Applying The Colour Theory In Ux Apps
“Colour theory” is a term sometimes used as an umbrella term for “ui design principles”, which are the building blocks of good user experience. These include the idea that different colours have different meanings, can create moods and can be used to communicate specific messages. A well applied colour scheme can create a dramatic improvement in both the looks and functionality of any app. Unfortunately many people are unfamiliar with colour theory and the concepts it applies to both design and usability. This article aims to provide a simple explanation of colour theory, its applications and how to implement it in user-experience application design.
In a very general sense, colour theory can be applied to any given experience.
By taking the word “colour” and replacing it with its synonym “hues”, we get ux – the term for the interface colours used in mobile applications. Bright colours like blue, red or yellow are used for the menus and content of an app. darker shades of these colours are used for things such as the icons used to represent applications or for the background images.
There are two key things to note about ux theory.
The first is that many colours have their own unique properties, and can even be mixed to create new, unusual colours. Secondly, some colours can be used to create contrast, which can be another useful tool to improve the user experience.
One example of the use of contrast is the use of two slightly different shades of the same colour, one slightly lighter than the other.
These two colours can be combined to make one more contrasting than the original. For example, if you have the lightest shade of blue, then combining it with the darkest shade of purple can make the blue seem to recede, fade or disappear altogether. Again, the different shades can be used to make different effects.
There are a number of ways that different colours can be combined.
For example, by using black and white images, they can be used to make an image look lighter or darker. Similarly, when using dark and light text, the dark text can be used to draw the eye to a particular part of the page. If the images used are too small to see any difference, then adding a little more colour to the image will make all the difference. The important thing to remember is that lighter and darker colours can be used together in a design to add depth or create illusions of space. However, when using a combination of colours like this, it is important to make sure that the colours work together as a whole, and that there are no obvious clashing elements.
When creating a layout for an app, it is often helpful to play with the different colours to make different effects.
For example, a light blue background can make a photo appear to be bigger than it really is, or give the illusion of a halo around a subject. By playing with different colours like this, designers can make very detailed and sophisticated layouts that can really enhance the experience on a mobile device. As well as the backgrounds being made bigger or smaller, images can also be positioned anywhere within the layout. This means that the entire background can change at any given time.
Another great way to add a sense of dimension and life to images is to make the background darker or lighter.
Different coloured images can appear to disappear if the colours used are too bright. However, different coloured images can also make other elements in the layout stand out more. For example, if black is used for the background in an image, a red apple in a red background will make the apple stand out more.
It is very important to understand how different colours can be used to optimize the appearance of a layout.
Different colours can be used depending on whether you want to emphasize the shape of an object or focus on a different colour. By playing with the different colours of the rainbow, it is possible to create the exact effect you desire. All it takes is creativity and an understanding of how different colours can be blended together in order to create the exact effect you are after.
Question
What is your colour theory? leave a comment below.