Having enjoyed reading your
biographical, They
can't take that away from me... I
would love to post your article (for my) course for
seniors entitled Autobiography and Journaling ... and
let them read your article as a good example of what
I call the reader's writer, clearly expressed and easy
to read. (Howell)
The French language has
always appealed to me ... so I enjoyed Lavinia's
experiences en
France! (Di Sullivan, Perth, Australia)
I am an American and an
expat here since 1990. I have been a subscriber to Writing
Tip for a few years now and look forward to the Friday
editions. I archive by creating topics of the tips
relevant to me and often refer. (Mary, Lagos, Nigeria)
WRITERS!
Write
Your Own Best Seller!
This
year, don't just read a best-seller ... Write
your own using the software program that works
in the same way J K Rowling writes her Harry
Potter novels!
Who said Aussies would
bet on two flies crawling up a wall? Now I know
better! (Bill Denham, Chicago, USA)
I enjoy reading your page
every week, Jennifer, it's never boring and there's always
something to bring a smile to my face! (Kenny Dima,
Tenerife, Spain)
Great newsletter -
originally found this site after searching for
clarification on a contentious
point amongst work colleagues. Just had to look at old
issues and now look forward to Fridays (Juliet Wallace,
Manchester, ENGLAND)
Advertising Tips
................................ 16 February 2001
This week
Choosing The Perfect Colors for Your Web Site by Viki Nygaard and Liann
Fahrmeyer
Quick Tip
~ * ~
Greetings,
This week, something a little different: Viki Nygaard and Liann
Fahrmeyer have written an article about the importance of colour. We all know
that different colours can influence our moods - and also our physical
responses.
I know I have a very definite and consistent response to that
pale, watery aqua-blue colour - it always makes me feel nauseous. I think it
goes back to when I was a preschooler and I used to go out fishing in a small
row boat with my parents. My dad used to like to get out for the change of the
tide (which inevitably occurred just on dawn!) The excitement of getting up in
the dark, driving to the water, putting the boat in and then the anti-climax of
sitting still in a rocking boat was always too much for me - we'd just get
settled in a great fishing spot when I'd get sea-sick and we'd have to pack up
and row back to shore ... The water at that hour was always a greeny-blue and
the boat was painted that aqua colour ... Hmm ...
Colours, then, are important in designing your website - follow
the tips in this week's article to make the most of the myriad colours available
to you.
The Quick Tip this week comes from Masha Geller, reporting on a
recent study about just how many people believe they have to use their homepage
and search engines to navigate the web - the findings will astound you.
Regards,
Jennifer
Business Owners!
Here's a way to save some of your
precious time.
One of the most time-consuming tasks
is preparing sales material to send to customers, clients and prospects. If
you'd like spend your time developing your business, instead of chewing the end
of your pen or tearing your hair, here's the answer - instant sales letters.
Just add water ... well, no, not quite. But all you have to do is add your
business details to the templates and then send them off to your target market.
How easy is that?
When designing a Web site, most people give a lot of attention to two major
factors: the design (graphics and logos) and the content. But what about the
colors? This is one of the most important things to consider when designing your
site. The colors of your Web site are important because they will define
the mood and emotions of your visitors as well as reflect your identity and
image branding.
Color is symbolism. We say someone who is jealous is "green with
envy". Someone who is sad is said to be "blue". When
we are angry, we "see red".
Colors affect us psychologically. They can stimulate our appetiteor
suppress it. They can make us happy, excited, angry or sad.
Let's take a look at colors and what they mean to your visitors. Then we'll
discover the different color combinations and how they apply to your Web site.
Warm Colors
Red - Red is one of the most powerful and attention-getting colors. Red
symbolizes passion and fire, love and lust. It has been proven to raise
blood pressure and cause perspiration. Red reflects energy and can
motivate an individual to take action. It can also symbolize war,
violence, blood, and aggression. Pink, however, is the softer
side of red. Pink is romantic, calming and feminine.
Orange - Vibrant and warm, orange is associated with autumn, pumpkins and
Halloween. It inherits many of the traits of red, but is less
passionate. Orange has been known to stimulate the appetite. As a citrus
color, it can also symbolize health.
Yellow - Yellow symbolizes sunshine and warmth. It can mean hope, light
and energy. On the other hand, it can mean weakness or illness, or
symbolize cowardice.
Cool Colors
Green - Green signifies health and growth (vegetation) and wealth (money).
Green symbolizes spring, renewal, and fertility. It can also mean jealousy
or inexperience.
Blue - Blue is one of the most calming colors and is associated with the sky and
the sea. It is considered to be a "safe" color and signifies
intelligence, reassurance, and trust. Blue has also been known to be an
appetite suppressant and can signify depression and sadness.
Purple - The combination of red and blue, purple is one of the most intriguing
colors and symbolizes creativity. Purple is spiritual and mysterious. Deep
purple is associated with royalty and richness while lavender is associated with
romance and nostalgia.
Neutral Colors
Black - Black can represent power, elegance, and sophistication, but it can also
represent death (Western culture), evil, anger and sadness.
