What's Color Have To Do With It?

by Maria Marsala

Summary: Color affects your life and the visitors that visit your web site. How? Read on...

I bet you'd be able to tell me, in 10 seconds or less, the colors that McDonald's, Burger King, K-Mart and Wal-Mart use. That's because they have used these colors, their logos and even their slogans to "brand" themselves. Branding helps clients "remember you."

As a business owner, you, too, can "brand" your business. An example would be my website, Welcome Kit, forms, business cards, etc. They all contain the same colors, fonts, logo, and graphics. Actually, even my website name - "coachmaria.com" - brands me. I've met individuals who think they "know"me before, and when we figure out where they know me from, it's from a discussion group or my website. I've actually never met them in person! Branding works!

Take the time now, as you start your business, to decide what colors you'll be using in your branding campaign. A few things to remember about colors: a) Colors may appear different when used in print media (such as your brochure) vs. on the Internet. b) Different browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator) show colors differently. c) The same color on different parts of a page (the background and border, for example) may look different, even in the same browser. d) On the Internet, white is a color. If you do not "name" it white, then it will appear as gray on Netscape.

So before you decide on a color for your website, check the color in a few browsers. In fact, if you're a web designer, designing a color page may be helpful for your clients. You can view a sample color page at http://www.coachmaria.com/colors.html . Use the websites below to assist you in choosing colors for your business.

Color Theory 101 by Tony Celeste http://www.ulead.com/learning/web5/page1.htm

How Does Color Affect Your Life? Various articles. http://www.colormatters.com/entercolormatters.html

Reference Colors and Tutorials http://webmonkey.wired.com/webmonkey/reference/color_codes/

The Color Museum http://www.colorsystem.com

HTML 101 Part 4 Colors. http://webdesign.about.com/library/nosearch/bl_class4-4.htm

The Science of Color http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/2002/Color.asp

The Science of Light http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/science/light/color/


HTML Color Charts - Simple to Use RGB Hexadecimal Colors. http://webdesign.about.com/od/colorcharts/l/bl_namedcolors.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8323/chart.html
http://www.autumnweb.com/Roxys/2WebPageHelp/4HTMLcolors.html
http://www.artistic-designers.com/bkgds/colorchart.html
Color graphs for interior designers, graphic artists, web designers and you if you enjoy playing with color.
http://www.CoachMaria.com/colour_chart.html
http://www.zspc.com/color/index-e.html

And if I missed a resource, you'll find it here

©2007 Maria Marsala, former Wall Street Fortune 200 executive, business strategist, author and speaker. As founder of Elevating Your Business, Maria helps business owners and independent service professionals work smarter and earn more. Learn more and receive free business tools at ElevatingYourBusiness.com

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