Why Color Contrast is the MVP of Modern UI/UX Design?
In today's digital landscape, fascinating user experiences are no longer a luxury, but a requirement. As a leading UX audit agency in Bangalore, we understand the value of creating intuitive and visually appealing interfaces. But what genuinely takes a user experience from excellent to exceptional? The solution lies in a seemingly basic, but frequently neglected design principle: colour contrast.
Colour contrast is one of the many visual design principles in UI/UX design. In visual design, contrast is defined as a difference between two or more elements in a composition.
But why does it matter so much? Why should you care about contrast during your UI/UX design process?
This piece dives deep into the topic of colour contrast and examines its huge influence on UI/UX design. We, at Mellow, a dedicated web design UX agency in Bangalore, firmly believe that color contrast is the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of any user interface.
But first lets clearly understand what contrast is :
The first idea that often comes to mind about contrast is something black and white but it is not just that, Contrast is one of the most important aspects in determining scannability and the visual structure of a page. It allows the designer to present the layout in a way that informs users which points of interaction are vital and which ones are secondary.
Contrast is also effective in catching the user’s attention and attracting it to particular elements, in this way supporting intuitive navigation and usability of the page or screen.
In the absence of shades and numerous colours, a monochromatic image relies on contrast to maximise expressive possibilities. And the same is true in user interfaces, when compared to works of art or photography, contrast affects not only aesthetics but also usability and navigation of the layout. As a result, using contrast wisely is an effective way to make websites and apps more user-friendly and simple to use.
Contrast can be based on different features of UI elements including:
colour
size
shape
direction.
So now what makes it important ?
According to psychology, humans are hardwired to focus on contrasts. Our ability to identify differences quickly is what makes contrast so powerful.
Contrast attracts attention and gets noticed. This enables us, as UI/UX designers, to create a visual combination of elements that adheres to a predetermined pattern for which objects the user should focus on and which to disregard. Contrast establishes focus and boundaries, it establishes points of attention and focus in the user interface by giving an element distinct visual qualities that set it out from the elements around it. But contrast does more than just draw attention. It also provides boundaries between elements.
Differentiating between various segments: Contrast can also be used for differentiating between various segments in any web application design. When we go from a segment to another in a website. We can notice that the colours change at the boundaries, this is to show that one segment or section of the application is over and another one starts from here. This helps in setting clear boundaries and improves user navigation.
Contrast not just as colour: There is more to contrast than just colour. There are many types of contrast that can help you highlight your product in UI design. Other than colour, there are :
- Contrast by texture
- Contrast by shape
- Contrast by size
- Contrast by font
- Contrast by typography
- Contrast by alignment
- Contrast by pattern
- Contrast by background
- Contrast by spacing
- Contrast by proximity
And much more. Contrast is about hooking the user to one particular element – a very crucial tool for a better user interface.
Contrast plays a central role in user central design. Contrast helps the user identify which is the most important visual element/ object for him/her. It helps the user to navigate and not waste his/her time on other visuals.
So these are the ways in which contrast can help us design a better user interface and establish a hierarchy for our website's information and visuals. Contrast is a very useful visual design aspect that every UI/UX designer should experiment with. We hope you learned about the importance of colour contrast in UI/UX design, and that this article helped you understand it better.
Whether you're a seasoned designer or a business owner seeking to elevate your online presence, understanding the power of colour contrast is crucial. Let's embark on a journey led by our team of seasoned UI/UX consulting experts in Bangalore, to create interfaces that not only look stunning but also seamlessly guide users towards their goals.
