Posted on: 26 November, 2001
Author: Ernest Seger
We all know the ... ... to ... a ... on the Web. But often we overlook the ... that every Internet store front sharesÂ… The flat surface of a computer monito We all know the tremendous advantages to operating a storefront on the Web. But often we overlook the built-indisadvantage that every Internet store front sharesÂ… The flat surface of a computer monitor has to substitutefor the brick, mortar and 3 dimensional colors of a realworld business. Which brings up a problem - You built your site around a particular shade of blue thatlooks great on your PC. But your visitor is viewing yoursite on his Mac, which translates that shade of blue intosomething that looks very different! But not to worry. The following free sites can help youwhip out great looking web-safe color combinations in aflash. http://www.visibone.com/colorlab/ is a free color lab thatallows you to see how colors work together. It's veryvisual and simple. Click on the color wheel and differentcolor choices are presented to the right of the wheel. Keepchoosing colors until you find something that looks good toyou.http://www.reallybig.com/visibone/lab/ is the same colorlab but with a *random* button. Click "random" until youfind an interesting combination of colors. Then begin toremove the colors you don't like by clicking on the tiny"X"s. http://www.paletteman.com/ allows you to experiment usingup to four color combinations It gives you HEX or RGBvalues and will even email thecombinations to you. Now let's talk first about the IMPACT of colors - and howthe colors you choose for your web site could impact yourbottom line. The basis for this information ishttp://www.pantone.com/index.asp?pn=home [] BlueStudies have revealed that blue is the country's mostPopular color. Ford, "Big Blue" (IBM) and Benz, are all blue. WhenExxon and Mobile merged, their color became blue. [] GreenSpeaks of ecology and nature. Says Eiseman,"Consumers describe it as fresh, clean and revitalizing." Yellow-Green is negative for adults (slime), but is likedby the youth market. [] RedRed is viewed as the most exciting color - and createsa high arousal threshold. Compare Chrysler (red) with Ford (blue). Which company doyou view as the most cutting-edge and exciting? [] Purple"The 18 to 29 year olds are especially partial to purplebecause they consider it sexy," says Eiseman. "Andthe influentials see it as powerful and sophisticated." [] Black"Black remains the most mysterious, powerful, andsophisticated shade, especially with wealthy,achievement-oriented women." But not by middle-aged menand women, however, who still associate black withmourning. [] Pink and redThe two colors that are seen as the warmest as well asthe most cheerful, with pink being the most popularof the two. [] Bright orange The least favorite color For more on this subject, go tohttp://www.pantone.com/index.asp?pn=home Bottom line: Better use of color will mean a better Web site thatappeals to your visitor, and can even make your siteappear better than it is. Match the color scheme of your site with yourtarget audience and you'll make more money.It's as simple as that (and as hard!). Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com