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Design

Celebrations, Focus, and Raymond

Nostalgia became the basis for our Hey Rebekah color scheme.

By Ambreen Dar

3 min read

Every now and then, we get sappy and sentimental about the past. Last summer, we added a rewatch of CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond to the list. It's a show about a goofball, overbearing parents, and a competitive sibling. 😶

One day, in a particularly funny episode, we saw something that caught our eye. Strangely, it was the analogous color scheme of Deborah's sweater.

Two woman and a man sitting on the couch.

Colors and warmth

Our admiration of fashionable apparel aside, it reminded us of something and sent us down a rabbit hole. We scoured the web for photos of scenes from the episode to find a reasonably large file size we could color pick.

Then it occurred to us. The sweater itself felt nostalgic. What was it though?

Ah...of course! The Baja Cantina in Marina Del Rey—adorned with beautiful serapes. It was our food destination growing up. ❤️

We know, this is a weird train of thought to follow for color inspiration, but keep reading to see how this turned into our actual web color scheme!

Nostalgia to production

Mexican serape inspired draft color palette for Hey Rebekah v1

We took the Hey Rebekah serape palette and began to test it in mockups. For us, that's always been the best way to visualize the experience and solicit feedback.

After some further experimentation we made some adjustments to the colors. Then we tested internally again, followed by another round of external feedback.

Finally, we ignored what everyone said and published our production color space... 😜

Color spaces for all the right places

A screenshot of Hey Rebekah's color space

Color spaces are vital in UX design. They determine how colors appear on different platforms and devices. The right color space ensures design consistency and can make or break the user experience. Now try and contain your excitement, while we delve further into the endless possibilities of color gamuts.

What color spaces are to UX, color theory is to branding. While we don't want to conflate the two, there are overlaps that are important to understand.

Color theory conveys a brand's identity and personality to its audience. Different colors evoke various emotions and associations in people. Choosing the right colors for a brand's visual identity effectively communicates its message and values.

Color spaces in UX are often constrained by a brand's color theory. So understanding the correlation of the two when working with clients can help you create more cohesive experiences.

And, just when you thought it couldn't get duller, enter Bartosz Ciechanowski—a game programmer who dabbles in interactive articles about physics, math, and engineering.

His work has been featured extensively online, including by our heroes at the Morning Brew. Put on a few hats and cranial protection devices because when you see Bartosz's work on Color Spaces, your head may explode. It's anything but, dull. 🙇🏻

Ambreen Dar

About Ambreen Dar

Ambreen designs for thrillseekers. She left the classroom behind to chase adventures in publishing, then dove into digital marketing's deep end. New tricks abound, but Ambreen's four furry fans still think she's top dog. Alongside Rebekah and Sam, Ambreen makes BRIL.LA's magic - and wouldn't have it any other way.