

Ask HN : How colors affects personality of website? - anujkk

I'm designing my website, http://www.anujkumar.com, and wondering how colors used in site affects the preception of viewer about site and its designer/owner.<p>I played with three different color schemes, that can be easily switched using links at the top. Can you guys share how these color schemes affect your perception about site and the designer?<p>The site is currently under development and low in content - only four static pages. I will add features like social updates, blog etc as and when I get time but any suggestions regarding improvement in site are always welcome.
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atgm
Default/Dark: Makes me think of a "hacker" blog; a lot of the ones I've been
to have that kind of theme, perhaps because it reminds them of terminal
windows?

Light: The blue background is a bit wishy-washy -- it's not pale enough to be
unintrusive, but it's not dark enough to seem professional/formal.

White: Facebook. This is completely facebook.

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anujkk
Yeah. Inspired by facebook. Is it something bad to do?

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atgm
It seems like it was less inspired and more directly copied. That color scheme
is 100% synonymous with Facebook for me right now, and it looks like you're
using the exact same colors, too.

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anujkk
Yeah. The blue used at top is same but the fonts and text colors and menus are
different.

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proexploit
I don't think there's any issue withing using the same blue. It makes me think
Facebook as well which isn't terrible, but probably not the first though you
want someone thinking when they visit your site (It doesn't look like you do
much work with Facebook). Try a darker blue or a different style to the header
bar (rounded corners, slight gradient, etc).

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anujkk
Actually, my another startup project is a web application that integrates
deeply with facebook and will have an interface similar to facebook to provide
consistent user experience. So, I thought it will be nice if my personal site
also looks similar. Anyway, I will experiment with other shades of blue but I
think I should settle with black. It is more appealing to my target audience.

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codeslush
I asked my wife - because she's a "typical" internet user - without
hesitation, she said white. I would expect this from typical users because of
the likeness to Facebook.

Personally, I also found the white the "easiest" on the eyes, but for some
reason, the black appealed the most to me.

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anujkk
I think it would be great if I can somehow know the type of internet user -
typical or hacker and then apply the color scheme accordingly. Just Kidding.
Btw, the site isn't for typical users. It is meant for hackers and
entrepreneurs who for some strange reasons like black more. So, I think I will
stick with black. I will also experiment with various other white/blue
combination in case I need to switch to more traditional version in future.

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Mz
The white with dark blue looks the most professional to me but is a bit bright
for my eyes. The pale blue gives me the feeling you are not to be taken
seriously -- you are some cotton-candy lightweight with delusions of grandeur.
(The exclamation mark after "Hello" doesn't help.) Even though only the color
changed, the site feels a lot more shapeless and ungrounded than the black
background. The black strikes me as more of a personal site, kind of like an
emo, will not conform vibe. The light blue touches on the black background
really don't work for me but that might be an individual thing.

Stuff I have read years and years ago suggests a dark blue (like you have on
the white version, not the pale blue on the blue version) is generally
interpreted as a "serious, business" color. This may not generalize to all
cultures. It may be specific to the US and similar cultures.

HTH and good luck.

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anujkk
So, according to you which one of these color schemes is best for a personal
site for which the target audience are other entrepreneurs, hackers and
investors?

If none of these are good enough, can you suggest some other color scheme or
links of similar sites that you like?

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Mz
Probably black since entrepreneurs/hackers tend to be non-conformist. But
tweak it some. Here is a black/dark gray Wordpress theme I picked for one of
my sites (site is under construction, please ignore that as it is not the
point of your question): <http://www.solanorail.com/>

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anujkk
ok I will try that.

