In prototyping, color matching is also very important, not only as a matter of aesthetics, but also as a matter of the overall image and user experience of the product. This article will talk about how to adjust the color scheme of the prototype, I hope it will inspire you.
At work, I once had the experience of being madly scolded by my boss for being too ugly in the color scheme of the prototype. At that time, I put a lot of effort into designing a prototype of a product, thinking that I would be recognized by my boss, but unexpectedly, he frowned after just one glance, and bluntly said that the color scheme was too ugly to look at.
I was embarrassed and disappointed. Later, I deeply reflected on my color scheme and found that there were indeed a lot of problems.
This experience made me realize that the color matching of prototypes is not only a matter of aesthetics, but also about the overall image and user experience of the product. If you've had a similar experience, please take a look at my review article and hope we can all learn from it and keep improving our color schemes.
1. What is a color wheel?
After being scolded, I checked a lot of information on the use of color, and also read a few books on the use of color, among which the knowledge point of "color wheel" in the book "Design Book for Everyone" impressed me deeply.
The color wheel, also known as the color wheel, is a disc tool that defines colors and their relationships with each other. It was invented by the British physicist Isaac Newton while studying the phenomenon of the optical rainbow.
The central axis of the color wheel is equipped with a disc painted on a 360° scale, evenly painted with the seven colors of the rainbow, namely red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. When this disc is rotated quickly, we can see the result of the colors mixing with each other.
Overall, the color wheel is an important tool for studying, understanding, and applying color, and is of high practical value to designers, artists, and scientists.
The basis of the color wheel is the 3 colors of yellow, red, and blue. These colors are called the three primary colors because these are the only colors that cannot be created.
If you have a box of watercolors, you know you can mix blue and yellow to get green, but there's no way to mix other colors to get pure yellow, pure red, or pure blue.
If you take out the watercolor box and mix the adjacent colors on the color wheel in equal amounts, you will get three colors.
To fill the blank space in the color wheel, simply mix the colors on both sides of the blank by equal amounts. These colors obtained are called third colors. For example, yellow and orange can be added to get the so-called orange-yellow. Blue and green can be mixed into a blue-green (commonly known as aqua green). Now fill all the blanks with a third color, which makes up the color wheel.
Now that we know the color wheel, we can make the most of it when prototyping.
2. How to avoid the prototype color matching being too ugly
1. Gain an in-depth understanding of the color preferences of the target user group
Be sure to choose a color scheme that matches the user's preferences. Conduct sufficient research on the market before proceeding with product design. This means not only understanding the user's basic information and needs, but more importantly, understanding their preferences and sensitivities for color.
Different user groups may have different preferences for colors, for example, young people may prefer bright, lively colors, while middle-aged and older people may prefer calm, low-key tones.
Therefore, we need to choose a color scheme that meets the preferences of the target user group according to their characteristics to ensure that the product can catch their eye.
2. Learn color psychology
Learning color psychology is also key to avoiding archetypal color matching that is too ugly. Color psychology is the science that studies the impact of color on people's psychology, and understanding the impact of different colors on people's emotions helps to choose the right color for product design.
For example, blue usually gives a quiet, calm feeling, which is suitable for brands that need to express a professional and credible image, while orange gives a warm, energetic feeling, which is suitable for brands that need to express vitality and innovation.
By learning the psychology of color, we can better understand the user's psychological response to color, so that we can choose a color scheme that better meets the user's needs.
3. Color matching with the help of color wheel
The color wheel is one of the commonly used tools in design, and it is easy to find the primary, secondary, and complementary colors in the color scheme through the color wheel. When choosing a color scheme, you can refer to the color wheel to ensure that the color scheme is harmonious and consistent, and avoid color conflicts and dissonance. At the same time, you can use color matching tools such as Adobe Color, Coolors, etc., to find the right color scheme more quickly and improve design efficiency.
4. Keep trying and adjusting
During the design process, we need to constantly experiment with different color schemes, and optimize them through user feedback and data analysis.
Sometimes, we may think that a certain color scheme looks good, but the user doesn't like it.
Or maybe a color scheme looks good in the first draft, but looks out of place in the actual product.
Therefore, we need to adjust the color scheme based on user feedback and data analysis to make it more in line with the needs and preferences of users.
Through the above 4 methods, we can effectively avoid the occurrence of too ugly prototype color matching, and improve the visual appeal and user experience of the product.
Write at the end
In the world of design, color is like the melody of music, which can deeply touch people's hearts and convey a wealth of emotions.
Color is not just the decoration of design, it is a language, a way of communication.
Through continuous learning and practice, we can make better use of color to express the intent of the design, meet the needs of users, and ultimately make the boss praise our work.
In the face of the boss's color matching questions, don't be nervous, just quietly open the color wheel, tell your design concept with the language of color, and move your boss.
This article was originally published by @productjump, and everyone is a product manager, and it is forbidden to reprint without the permission of the author.
The title image is from Unsplash and is licensed under CC0.
The views in this article only represent the author's own, everyone is a product manager, and the platform only provides information storage space services.