Site Reference Forums

Nic · 2008-02-15 12:11:53

I redesigned a site a while back that's blue and orange on a white background

I didn't pick those colors out of nowhere- i checked a bunch of popular sites (yahoo, msn, paypal, youtube, myspace, etc) and noticed a lot of them were using a lot of blue with some orange in their designs (greens, and grays thrown in as well)

anyways I decided to “copy” those color schemes figuring these big co had spent a pretty penny researching this and if they all came to the same conclusion who was I to argue

now ever since I noticed that I see more and more big websites are using a blue/orange color scheme

Have I been spending too much time online or does anyone else notice this as well?

Personally I like the blue on a white background because it looks clean and it’s easy to read

The I like the orange for items I want attention drawn to as I works well with the blue and it’s not a “negative” color like red for example

What do you guys think of all this blue/orange?

MrStitch · 2008-02-15 13:00:10

Ha!

I was going to say that I noticed a lot of green. lol

Got some links that you'd like to share for comparison?

And... can you give us the hex code of a blue or orange that you're working with?

ColoEagle · 2008-02-15 13:12:53

With the orange and blue means these people have done their homework and found that these colors belonging to the Denver Broncos must be the best to use. lol (sorry couldn't help myself there)

Actually I have seen an increase in the use of blues and whites but not much with the orange.

waveshoppe · 2008-02-15 13:28:03

Hmmm not so sure about mixing orange and blue. Some sites are using orange and white e.g. http://largeorangepop.com/blog/ and while we dont have a ton of blue on WS, we have found that orange apparel gets a lot of clicks. (but then its a popular color for apparel).

Edit: got to thinking more about combining blue and orange and I think there would be too many strong color elements trying to catch my attention, possibly distracting.

Steven_A_S · 2008-02-15 14:51:39

Camerax is set up primarily with those colors. They work because they're complimentary colors. Of course I didn't come up with those colors, they were in use on this site before I came on, but I've refined them somewhat.

Northie · 2008-02-15 17:09:31

yep, our holding company's website - http://theactivitypeople.co.uk/ and other projects we're working on

crestcap · 2008-02-15 18:13:05

Our site is blue with some orange highlights - and we chose the color scheme 15 years ago for the identical reason you mentioned = we reasoned that some large conglomerates in our industry probably spent big$s on researching the psychology of colors... because so many of them used those colors on their expensive mail pieces back then.

griffinsbridge · 2008-02-16 08:19:03

I do like that site Nortie.

A note on green.
If you build a very green website and spend most of your working day there, you'll get sick of green and long for white.

Nic · 2008-02-20 14:38:25

didn't mean to orphan this post > got sidetracked with server stuff...

MrStitch wrote:
Got some links that you'd like to share for comparison?

yea have a look at places like

Yahoo
Msn
eBay Motors
Paypal
YouTube
MySpace

granted they are not all only blue and orange

However a lot of them use blue (and gray) on a white background and orange for their buttons or to highlight certain sections

maybe it's because i am paying attention to it but seems a lot of big sites are using that scheme

MrStitch · 2008-02-20 14:56:53

I see... for a bit there I was thinking overall 'theme'. But actually, you were talking about trace elements.

That theory could be tested with any given color scheme tho..... tone/contrast comparisons, etc.

Well, it just so happens that I'm doing a site redesign (again... ARG!), and without even thinking about it, I happen to have a menu bar that's colored something completely different than everything else.

A good bounce rate will tell us if these 'hot' areas work.... I'm suspecting that they do. It'll probably be a few weeks before I'm done tho, so don't hold your breath. =)

allenion · 2008-02-21 09:55:34

I am in the process of finishing my first website and on the subject of colours does anyone have any thoughts about how colours apear on different monitors.
I use use a standard 19 inch moniter and the colours that I am using ,pale greens, look fine but very washed out on a flat screen that is set on its auto settings. with more and more flat screens being sold is this something that the proffesionals here take into account.

Steven_A_S · 2008-02-21 16:09:28

You can't really help the quality of some LCD monitors, the best you can really do is test how your web site looks on the monitors you have access to, and try to make sure your content is readable. It's always a good idea to ensure you have plenty of contrast between text and background, as it may become unreadable on monitors with a low contrast otherwise, and even hard on the eyes on good monitors. Overall though, you shouldn't need to jump through hoops trying to make your site look perfect on low quality LCDs.

Last edited by Steven_A_S (2008-02-21 16:11:11)

MrStitch · 2008-02-21 16:15:13

Update - Just happen to notice that my new site design has some orange 'trace elements'... but they aren't clickable things... just pictures.

I'll have to keep an eye on the bounce rate, and the conversion rate.

Sponsored Results

Site Reference Forums

#1 2008-02-15 12:11:53

Orange and Blue

#2 2008-02-15 13:00:10

Re: Orange and Blue

#3 2008-02-15 13:12:53

Re: Orange and Blue

#4 2008-02-15 13:28:03

Re: Orange and Blue

#5 2008-02-15 14:51:39

Re: Orange and Blue

#6 2008-02-15 17:09:31

Re: Orange and Blue

#7 2008-02-15 18:13:05

Re: Orange and Blue

#8 2008-02-16 08:19:03

Re: Orange and Blue

#9 2008-02-20 14:38:25

Re: Orange and Blue

MrStitch wrote:

#10 2008-02-20 14:56:53

Re: Orange and Blue

#11 2008-02-21 09:55:34

Re: Orange and Blue

#12 2008-02-21 16:09:28

Re: Orange and Blue

#13 2008-02-21 16:15:13

Re: Orange and Blue

Active Discussions

Review Requests and Introductions

Board footer