Computational production of colour harmony. Part 1: A prototype colour harmonization tool

Abstract

Although web page and computer interface developers generally have little experience in generating effective colour schemes, colour selection appears rarely in user interface design literature, and there are few tools available to assist in appropriate choice of colours. This article describes an algorithmic technique for applying colour harmony rules to the selection of colour schemes for computer interfaces and web pages. Our software implementation of this approach—which we term the Colour Harmoniser—adapts and extends classical colour harmony rules for graphical user interfaces, combining algorithmic techniques and personal taste. A companion article presents the experimental evaluation of the system presented here. Our technique applies a set of rules for colour harmony to specific features of the interface or web page to create abstract colour schemes; the user then modifies the overall colour cast, saturation, and light–dark distribution, producing colourings that are both harmonious and usable. We demonstrate experimentally that the software is relatively simple to use and produces colourings that are well‐received by humans. In this article, we define a fitness function that numerically evaluates the colour harmony of a user interface and underpins a genetic algorithm for creating harmonious schemes. We show how abstract, hue‐independent, colour schemes may be mapped to real colour schemes, leaving the abstract colour harmony unchanged, but accommodating the developer's personal preferences for overall colouring, light–dark contrast, and saturation. This abstract/concrete separation automates the creation of harmonious schemes and allows unskilled developers to express their aesthetic preferences using simple direct manipulation controls. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 38, 203–217, 2013.