We then had a beautiful showcase of red websites, emphasizing what we previously discussed about red with mr. Asselbergs. It is now time to move forward. Therefor we will now talk about green nuances and we will also showcase beautiful websites that use such color tones.

Green. What about it?

Green is not a primary color, but is created by combining blue (cyan) and yellow. The complement of green is magenta, which is a combination of blue and red. We chose for this article green exactly because it is the complement of red. It is an additive color which combined with blue and red will produce white light.

Green is generally used to point out validity, permission and alike. This is exactly the opposite of red, which is generally used to point out errors, forbidden actions etc. If contrast is powerful enough, the best bet would be using green for call to action buttons, emphasized links or in forms while validating data.

Showcase of beautiful green websites

Emotions Live

Simply Invoices

Lipton Green Mint

Deluge Studios

Green Globe Ideas

Rype Arts

CSS Style

Cool Tribe

Life Tree Creative

Moby Green

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Bad usage of red!

Uniqlo here uses red to attract people's eyes towards what I consider to be headlines. The website is bundled with numerous colors and huge contrasts. However, I find those red labels a bit disturbing, especially after a couple of minutes of navigation.

Good usage of red!

Red Nose Day uses red for headlines, just like Uniqlo does. However, they use it for the foreground color, not the background color. The red on their website is subtle and doesn't disturb the user, even after a couple of minutes of browsing. As it contrasts with pretty much everything else on the page, headlines, buttons, and call to action buttons are easily distinguished.

Chisholm Hunter uses red even better that Red Nose Day does because the only place red is used is their link to the on sale products.

Blogger Bake Off also uses red just like Chisholm Hunter. It emphasizes the links for the donation and join pages, which are the two main actions the site was designed for.

Beautiful red websites

Here's a list of 11 beautiful sites that use a good amount of red, and use it good.

Rotondo

Finner Home

Dan Friml

Socket Studios

Quamm

Ribbons of Red

Fox TV Videozine

Red Brick Health

Sibling Rivalry Wine

Quick Backup

This article is part of a series of articles regarding colors. If you liked this article you can subscribe to the full content rss feed and stay updated as we post new information. What do you think about the things pointed here? If you know other sites that could go into this post, please send over a link.

This is the 1st article in a series that is meant to describe colors and provide detailed information about their waveform, tones, and advice on where and how to use them. We kick of with red because it has the longest wavelengths. Did you know that infrared and red lasers were developed based on this color just because it has the longest wavelength? Another reason for choosing red is because it is the first named color in the RGB color system.

Having the longest waveform, red catches people's attention, and not only. Familiar with Spanish toreadors, fighting those bulls? Well, those bulls are also attracted to red. Because it catches people's attention red is generally used in negative ways, to indicate danger or emergencies. For example, traffic signs that deny entrance are red. Sometimes, red is used in advertising to attract people's view towards a product or campaign. In "Contemporary Ergonomics" (Boca Raton 1996) we find out after several different studies that red is indeed the color that carries the strongest reaction. That's why scientists always recommend using red for warning signs and labels.

Red in web development

Having the above description, we add the fact that on the web red is usually used to emphasize errors, warnings. So, where should we use red? The question is tricky because of that little detail that says that it gets people's attention. Do we use red on errors, or do we use it on advertising campaigns? If we use red for advertising, then what color should we use for errors? Using it for both wouldn't be very smart, as it would pack a lot of confusion.

Chatting with color experts

To finish up this article, we contacted Igor Asselbergs for advice. Igor is a renowned color expert with over 20 years of experience. He blogs on livelygrey.com and is the current CEO of Colorjinn, a company that develops digital colors tools.

Webia: First of all Igor, welcome to Webia! Please tell us something about yourself.
Igor: I worked as a color consultant in architecture for 15 years. I had my own small consultancy with a few partners, which was an interesting mix of art and science people. Currently I focus more on developing tools for color and design geeks. Nevertheless, it's still color that intrigues me and I still do a bit of consultancy now and again, along with guest lectures at various colleges.

Webia: Speaking of web, especially user interfaces on the web, where should red be used?
Igor: Did you know people cannot perceive color? Seriously! It's a scientific fact. People can only perceive color differences. You can perceive the difference between red and green, but not green or red as such. Therefor your question is impossible because it depends how, in conjunction with which colors, red should be used. Think of a red door. Does a red door stand out? Only if the wall adjoining the door is NOT red. The impact and significance of red, or any color for that matter, depends on the context.

Webia: So one important factor is context. A good example for this is the image attached in the header of the post. Does it pop up? Yes it does, because it contains mainly red color tones and contrasts the site's overall dark theme.

Webia: Should red be used for advertising purposes (not just on the web)?
Igor: I don't see why not. But again, it depends on the context.

Webia: Red is generally accepted to accompany errors. What should be a good solution if red cannot be used. (Example: red is the main color of a product, brand that is showcased on the site. Errors would blend in due to this into the site and will not pop out.)
Igor: Red accompanies error because it stands out in most cases. That is simply because most of the world around us is NOT red. So if you cannot use red to symbolize error, use any other color that stands out. Which is the color that is not much used on the site. Though I would exclude green, because it often symbolizes the opposite of error.

This is the first article of a series of articles regarding colors. If you liked this article you can subscribe to the full content rss feed and stay updated as we post new information.