Wednesday, 30 January 2008
To yellow highlight or not to yellow highlight
First up, I have to confess yellow is not my favourite colour. It doesn't suit me because it makes me look sallow. So now I've come clean and I'll admit that what follows may simply be a reflection of my own prejudices.
You might think it a little girly, but picking a colour scheme for your site is a bit like getting dressed. One of the things you do is make sure your clothes co-ordinate. Most of us wouldn't team a pale pink top with an acid yellow bottom or lime green with baby blue because, most of the time, the colours just don't go together. Clothes are a little different because the fabric is often patterned and sometimes odd combinations look good. I'm not convinced the same is true for web sites.
I've been to quite a few sites lately where yellow highlights have been used to draw attention to information on the page. It's a good idea to highlight the most important information on the page, but I'm not convinced yellow highlights are the way to do that.
My biggest problem is they often clash with the site's colour scheme, particularly when the highlight is fluoro yellow. A lot of the time, this makes the site look ugly. I think it's better to stick with bold or use a colour that harmonises with the rest of the site.
It's worthwhile spending some time experimenting with various combinations to find one that suits you and your business. Color Match is a good place to start. You simply select a colour and are given six shades that match.
Yellow highlights may work for your colour scheme, just as yellow looks good on some people. But if they don't, you may want to think about alternatives.
You might think it a little girly, but picking a colour scheme for your site is a bit like getting dressed. One of the things you do is make sure your clothes co-ordinate. Most of us wouldn't team a pale pink top with an acid yellow bottom or lime green with baby blue because, most of the time, the colours just don't go together. Clothes are a little different because the fabric is often patterned and sometimes odd combinations look good. I'm not convinced the same is true for web sites.
I've been to quite a few sites lately where yellow highlights have been used to draw attention to information on the page. It's a good idea to highlight the most important information on the page, but I'm not convinced yellow highlights are the way to do that.
My biggest problem is they often clash with the site's colour scheme, particularly when the highlight is fluoro yellow. A lot of the time, this makes the site look ugly. I think it's better to stick with bold or use a colour that harmonises with the rest of the site.
It's worthwhile spending some time experimenting with various combinations to find one that suits you and your business. Color Match is a good place to start. You simply select a colour and are given six shades that match.
Yellow highlights may work for your colour scheme, just as yellow looks good on some people. But if they don't, you may want to think about alternatives.
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