Comments on: Natural Selections: Colors Found in Nature and Interface Design http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/ Boxes and Arrows is devoted to the practice, innovation, and discussion of design; including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business. Mon, 20 May 2013 13:09:05 +0000 hourly 1 By: subimage http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-9505 subimage Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-9505 Really awesome article. I’ve done this type of thing before with other photos (of the dollar, cars, etc), but never really thought about using nature photographs to come up with color schemes. I’ve gotta try this one on my next project! :)

]]> By: eileen http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-9506 eileen Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-9506 Great article. I have been using stock photos to create color combinations for years but I never really thought about how it is nature’s way to tell us what works and what doesnt.

]]> By: Luke Wroblewski http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-9507 Luke Wroblewski Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-9507 Thanks for the comments… on the topic of background colors… Cool colors (blues, greens) work well as backgrounds because they recede. Have a small room in your house that you’d like to make seem bigger… use a light blue. Got a big room you’d like to make more cozy… go with a warm color like red (warm colors come forward.) Color psychology also plays a role here. We associate blues with the sky and oceans (lots of depth in both), hence its calming effect and associations with depth and dependability.

Some color characteristics:

Red: Vibrant, passionate, love, war. A very strong and attention-grabbing color, red is charged with emotions.

Violet: Regal, sacred, sensual. In deep shades, violet is luxurious. When lightly tinted, it is aromatic and spiritual.

Blue: Cool, dependable, sophisticated, sky, water. Blue is full of depth, constant yet dynamic.

Green: Fresh, relaxing, earth. Green is very balanced and calm, a natural color.

Yellow: Sun, energy, warmth. Yellow is welcoming and full of life, a happy color.

Orange: Strong, vital, hot. Orange is the warmest of colors, a healing and playful hue.

]]> By: jake http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5564 jake Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5564 This is a great article. Finding color combos is always fun in places like nature. Although not exactly nature I once used the color combo of OJ in a water bottle. The blue in the label was a good match for the brand of OJ and I used it on a site.

]]> By: Frederick van Amstel http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5565 Frederick van Amstel Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5565 *excuse my english*

Gray is all over softwares interface for many years because of the default color of Windows. The default background color for web pages of the fisrt browser was gray too. Today, light gray is very common being background for texts (see right column at B&A).

Do you think the background color change of the new Windows XP to light yellow will influence the web pages design?

I think so.

]]> By: Fredy http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5566 Fredy Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5566 Hi Luke,

I really enjoyed your article. Been looking into the topic of colour use for a few years now, and one thing I found was that surprisingly, Purple, is one colour that hardly appears in nature. I can think of a flower or two and maybe a sunset, but it is one colour that isn’t as abundant as others. :)

]]> By: Jason L http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5567 Jason L Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5567 I am so glad that you have brought this issue to the table. You can’t go wrong with the colors of nature, it is such a great place to start for influence on a design. The blues of the web have become so redundant, yet I must admit that they have there place when necessary and when used tastefully. Websites have so much potential with the proper color harmony.

]]> By: Jeffrey Hicks http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5568 Jeffrey Hicks Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5568 It took a little bit of time.

I have redone a $120,000 / year website.

Let me know what you think.

http://FlagAndBanner.com

]]> By: Mark Fusco http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5569 Mark Fusco Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5569 What an amazing contrast in the Dublin color example you show in Fig 7 and their website.

It’s interesting that their tagline reads “it’s about time,” but a visit to their site sends the message – to me anyway – that there’s anything but time with all the busy flash animated ads and content boxes all squeezed together.

If there is one site that could benefit from implementing natural colors and landscapes, that would be it.

]]> By: carlos http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5570 carlos Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://boxesandarrows.com/natural-selections-colors-found-in-nature-and-interface-design/#comment-5570 Interesting and thought provoking article. It would be even better if, when comparing natural-color designs to traditional ones, you kept the layout the same. When making a comparison, it’s never a good idea to change another relevant variable.

Aside from that, I agree that natural colors enhance the navigation experience. I particularly enjoyed the comparison of HP’s, IBM’s, Dell’s and Microsoft’s website… spooky, huh?

Thanks,

Carlos.

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