Each of us has been faced with the problem of searching for information more than once. Irregardless of the data source we are using (Internet, file system on our hard drive, data base or a global information system of a big company) the problems can be multiple and include the physical volume of the data base searched, the information being unstructured, different file types and also the complexity of accurately wording the search query. We have already reached the stage when the amount of data on one single PC is comparable to the amount of text data stored in a proper library. And as to the unstructured data flows, in future they are only going to increase, and at a very rapid tempo. If for an average user this might be just a minor misfortune, for a big company absence of control over information can mean significant problems. So the necessity to create search systems and technologies simplifying and accelerating access to the necessary information, originated long ago. Such systems are numerous and moreover not every one of them is based on a unique technology. And the task of choosing the right one depends directly on the specific tasks to be solved in the future. While the demand for the perfect data searching and processing tools is steadily growing let’s consider the state of affairs with the supply side.Not going deeply into the various peculiarities of the technology, all the searching programs and systems can be divided into three groups. These are: global Internet systems, turnkey business solutions (corporate data searching and processing technologies) and simple phrasal or file search on a local computer. Different directions presumably mean different solutions.Local searchEverything is clear about search on a local PC. It’s not remarkable for any particular functionality features accept for the choice of file type (media, text etc.) and the search destination. Just enter the name of the searched file (or part of text, for example in the Word format) and that’s it. The speed and result depend fully on the text entered into the query line. There is zero intellectuality in this: simply looking through the available files to define their relevance. This is in its sense explicable: what’s the use of creating a sophisticated system for such uncomplicated needs.Global search technologiesMatters stand totally different with the search systems operating in the global network. One can’t rely simply on looking through the available data. Huge volume (Yandex for instance can boast the indexing capacity of more than 11 terabyte of data) of the global chaos of unstructured information will make the simple search not only ineffective but also long and labor-consuming. That’s why lately the focus has shifted towards optimizing and improving quality characteristics of search. But the scheme is still very simple (except for the secret innovations of every separate system) – the phrasal search through the indexed data base with proper consideration for morphology and synonyms. Undoubtedly, such an approach works but doesn’t solve the problem completely. Reading dozens of various articles dedicated to improving search with the help of Google or Yandex, one can drive at the conclusion that without knowing the hidden opportunities of these systems finding a relevant document by the query is a matter of more than a minute, and sometimes more than an hour. The problem is that such a realization of search is very dependent on the query word or phrase, entered by the user. The more indistinct the query the worse is the search. This has become an axiom, or dogma, whichever you prefer.Of course, intelligently using the key functions of the search systems and properly defining the phrase by which the documents and sites are searched, it is possible to get acceptable results. But this would be the result of painstaking mental work and time wasted on looking through irrelevant information with a hope to at least find some clues on how to upgrade the search query. In general, the scheme is the following: enter the phrase, look through several results, making sure that the query was not the right one, enter a new phrase and the stages are repeated till the relevancy of results achieves the highest possible level. But even in that case the chances to find the right document are still few. No average user will voluntary go for the sophistication of “advanced search” (although it is equipped with a number of very useful functions such as the choice of language, file format etc.). The best would be to simply insert the word or phrase and get a ready answer, without particular concern for the means of getting it. Let the horse think – it has a big head. Maybe this is not exactly up to the point, but one of the Google search functions is called “I am feeling lucky!” characterizes very well the existent searching technologies. Nevertheless, the technology works, not ideally and not always justifying the hopes, but if you allow for the complexity of searching through the chaos of Internet data volume, it could be acceptable.Corporate systemsThe third on the list are the turnkey solutions based on the searching technologies. They are meant for serious companies and corporations, possessing really large data bases and staffed with all sorts of information systems and documents. In principle, the technologies themselves can also be used for home needs. For example, a programmer working remotely from the office will make good use of the search to access randomly located on his hard drive program source codes. But these are particulars. The main application of the technology is still solving the problem of quickly and accurately searching through large data volumes and working with various information sources. Such systems usually operate by a very simple scheme (although there are undoubtedly numerous unique methods of indexing and processing queries underneath the surface): phrasal search, with proper consideration for all the stem forms, synonyms etc. which once again leads us to the problem of human resource. When using such technology the user should first word the query phrases which are going to be the search criteria and presumably met in the necessary documents to be retrieved. But there is no guarantee that the user will be able to independently choose or remember the correct phrase and furthermore, that the search by this phrase will be satisfactory.One more key moment is the speed of processing a query. Of course, when using the whole document instead of a couple of words, the accuracy of search increases manifold. But up to date, such an opportunity has not been used because of the high capacity drain of such a process. The point is that search by words or phrases will not provide us with a highly relevant similarity of results. And the search by phrase equal in its length the whole document consumes much time and computer resources. Here is an example: while processing the query