Wikipedia defines colour or colour as the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow,blue, black, etc. Colour derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light energy versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors.
Colour is an important part of usability. It can go a long way of making something usable or not. Using the wrong colour combination can make it really hard to read information and place strain on the users eyes.
For example, HipHopdx - a hip hop news website uses white colour text (and different shades of browns) over a really dark-muddy colour. Staring at this when trying to read the articles and be straining. After I am done and look away and blink, I can see where the lines of the text have been burnt! in. Basically I see floating lines. Sounds stupid but its true.
In some instances the creativeness can proceed a designers decision on the best colours to use. For example - Interflora have used colours that simulate a spring time - flower feel by using shades of yellow and greens. It creates the intended feeling. However, in terms of usability it makes it hard to view the content.
There needs to be a balance between the colour used for the background and the one used for the font colour. They need to compliment each other. A common approach used is to have a light colour for the background such as a blue and then have dark colour font. This is logical as users attention is doing to be on the text therefore it should stand out more. Also the background takes up most of the room therefore it should blend in and not strain the users.
Picking the right colour combination can determine if a website is good or bad. The margin for error is small. So you need to take care and always put the users needs head of any creative aspirations you might have.
A good approach to colour combination(s) can be seen in the following screen shot:
The example from Football Italia is ideal for a information site. It places focus on the text rather than anything else. Colour has been used wisely, to distinguish the navigation bar from other aspects of the site. It is an ideal approach that other websites could do with modeling. Simplicity is the key when using colour. Problems seem to arise when people tend to use a range of colours that look good but when it comes to actually reading information, it then can be straining.
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