White - White represents cleanliness, purity, and spirituality. It represents
life and marriage in Western cultures, but it represents death in Eastern
cultures.
Grey - Grey is the combination of black and white. It is a conservative color.
Grey can symbolize security, maturity and reliability, but it can also signify
gloominess and sadness.
Brown - We like to classify brown as a "special" color. Sometimes
brown can be used as a neutral and sometimes as a warm color. Either way,
brown represents credibility and stability, the hearth, home and the earth.
A Special Note About Using Colors on the Web Although modern computers are capable of displaying millions of colors on
the screen, Web design is limited to only 216 colors. The reason for this
is that Mac computers and PC's both use completely different color
palettes. However, they have 216 colors that are common to both.
These 216 colors are considered "Web safe". Using the 216 Web safe
colors means that your Web site colors will look fairly consistent on different
computers (Mac or PC), different operating systems (Windows or Mac), as well as
different browsers (Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, to name two).
Choosing a Color Scheme
Once you understand colors and their connotations you are ready to begin
choosing a color scheme for your site. But, where do you begin? Let's look at
different types of color combinations.
Monochromatic color schemes use a single color. Differing values of the chosen
color can be used to create the feel of different colors. Monochromatic color
schemes are harmonious and peaceful. Using a single color creates unity and can
help to create or tie things together.
Analogous color combinations use colors that are related, but not the same, to
create visually appealing schemes. A selection of blues and purples, or reds and
oranges create an analogous color scheme. Two or more colors can be used in an
analogous color scheme however, one color is often used as a dominant color
while others are used as accents.
Contrasting colors are complimentary and pleasing to the eye. Colors that are
opposites create contrasting color schemes. For instance, yellow and purple or
red and green are contrasting colors. Contrasting color schemes generally use a
warm color and a cool color but it isn't necessary to use the startling and
obvious combinations, like blue and orange. You might try beige and light
blue or maroon and forest green to create very pleasing
and contrasting combinations.
A word of caution concerning contrasting colors. Generally, the eye has
difficulty focusing on contrasting colors at the same time. Orange type in a
blue background is very difficult for your viewer to read. Use contrasting
colors for your accents and avoid setting strong contrasts as background and
type colors or take them down a notch. A light orange, almost cream, dark blue
background is much more readable and still a contrasting combination.
Triadic color combinations are comprised of three opposing colors. Red, yellow,
and blue would be a triadic color scheme. Like contrasting color combinations it
is not necessary to use full strength, startling combinations to create
effective triadic color schemes. Using a more subdued value of one or more color
can help to create greater subtlety, harmony and readability for your site.
It can be a lot of fun to choose colors. Color is all around us, from nature to
our cars, furnishings and the multitudes of designs we see on the Web and in
print. Look around at the colors that other designers have used. Ask yourself
what you like about them, or what you don't like. Nature is an unbeatable
resource. Flowers and birds, mountains and deserts all provide fabulous color
combinations. When you see a color combination that thrills you jot it
down and save it for the future. You never know when you may be in need of a
fabulous color scheme for a new site or an
update.
Here's a copywriting course where 23 of the best copywriters in the world
reveal all their secrets for creating profitable marketing materials. Each
of these master copywriters gives you a blow-by-blow accountof
precisely how he/she conceives and creates winning ads, sales letters, and web
marketing pieces.
The course consists of over 400 pages of detailed strategies that have
enabled these writers to outperform their competition over and over again. There
are also some excellent bonuses included - click now to find out how this will
benefit your writing: http://www.write101.com/letters/master.htm
~ * ~
Quick Tip
A two-year study by Alexa
Research, has
just revealed that instead of entering a URL into the address
field of their Web browsers, a huge number of Internet users
enter the name of the site they want into the search box of
their start-up homepage or other search engine.
Alexa's findings are based on an examination of more than 42
million search pages viewed in aggregate by users of the
Alexa toolbar at 10 of the Internet's leading portals and
search engines -- altavista.com, aol.com, excite.com, go.com,
google.com, goto.com, lycos.com, msn.com, netscape.com, and
yahoo.com -- between March 1999 and January 2001.
According to the data, for many Internet users there's a
conceptual misunderstanding of how to effectively navigate
the Web. Matthew Work, VP of Alexa Research, said "Some
people think that their homepage is the Web, that they have
to go through their homepage in order to get to the site they
want, without realizing that any website can be accessed
directly. This notion is supported by our Web traffic
popularity rankings, where eight of the top 10 sites are
portals and/or search engines."
The above coupled with yesterday's report suggesting
that search engine and directory results were a more
effective branding and sales tool than banners, makes for
some interesting data.
Incidentally, the study also found that the most popular term
people search for online is "sex." Hotmail was the second
most popular term sought, and Yahoo! was third.
If you're running your own business (or thinking of
starting one), it makes sense to go to an expert for advice and information.
Use this expert guide to plan and start your
Internet business: http://www.write101.com/letters/profits.htm
