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Craig Grannell

"The Essential Guide to CSS and HTML Web Design"


A problem with a straight complementary scheme is that overuse of its colors can result in
garish, tense design. A subtler but still attention-grabbing scheme can be created by using
a color and the hues adjacent to the complementary color. This kind of scheme (which
happens to be the one shown in the previous screenshot) is referred to as splitcomplementary.
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CSS AND HTML WEB DESIGN
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Another scheme that offers impact??”and one often favored by artists??”is the triadic
scheme, which essentially works with primary colors or shifted primaries??”that is, colors
equally spaced around the color wheel. The scheme provides plenty of visual contrast and,
when used with care, can result in a balanced, harmonious result.
How colors ???feel??? also plays a part in how someone reacts to them??”for example, people
often talk of ???warm??? and ???cool??? colors. Traditionally, cooler colors are said to be passive,
blending into backgrounds, while warmer colors are cheerier and welcoming. However,
complexity is added by color intensity??”a strong blue will appear more prominent than a
pale orange. A color??™s temperature is also relative, largely defined by what is placed
around it. On its own, green is cool, yet it becomes warm when surrounded by blues and
purples.
Against black and white, a color??™s appearance can also vary. Against white, yellow appears
warm, but against black, yellow has an aggressive brilliance.


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