we looked at colour and how colour can affect our designs.

Colour Schemes

There are 4 different types of colour schemes.

• Monochromatic - a single colour with its different shades eg. light green, green, dark green.
• Analogous - Colours that sit beside each other on the colour wheel.
• Complimentary - Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel
• Split complimentary - Colours either side of the colour across on the colour wheel.

We were tasked to put these different colour schemes to the test by creating a wireframe for our digital design course. I am always happy when we get to use figma in class. here is what I came up with.

Accessibility and Colour

When using colour in design we must be mindful of the accessibility to those users who may be sight impaired. Many people are colour blind and this could mean that the design isn’t as coherent as we think through our own eyes.

One way to ensure our designs are atleast legible is by using a website called ‘Colorable’. This site gives us a score if our text is legible by colour. We then ran our previous wireframe designs through this site to see if they could be improved. Here are my improved designs.

These designs look so much better and are much better to read once ran through Colorable. It is a tool I can see myself returning to when using colour in projects.

Interpretation of Colour

We discussed the different interpretation of colour around the world and its relation to design. For example whilst in Europe black suggests death and mourning in countries such as China and Japan black denotes ideas of honour and wealth. This is a great point to note when using colourful designs as they may not communicate universally.

Reflection

I have never been a colourful person, especially when it comes to what I look for in design. This week however has changed my perspective of colour, I think I have found a new appreciation for the consideration that is given to colour when designing.