Design With the latest Colors

Type "color" on Google and you will find color wheels, web color palettes, color theory and even a link to the International Color Consortium, which promotes vendor-neutral, cross-platform color management systems for computers. It's getting complicated.

How many of us remember learning the color wheel in art class? Well, it is still a valuable tool for graphic designers, interior designers, architects and other visual professionals. When sitting in font of a blank canvas (by this I mean my computer screen), I often pick a starting color based on client research. The next color I pick is going to be its complement. Why? Because it looks good!

Even if you aren't a visual artist, you probably go to the paint store and draw on the color wheel information you learned in art class so long ago. It is as valuable as the algebra you still use to calculate size variables.

Now here is an organization that I would love to join, but can't yet afford. The Color Marketing Group. CMG's "mission is to create color forecast information for professionals who design and market color." They state loudly that "color sells and the right colors sell better." At annual design workshops, members track trends and their influences on design and color. The site says these "influences run the gamut from social issues to politics, the environment, the economy and cultural diversity. It is an understanding of the influences that provides the most useful information, and it is the input of so many color designers, that gives each forecast its tremendous validity."

So, what are the colors for next year? CMG has determined that next year's key color's are coming down to earth based on concern for the environment. Look for softer, more botanical greens on "everything form Cadillacs to Kleenex boxes", says Jaime Stevens, executive director of CMG. Also, blues; the color of sky, water and natural neutrals; medium to dark browns and beiges that reflect the colors of rock, stone and soil. It's accented with rich, ethnic hues; deep, rich reds and warm oranges.

Do I pay attention to what's hip in 2007? Yes, I do. I'm in the process of painting my bedroom dark coffee brown and complementing that with sky blue curtains. Not to mention, keeping it in the front of my mind when I stare at that blank screen.

PS: Just returned from the Adobe Conference on CS3 in Boston. Sebastian, one of the presenters, told us about a cool Adobe site for color, http://kuler.adobe.com. Create a new color theme using a color wheel or download them from the community. Add them to CS2 or 3's Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Try it out!

Website as Marketing Tool

More than anything else, business owner's want to use their website as a marketing tool to draw in potential customers. I have to tell them that there is no magic bullet. Hundreds of new sites go online every day, and the competition for the keywords you identify is getting more difficult, if not practically impossible.

But, there is a way to optimize your site to give you a better chance. It's all about content. It can't be stressed enough that compelling content will draw traffic to your site. The more relative key words in your copy, and titles, the more the spiders will come crawling to it. For an interesting short video "The Secret of Search" on this subject, go to this page at Newfangled.com. For more in-depth information on this topic, go to a report from the search engine marketing conference in New York City (March, 2005), "Why Quality Content is Key For Search Engines."

You will need to consider what content you want to publish before building or renovating your company's web site. Perhaps you want to provide information on your company similar to a printed brochure. The advantage of the web is its flexibility and quick turn-around time. So, update your content and provide changing material so that visitors will return to see the newest related product or report. This is a good way to build a customer relationship.

Finally, No web strategy is complete without a marketing plan that defines the intended audience and outlines a way to draw them to your new site. Site marketing plans can include promotion through broadcast media or direct mail. Don't forget to include your url address on all print materials you distribute, including business cards, letterhead and e-mail signatures.