Grey
1st edition — by Patrick McNeil — Mar. 1, 2006
The Design Element
Grey is kind of an odd beast in terms of color since it is more about what
it isn't instead of what it is. It isn't bold, powerful or intense, and it
is more about the lack of color then having it. You see very few samples
of warm greys being used, more cool samples can be found, but even more are
completely neutral. Somehow even most of the neutral ones end up feeling
cool unless they have a bit of solid black in them.
Grey is commonly associated with technology and you see it used there often.
There is a strong connection
between stark neutral tones and modern design and technology. Perhaps
this is a results of modernisms roots. Early modern design included lots
of samples of neutral colors. This is probably where this association began
and has persisted since.
Quite commonly portfolio sites will make heavy use of a neutral layout.
This really makes the samples stand out. This is one of the real strengths
of grey, establishing hierarchy in
a design. By having most of the layout in grey you reduce those elements
importance in the overall design, allowing color elements to really pop.
This can be seen in particular on the
Tokyo Cube
site where the red elements really stand out.
Take a look at the samples to get a feel for how others have put this tool
to use.
Connotations of grey : Stylish, chic, elegant, classy,
fresh, innovative, modern, futuristic, technology, spacious, fashionable,
soft, airy, high-tech, sleek, neutral, conservative, smart, designer, trendy,
light, open, state-of-the-art, impartial, calm, comfortable, peaceful, and
relaxed.
Sample Usage
Links
Genopal (Color pallet creation software)
COLOURlovers (Excellent color pallet collections)
Kuler - pallet builder from Adobe /
ColorBlender.com (The
best tool I have found for easily creating beautiful color pallets)
Great color browsing resource (Named colors, by hue, etc)
Color
Scheme Generator
Color
Blender (On MeyerWeb)
Color In Motion
Color Schemer Online v2
Color Schemer Gallery
Color Symbolism
