hi!
i'm almost finished organizing the content of this website i've been working on for a while and the longer i look at it, the more i hate this colour scheme i've chosen some time ago. it seems really tacky and somehow i just can't fix it.
here's the thing: the website is about sprouting, so i've figured i should use some fresh colours - greens, yellows, oranges, perhaps a little blue. i would be grateful if anyone could help me with this, i'm totally stuck!

what's the URL pi

it hasn't been published yet, i still need to do some work on the content and i don't want to put any misguiding info out there. plus i'm embarassed by the colour scheme so far, i need to start it fresh .

The first three colours from this, maybe? I think the blue is a little too vigorous, personally.



This one assimilates the blue much better, but it's less warm, too.



And this is a bit aged-looking, but the top three colours give a warm, earthy kind of feel. They look like a blend, placed side-by-side, but taken apart, they're pretty clearly blue, green and orange.

I am sorry. I guess I am dumb. Can you explain what sprouting is?

Who is your target audience?

What colors have you picked currently and why do you you dislike it?

What is the purpose of the site? (selling something, info, ???)

The more info you give, the better I (we) can help ya!

sprouting is the practice of soaking, draining and then rinsing seeds at regular intervals until they germinate or sprout - this wikipedia article should give you some answers.
the site is purely informational, i figured that i could use a site like that, then why not publish it? it is done for people who want to make sprouts at home and need some tips about it, there is also some basic nutritient info included as well as some photos.
it is really simple, pure html/css site, with not too many graphics involved, i am concentrating on the content.
my present colour scheme looks something like this now:



these colours just don't seem to work very well together and i think maybe they are too bold, so it makes it look more like children's site.
i hope this will give you some idea about what i'm trying to do, liddle_r!

tensaiface - thank you so much for your suggestions, i really like your oasiscape palette, i think i could use that blue and oranges. at least that is something to start with, i'm just not sure if this green would be right for the purpose?
thanks!

I don't know too much about web colors, but I like the idea of sprout, so here is my (somewhat literal) interpretation:

The yellow-greens could be used sparingly, like accents, but it looks like new growth...

Yep! That info was tres helpful! Here are some options (and of course use white as you wish and possibly black though you may be able to substitute the darkest color for black).







Well, let's start there.

What do you think? Anything feel like it is missing or needed?

I can do more if you give me feedback what you like/dislike about the above.

this is really nice idea to make the whole site toned down and add some lively, lime green accents. i haven't though about it before, thanks a lot jenny!

thank you so much liddle_r!!!
i've been playing with these palettes of yours and this is what i came up with:



what do you think? i know this is very simple and far from professional design, but i really appreciate any help.
i still have a problem finding the right colour for the header. i've chosen dark red for the footer (it doesn't show on the screenshot), but it doesn't seem to be appropriate for the top section, i think it would be too dark and in my opinion i've already used enough orange. i kinda like the blue, but i'm not 100% sure about it. also, i don't have to stick with these header graphics, so the colour doesn't have to match the current logo.
thanks!

Cool! Thanks for showing us your work in progress!

My immediate thought was to make the blue header white when I saw it. So, you might try that.

Or each of these colors works with the palette (I tried 'em out). So you could try one of them.



Also, you might consider using whatever you choose for the top header for the content headers.

Cool! Thanks for showing us your work in progress! My immediate thought was to make the blue header white when I saw it. So, you might try that. Or each of these colors works with the palette (I tried 'em out). So you could try one of them.


Also, you might consider using whatever you choose for the top header for the content headers.

Or, you could use the lighter green for the header and use white or one of the colos I came up for the body area of the content.

(not sure why that double posting happened!)

thank you so much for helping me out!
i have a feeling this is getting a little bit better, althrough i didn't have too much time today to mess with the site.
how about this one:



its lighter and maybe more corresponding with the content. even my boyfriend likes it, and he usually hates my "design" :)

question: do you think the menu buttons are too dark for this scheme?
i don't want them to overweight the whole thing, but i understand they have to be noticable.
i have 2 different purposes for them, one for overall info, links, etc - 4 buttons on the top - and the rest are links to the descriptions of different kinds of seeds/sprouts, that's why i want to give them slightly different colours.

I don't think the buttons are too dark. I like that.

You might try giving the content headers a white background. That could be interesting.

I like the boldness of the first version you did (except for the blue) but I think this one is feeling closer to completion.

