Ask HN : How colors affects personality of website? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN : How colors affects personality of website?

3 pointsanujkk12 comments

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.

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?

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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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.

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

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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/

ok I will try that.

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