Is Pastel The New Palette Of The Web?

June 27, 2005 | 21 Comments

I think the folks at 37Signals are having an effect on more than just how people build and develop for the Web. Sure lots of us identify with the whole “getting real” process and who can deny the influence of technologies like Ajax and Rails.

Another way 37Signals and other folks like them are having an effect on the Web is with design. One thing I noticed today was the influx of light, white and airy pastel color palates in Web applications and sites.

Anyone else seeing this?

Filed under: Web Design
Keyword Tags: 37signals pastel design color

Comments

1. Scott said:

I guess there have been more and more sites popping up using pastel colours. I think in a lot of cases it helps make them a bit more inviting - really harsh bright or dark colours can be a bit jarring on the eyes and are often harder to work with to maintain a good level of contrast.

Typically I can’t say I’ve been much of a fan of pastels but I think i’m starting to warm up to some of them now.

I find I’m more interested in seeing how many people are starting to use Apple’s (proprietory) input=”search” field. I’ve seen so many lately that it seems to be a trend in itself.

Posted on June 27, 2005 11:59 AM | #

2. Jason Santa Maria said:

Yes indeed, including the way they set their products up visually (and choose to launch them). Take Sixty Spots for instance.

Posted on June 27, 2005 12:16 PM | #

3. Ben said:

In my first web design lesson at university (this was in 1998) our lecturer told us how pastels were the current trend in web design. Things have changed (improved?) quite a bit since then but it’s interesting how fashions, both digital and ‘real world’, always seem to loop around.

Personally the trend I have noticed recently is the ‘one or two very bold colours with dark bits’ look, as seen on SimpleBits, Niggle and, dare I say it, a little know blog called BinaryMoon :)

Posted on June 27, 2005 12:44 PM | #

4. Waylan said:

I’d agree with Scott on the whys of it all. Consider the ‘yellow fade’ effect that everybody and his brother are copying. Any script that offers itself as the solution to make your site jump through the ‘AJAX’ hoops lists said effect as one of it’s features. If it doesn’t, it’s either on the todo list or near the top of the feature requests. Why? People want some indication that somthing really did happen even though the page did not refresh and the ‘yellow fade’ just works. The real question is why yellow? Well, what other color grabs your attention to well without being to bold and at the same time easily fades to white?

Posted on June 27, 2005 12:45 PM | #

5. Jeremy Flint said:

I think they have also helped bring back the soft gradient effect. That sort of soft, implied “3-d” effect that they have used on their Basecamp and BackPack icons, RSS buttons, etc.

Posted on June 27, 2005 01:11 PM | #

6. Adam Michela said:

Yep, alot is being taken from 37signals. I think that’s a great thing. They are one of the best in our field.

Like everyone and their brother knows, I took their Yellow Fade Technique and made the Fade Anything Technique. As Waylan said above, it just works. It is a great solution to a serious problem. I took inspiration from their method and improved upon it.

Certainly too, alot of their design traits have carried through in many of today’s trends. The big fonts and single columns, I still attribute that to Mike Rundle. However, like Jason Santa Maria mentioned above… little things like the big, bold, center weighted “sign up” box that you see on Sixtyspots is taken right from The Book of The Signal. Why? It just works. It’s better.

Part of what makes 37signals so great is not only their design sense, but their willingness to share their solutions to problems.

As for the pastel colors. Hmm. As you can imagine I’ve heard this a time or two. I just don’t see this as a 37signals trait though.

Their blog, they use the pastel green/purple. But they’re certainly not the first. The previous version of my blog used the same colors. I actually drew my inspiration for the purple there from Adam Polselli’s 2005 Color Forecast.

Outside of their blog I don’t see much pastel beyond their little snow-globe logomark thingies. If you look at 37signals.com (old or new), or get into Backpack or something, you’ll probably notice that the primary colors are rather bright and bold… many in the 256-color web safe range (in which there aren’t many pastels). Maybe I’m just insane, but I even mentioned in talking with JF last week that I felt as though the pastel b/g/p colors in which I’ve used in many designs are a trait of my own, maybe similar to 37signals, but that’s one bit in which I really can’t admit to drawing inspiration from them (which is otherwise something I freely admit to fairly often).

