Planning and Designing a Successful Web Site - New Perspectives on Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, Comprehensive - page 70

value for red, GG is replaced with the green value, and BB is replaced with the blue
value. The specifi ed amounts of each of these colors are mixed together by the system
to create the color you specify. Hexadecimal is a number system that uses the digits 0
through 9 to represent the decimal values 0 through 9, plus the letters A through F to
represent the decimal values 10 through 15. Each pair of numbers in the hexadecimal
color can produce 256 different values. Combining the values of the possible red, green,
and blue values produces 16,777,216 unique color values. To ensure that the color you
specify is understood by the browser and displayed properly, you will use the hexadeci-
mal color codes to designate colors when you create the NextBest Fest site. However,
you do not need to know the hexadecimal color codes when you are selecting colors in
Dreamweaver. Instead, you can click the color you want to use, and Dreamweaver will
display the hexadecimal code for that color.

The Web Safe Color Palette
The Web Safe Color Palette consists of 216 colors that, when many computers could
display only 256 colors at a time, provided Web designers a reliable color palette.
Because current computers can display 16+ million colors, most designers have disre-
garded the Web Safe Color Palette. Many of the colors currently in use in Web sites do
not have reliable color names. All colors, however, have hexadecimal color codes, and all
well-coded HTML uses hexadecimal color codes instead of color names.

You need to select a color palette that will work with the site metaphor you devel-
oped. You can use a graphic program (such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fireworks, or
Adobe Illustrator), crayons, markers, or colored paper to create your color palette.

To choose a color palette to complement your site metaphor:

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1. Envision a set of colors that will work with your site concept and metaphor.
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2. Look at works of art for inspiration.
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3. Think about the psychological associations of the colors. Do these fit with your
site goals?

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4. Draw a series of rectangles side by side (one for each color in your palette), and
then fill each rectangle with one color.

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5. Write a one-paragraph explanation of your color choice and how it reinforces the
site concept and metaphor. Describe where and how you intend to use the colors
in the site.

Selecting Fonts
Font refers to a set of letters, numbers, and symbols in a unifi ed typeface. Font choice
is important in creating an effective Web site because a font conveys a wealth of subtle
information and often creates an impression about the content before it is even read.
Think about the different fonts that might be used on Web sites that present current news
and events, Far East travel, and science fi ction movies.
The three categories of font typefaces are serif, sans serif, and mono. These catego-
ries are also referred to as generic font families . Serif typefaces are typefaces in which
a delicate, horizontal line called a serif fi nishes the main strokes of each character; an
example would be the horizontal bars at the top and bottom of an uppercase M. The
most common serif typeface is Times New Roman . Sans serif typefaces are those in