Sorry to be brief. I am a bit slammed!

I agree with liddle_r. Except maybe not white background for the headers, just an off white creamy colour? But its looking grand.
One thing I'm wondering - maybe you should make that smaller word in the header - the one thats the same colour as the background at the moment - rather make it the same darker green as your overall links. That is, just a little bit of a darker green? Otherwise its very similar to the background it is against in terms of how light it is, and even if it is a different colour, its difficult to read.
To check that kind of thing, a good trick is to take a screenshot of your design into Photoshop, and go Image > Adjust > desaturate. That turns it into a black and white (and grey) image, and you can more easily see if your design is working in terms of its tonality.

klip: very cool suggestion about the desaturation!

liddle_r:
i appreciate your honesty since its a little difficult for me to be objective when it comes to my own work :)
i made the content headers lighter than main background - i used that middle colour from your "to go wth leaf love" palette.

klip:
thank you for the logo advice, i made that word darker and it definitely looks better now. i like your desaturation tip, very helpful!

thank you all so much for helping me with this little project, your advice is priceless!
i'm back to finishing the content now and i need to polish the graphics a little bit. i'm also going to try adding some delicate texture here and there.
i'll make sure to credit you guys when my work is done and i'll let you know when the site is lauched!
big thanks!!!

You're welcome pi! I appreciate the opportunity to do this kind of color consultation. So, thanks for putting yourself out there and asking for help!

And very cool about any credit given. That is always nice!

I look forward to seeing it at the final state so please do post a link!

that blue mixed into it....yikes! is what i was saying, but thankfully you've gotten that taken care of.
Intriguing subject matter, too! The colors are awesome now :)

thanks underground, i'm so glad too :) that blue was there in previous colour scheme, you should have seen that one...(!) i was so desperate to do something about it but didn't know where to start. i'm really happy i've found this wonderful place full of wonderful people!

ok, so my site has just been launched. here's the link if you care to take a look:
www.kielki.info
still, any suggestions & critique are always welcome!

It looks very nice! I like the colors and the graphic of the sprouts really ties everything together.

Very nice. I dig it. pi wrote:

ok, so my site has just been launched. here's the link if you care to take a look:
http://kielki.freehostia.com/index.html
still, any suggestions & critique are always welcome!

Very very very cool!

Some thoughts:

I think the sprouts in the header could be bigger. I would love to see more of them. Also so with the title, It could be bigger.

Would also be cool to see the "before" and "after" photos side by side somewhere. I like that you have the seeds at the top and the sprouts at the bottom but maybe somewhere show them side by side?

And... I wish I could read it!

I like that you have the vitamins in it hlighted. Would be great to know how much of each and percentage of daily recommended allowance!

Again, very very cool! Thanks for the opportunity to help you with it!

i would love to have the english version as well! i thought i could make a translation and have a native english speaker to check on it, it's a lot of work though, but it's definitely somewhere in plans!

when it comes to the nutritional values - i started working on a table that puts it all together, with the exact amounts of each vitamin, etc. in 1 portion, it will be out there one day for sure. it's pretty difficult to gather the data, so it's taking a while.

i like the idea with the photos, i also feel that there could be more of them included. when i started out with my miniplantation i always wondered how exactly these sprouts are supposed to look like, so maybe i'll make a little collage out of my pictures :)

thank you so much, i would probably be still somewhere in the dark (or should i say in the ugly blue :) without your involvement!

also, thank you for checking it out fleur & jennyhelmbold!

awesome about the english version. If I am not too busy I would love to help with reading through it. (I'll be less busy in the fall so around end of october.

good luck with the nutritional values. If I come across any, I'll let ya know!

Yeah. More photos would be great! Would be cool to see the plants in containers too!

You are so welcome! I enjoyed helping you out!

oh, that is just too cool!
i probably won't be ready with that translation before october, so it sounds great to me :) i'll stop by then, so you could let me know if you have enough time to take a look at a page or two?

btw, under "linki" i also have links to english written sites if you're interested.

thaaaanks!

I need some help I am going crazy trying to find a color for a non profit website. Can someone help?
Merci merci

alycia

i could try to put some colours together, if you give me some more deatails about your project.
do you have any logo you have to use?
are there any specific colours on your mind?
and what is the site about?
finally, is there a link to the site or is it still in construction?
if so, can you share some screen shots?