What are the factors that are considered to choose colours

Q. What are the factors that are considered to choose colours? (MAY 17) 5M

Wavelengths of light themselves are not colored. Actual color results from the stimulation of the proper reception in the eye by a received light wave. A color can only be described in terms of a person’s report of his or her perceptions.

Eg: red wavelength 700 mill microns, orange 600 mill microns.

The different types of colors:

1. RGB

Many color monitors use the three primary color of light in various combinations to create many colors on the screen. By adjusting the amounts of red, green, blue light presented in a pixel, millions of color can be generated. Hence, color palette editors exist with labels R, G & B

2. HSV

Some palette editors use a convention based on the Munsell method of color notation called HSV for hue, saturation, & value (or HSL for hue, saturation & lightness).

3. Dithering

The eye is never steady. If pixels of different color are placed next to each other, this tremor combines the two colors into a third color. This is referred to as dithering,& sometimes texture mapping. In system containing large palettes of color, the color not in its palette is also called dithering.

Possible uses of colors

Color may be used as a formatting aid in structuring a screen or it may be used as a visual code to categorize & identify information or data. It may also be used to portray objects naturally & make a screen more appealing to look at.

1. Color as a Formatting Aid

• Use color to assist in formatting a screen for relating or typing elements into groupings.
• Use color for breaking apart separate groupings of information.
• It is used to associate information that is widely separated on the screen.
• It is also used in highlighting or calling attention to important information by setting it off from the other information.

2. Color as a Visual code

• Colors are used as visual code to identify screen components.
• It is used to identify the logical structure of ideas, processes or sequences.
• It is also used to identify the sources of information & the status of information.

Possible problems with color

Possible problems may be caused by the perception system itself or the physiological characteristics of the human eye.

1. High attention-getting capacity

Color has an extremely high attention getting capacity.This quality causes the screen viewer to associate, or tie together, screen elements of the same color, whether or not such an association should be made. A person might search for relationship & difference that do not exist, or that are not valid.

2. Interference with use of other screens

Indiscriminate or poor use of color on some screen will diminish the effectiveness of color on other screen. The rationale for color will be difficult to understand & its attention getting capacity severely restricted.

3. Varying sensitivity of the eye to different color

All colors are not equal in the eye of the viewer.The eye is more sensitive to those in the middle of the visual spectrum, which appear brighter than those at the extreme. Some combination of screen colors can strain the eye’s accommodation mechanism. The perceived appearance of a color is also affected by the size of the area of color, the ambient illumination level & other color in the viewing area.

4. Color-viewing deficiencies

About 8% of males & 0.4% of females have some form of color perception deficiency called color blindness. A red viewing deficiency is called protanopia, a green deficiency is called deuteranopia & blue deficiency is called tritanopia.

5. Cross-disciplinary & cross-cultural difference

Colors have different meanings in different situation to different people. A color used in an unexpected way can cause confusion. The same color can have different connotation depending upon its viewer.

The color blue has the following

1. For financial manager- corporate qualities reliability.
2. For American movie audience – tenderness.

Guidelines for choosing colors of web page

Color must have a meaning full purpose. Color without a purpose is gratuitous & visually distracting.

1. For palette: Use the browser 216-color palette.

2. For presentation:

• Minimize the number of presented colors.
• Always consider color in context.
• Use similar or the same color schemes throughout.
• For foregrounds, use black or strong colors for text & headings.
• For backgrounds, use weaker contrasting colors such as off-white or light gray.
• Larger images should use flat web safe colors & it should also use fewer colors than small images.

3. For links:

• Use default colors for links such as blue for unselected or unvisited links & purple for selected or visited links.
• Do not display non-link text in link colors.

4. For testing:  The possibility always exist that identical colors may appear differently on different monitors & platforms, so it is better to test a color on a variety of displays before using it.