Posted on June 27, 2005 01:49 PM | #

7. Joshua Lane said:

I love pastels, but I don’t know that I would give 37 Signals so much credit for that. I think it’s more indicative of the growing desire to move away from the colors that have dominated web design the last ten years… plain old blue, green, red, black, etc. Designers are being more creative with their color choices and companies are being more open to fresh new ideas in this department.

Posted on June 27, 2005 02:27 PM | #

8. Keith said:

Adam – I think part of it might be the yellow fade, but I think it’s also a feel I get from the great use of whitespace they’ve got. It seems soft and the colors feel pastel to me, even when they aren’t always.

But it also could be just something I’ve noticed in sites like your Sixtyspots. There seem to be all sorts of applications and sites popping up that have a definite shared feel.

Nothing wrong with it at all, as you say, it works. Just an observation. I’m interested to see how Sixtyspots goes, as well as 43Places. I’ve been working on a travel site and have some similar ideas. Mine’s more of a publication than an application, but there is some similarity.

Posted on June 27, 2005 02:27 PM | #

9. Dale Cruse said:

I think we’re all pushing and pulling and trying things online. And if we can’t experiment much with fonts online, it only makes sense that messing with color will get lots of attention.

Posted on June 27, 2005 02:51 PM | #

10. Adam Michela said:

Keith: Ya I saw you mention that on Business Logs and suggested we find a way to help. I feel that the best thing to come of this whole Web 2.0 thing is the level of cooperation between so many people and sites. It’s a big world and the only way were going to reach all of it is by working together.

Even if we’re working in the same space, if we’re worth our salt we should all have something unique, original, and of need in each of our products. It’s that piece that should be opened up to everyone to use.

Unfortunately, the only way that works is if it’s bi-directional. That’s what Creative Commons is all about after all. Share and Share Alike… and share all of it not just a tiny useless piece of your data or service.

Posted on June 27, 2005 03:18 PM | #

11. Erik Mallinson said:

I think it’s more appropriately termed ‘soft colors’ than pastels. I’ve been a big fan of using such schemes along with ‘soft gradients’ for 5 or 6 years now, and I think it started much before 37signals. They do seem to be influential these days, so yeah they probably inspired some similar palettes.

I like the way it looks because it’s easy to incorporate brighter colors and it makes photos pop because of the color contrast.

Posted on June 27, 2005 03:23 PM | #

12. Bill Humphries said:

Oh yes… we’re redoing an intranet at work, and it’s full of airy pastel goodness.

Posted on June 27, 2005 05:57 PM | #

13. nortypig said:

I just like pastels lol. They aren’t the be all and end all of course but I like soft tones. I think though that a lot of why I prefer them is the amount of hours I spend online - bright red is evil on the eyes after a while.

Was it them though or did pastels kick off way before? Attributing something like that to one source is quite a leap…

Posted on June 27, 2005 06:19 PM | #

14. Pete Gordon said:

Hope this isn’t too outdated or off topic. I thought this was related, when I stumbled on it checking out the Design House for the first time.

http://www.pbdh.com/openhouse/archives/2005/06/color_trends_fo_1.php

Looks like Geoff’s predictions are right in line.

Best regards!
Pete Gordon

Posted on June 27, 2005 09:59 PM | #

15. Terrence Wood said:

What I am noticing more than 37signal inspired design is a rise of ultra minimal single column designs, a stronger, limited color palette, larger type and less graphics. (plasticbag.org, misinterpreted.org, annevankesteren.nl, and one non-blog: govt.nz).

I state it for the record, the next big design trend is ‘zoom layouts’ as the primary site design.

Posted on June 27, 2005 10:55 PM | #

16. Adam Michela said:

Pete: Thanks for that link. 1, 2, & 8 look familiar. Maybe I’m just a few years too early is all. ;)

Love #3 and #5. #6 is funny. I thought UPS were the brown guys?

That’s a great site.

Posted on June 28, 2005 04:35 AM | #

17. Mark said:

At my day job we are starting to use some of their techniques in our in-house applications. Who better to borrow from?

Posted on June 28, 2005 06:12 AM | #

18. Ted Drake said:

I don’t know where I got this color scheme from, but it has a positive impact on me everytime I see it.
I am an earthy color person and this pastel blue set just feels really fresh. This isn’t meant to be a plug, just a reaction to “soft” colors.
www.cruiseguarantee.com

Posted on June 28, 2005 08:11 AM | #