The below Infographic was created by WebPageFX, and while it presents information that some may find arguable, I like that it shows that individual perception of color varies. The fact is that while we try to maintain a “standard” when it comes to the interpretation of color, much of that standard can be manipulated.

Take for example, these two logos. Look at them and think about how the use of color makes you feel. Does the Netflix logo make you feel hungry? Anxious? Overwhelmed with strong emotions? Does looking at the Hulu logo make you feel comforted, safe, or do you find yourself thinking about money? Or better yet, is it hard to pinpoint how you felt because something else caught your eye.

I placed the logos side-by-side, but what would have happened had I placed them one above the other? Or if I added a yellow border around them? Or if the Hulu logo did not have the black background? How would your perception/feelings change if the presentation was different.

My point?

It’s simple. Color is important. No doubt about that . But color alone is about as useful as a nail and no hammer. It has to work in tandem with the rest of the design and with the content. The below infographic shows that a single color may be associated with contradictory emotions/reactions. As designers, part of our job is to guide clients in selecting the best representation of their brand.  And while the psychology of color is a great way to start, the process should not begin and end with color. Nor should we rely on only one basic use of color. We must be willing to use more than one lens to see the bigger picture.

What do you think? Is color psychology accurate or are there too many variables involved to adhere to this “standard” of color interpretation?

Infographic by WebpageFX

View more images from this design project by clicking a thumbnail image below.

I met Anne W. while I was the Blogger Coordinator at TravelingMom.com, but our re-introduction was by chance. I accidentally sent out invites to a service that I did not actually endorse to everyone in my contact book. She replied to make sure the email was legit and after I explained the mistake, we began talking about my services. She was currently planning a re-branding of sorts in which she expanded her current business.

The Request

She brought with her a clear vision:

“I want my website to showcase me as a “Ben Stein” among professional women. That is, someone who has diverse talents – communicator, business strategist, writer, speaker – and does them all extraordinarily well, but, most importantly, is a pleasure to work with, personally and professionally.”  – Anne

Anne wanted a cleaner site that focused on putting her brand (herself) at its center. She wanted a site that better conveyed her message and provided a more organized and convenient way to update the information on it, as necessary. Additionally, she wanted someone who would answer her questions and guide her through this transition as she does her clients: with attention, communication, and respect.

The Work

I chose the Genesis Framework as the backbone of this site because of its great SEO qualities, its ease of use, and its smooth functionality. I would create a custom theme that would provide Anne with a design that maximized the benefits of WordPress. Additionally, we collaborated several times to streamline her content and prioritize every aspect of the site. For client collaboration, BeautifullyArtful relies on Basecamp by 37 Signals to be our hub.

Mockup 1 sent to Anne via Bascamp

I created, for Anne, three mockups using some of the content she provided. I wanted her to be able to see what a “live” version of the site would look like with her words driving it home. All of my Mockups are provided in Hi-Res so that clients can get a realistic view of each design (protection is added in our contracts to deter clients from taking them to another developer). All suggestions and questions are sent and responded to via Basecamp.

After three revisions requests, I was ready to begin slicing and coding the design on my local computer. I run WordPress on MAMP locally so that I can tweak the design in a live environment.

Some of the elements added to the Custom Genesis child theme includes additional preset image sizes, a widgetized header area for the main site quote, a Home Page Layout, and widget-ready sidebars and footers.

The next time Anne saw her site, it was live on the BeautifullyArtful test site. She was able to get a real-time view. Of course there was more tweaking, inputting content, and training.

The Final Version

Add-ons included a Blog, a Contact Form, setting up a Google Analytics and Google Webmaster account for Anne to allow her  an easier way of  tracking her website traffic, Feedburner for her RSS Feed, integrating Constant Contact for her mailing list, and adding Facebook and Twitter to the site. Once everything was finalized, we did a another walk-through to ensure that all was where it should be and worked correctly, then I turned over all control to Anne. She will be launching shortly.

“Creating a new website is a big deal. When it’s your own, you need a design partner to whom you can articulate your vision and then feel confident that they can translate that vision into your online brand. Kristina nailed the look and feel of my website, and helped organize the information so that visitors could easily navigate the links, understand my services and begin a dialogue. She is professional, collaborative and delivers a quality product. I recommend Kristina if you’re desire is a professional website reflective of your unique brand.” – Anne Witkavitch, Anne W Associates

Here’s a sneak peek of the final result:

Thanks to our client Dorothy Williams Toran of DWT Studios for recommending us and facilitating this project.

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Yakini, of StyleMePrissy.com is a frequent client of mine and a pleasure with whom to do business. She has a very distinct style and wanted her site to match her glamorous taste. StyleMePrissy.com launched in May 2011 is a fashion and personal style blog that focuses on urban glamour, celebrity style, and pop culture. When she launched StyleMePrissy.om, Yakini elected to maintain her familiar brand  image [see prissymommy.com] through the use of the Vector Drawing portrait [see old image below]. However, as a forward thinker, she began to envision a site that was more connected to her love of fashion and glamour.

The Request

When Yakini contacted me she asked me to redesign her Masthead (header) so that is was “simple and sleek” and not as big. She also asked that I tweak her current design [click here to see screenshot of previous design] so that it was wider and included floating social media buttons.

The Work

This site runs the InterPhase Theme from ElegantThemes.com and Yakini was happy with the theme and the general colors. So, for my part, what needed to done was pretty cut and dry.

The Masthead/Header

The headshot that she included had a very sensual feel to it and I felt that only a floral pattern would accentuate its energy. The black background was a necessity but there had to be depth to it as black can sometimes feel too flat. This was done by adding a brownish color to the pattern and adjusting the pressure of the layers (5 in all) to create a textured feel. The lighter pink of the site title needed to stand out more while remaining classy. I also made the header thinner/shorter which helped to soften its look.

Here are the Masthead before and after images:

Old Header vs. New Header

The Layout:

To make the site wider I had to recreate the content area background, the sidebar title backgrounds, and the footer image.  In recreating the content area background, I increased the darker tan right side to accommodate her 300px-wide advertisements so that they no longer hanged off the page. I also darkened the shadow between the two colors to form a more distinctive barrier to aide the eye in breaking up the information. The Sidebar Title background was also edited to remove the original left-border shadow and to replace that with a transparent background to make it fit seamlessly against the right edge of the content area.

Old Content Background vs New Content Background

Extras:

I also removed some design elements that were outdated and/or no longer necessary in the updated design. Additionally, I added the floating social media buttons to the left of the site through the use of CSS and hardcoding.

To see this design live, visit Style Me Prissy.

You’ve upgraded your Mac family to iOS 5and suddenly your MobileMe/iCloud email is not functioning. A quick search of the

Here’s the Fix

(1) Delete the iCloud account. That’s right; get rid of it by going to Settings >> iCloud. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and press “DELETE ACCOUNT.” Don’t worry because the beauty of this new upgrade is that it makes syncing your phone so easily. you may choose to keep all data.

(2) Restart your phone. Hold the power button down until you are given the opportunity to turn it off by sliding the power button on the screen. After it shuts down, restart your phone.

(3) Re-add your iCloud account. Navigate back to Settings >> iCloud and log in . At this point everything should sort itself outand you should be all set. If not, try it again. It worked for me on the first time on my phone but on my iPod Touch, I had to do it twice.

View more images from this design project by clicking a thumbnail image below.