Color Interference and Contrast

Several topics of non-technical nature need attention when designing for the Web. All of these are general design rules, but not all of these happy Web-publishers are designers, and thus I give a small list of hints.

• Make sure you have sufficient contrast between your text and your background for the sake of readability.
• If you use large images, consider the whole screen layout around the image. It is a mess when readers need to use the mouse to scroll the window up and down to see the caption line for the image.
• If you're designing background patterns, be aware of their interference with the items shown on the foreground. A colorful, rich-detailed background pattern makes it almost impossible to place text in a small font size on top of it. Nobody would be able to read it.
• Get a feeling for the context you are designing for. If you design buttons or navigational graphics for a black and white photography exhibition on the Web, bright shiny colors on your design will distract viewers from the images on display.
• View your design as a connecting element for a variety of pages. Usually, Web documents are composed of a large number of pages and menus, and the connecting element for the readers will be your design.