by one word there is no considerable difference in speed: whether it’s 0,1 or 0,001 second is not of crucial importance to the user. But when you take an average size document which contains about 2000 unique words, then the search with consideration for morphology (stem forms) and thesaurus (synonyms), as well as generating a relevant list of results in case of search by key words will take several dozens of minutes (which is unacceptable for a user).The interim summaryAs we can see, currently existing systems and search technologies, although properly functioning, don’t solve the problem of search completely. Where speed is acceptable the relevancy leaves more to be desired. If the search is accurate and adequate, it consumes lots of time and resources. It is of course possible to solve the problem by a very obvious manner – by increasing the computer capacity. But equipping the office with dozens of ultra-fast computers which will continuously process phrasal queries consisting of thousands of unique words, struggling through gigabytes of incoming correspondence, technical literature, final reports and other information is more than irrational and disadvantageous. There is a better way.The unique similar content searchAt present many companies are intensively working on developing full text search. The calculation speeds allow creating technologies that enable queries in different exponents and wide array of supplementary conditions. The experience in creating phrasal search provides these companies with an expertise to further develop and perfect the search technology. In particular, one of the most popular searches is the Google, and namely one of its functions called the “similar pages”. Using this function enables the user to view the pages of maximum similarity in their content to the sample one. Functioning in principle, this function does not yet allow getting relevant results – they are mostly vague and of low relevancy and furthermore, sometimes utilizing this function shows complete absence of similar pages as a result. Most probably, this is the result of the chaotic and unstructured nature of information in the Internet. But once the precedent has been created, the advent of the perfect search without a hitch is just a matter of time.What concerns the corporate data processing and knowledge retrieval systems, here the matters stand much worse. The functioning (not existing on paper) technologies are very few. And no giant or the so called search technology guru has so far succeeded in creating a real similar content search. Maybe, the reason is that it’s not desperately needed, maybe – too hard to implement. But there is a functioning one though.SoftInform Search Technology, developed by SoftInform, is the technology of searching for documents similar in their content to the sample. It enables fast and accurate search for documents of similar content in any volume of data. The technology is based on the mathematical model of analyzing the document structure and selecting the words, word combinations and text arrays, which results in forming a list of documents of maximum similarity the sample text abstract with the relevancy percent defined. In contrast to the standard phrasal search by the similar content search there is no need to determine the key words beforehand – the search is conducted through the whole document. The technology works with several sources of information that can be stored both in text files of txt, doc, rtf, pdf, htm, html formats, and the information systems of the most popular data bases (Access, MS SQL, Oracle, as well as any SQL-supporting data bases). It also additionally supports the synonyms and important words functions that enable to carry out a more specific search.The similar search technology enables to significantly cut time wasted on searching and reviewing the same or very similar documents, diminish the processing time at the stage of entering data into the archive by avoiding the duplicate documents and forming sets of data by a certain subject. Another advantage of the SoftInform technology is that it’s not so sensitive to the computer capacity and allows processing data at a very high speed even on ordinary office computers.This technology is not just a theoretic development. It has been tested and successfully implemented in a project of giving legal advice via phone, where the speed of information retrieval is of crucial importance. And it will undoubtedly be more than useful in any knowledge base, analytical service and support department of any large firm. Universality and effectiveness of the SoftInform Search Technology allows solving a wide spectrum of problems, arising while processing information. These include the fuzziness of information (at the document entering stage it is possible to immediately define whether such a document already belongs to the data base or not) and the similarity analysis of the documents which are already entered into the data base, and the search for semantically similar documents which saves time spent on selecting the appropriate key words and viewing the irrelevant documents.PerspectivesBesides its primary assignment (fast and high quality search for information in huge volume such as texts, archives, data bases) an Internet direction could also be defined. For example, it is possible to work out an expert system to process incoming correspondence and news which will become an important tool for analysts from different companies. Mainly, this will be possible due to the unique similar content search technology, absent from any of the existent systems so far except for the SearchInform. The problem of spamming search engines with the so called doorways (hidden pages with key words redirecting to the site’s main pages and used to increase the page rating with the search engines) and the e-mail spam problem (a more intellectual analysis would ensure higher level of security) would also be solved with the help of this technology. But the most interesting perspective of the SoftInform Search technology is creating a new Internet search engine, the main competitive advantage of which would be ability to search not just by key words, but also for similar web pages, which will add to the flexibility of search making it more comfortable and efficient.To draw a conclusion, it could be stated with confidence that the future belongs to the full text search technologies, both in the Internet and the corporate search systems. Unlimited development potential, adequacy of the results and processing speed of any size of query make this technology much more comfortable and in high demand. SoftInform Search technology might not be the pioneer, but it’s a functioning, stable and unique one with no existent analogues (which can be proved by the active Eurasian patent). To my mind, even with the help of the “similar search” it will be difficult to find a similar technology.

Color can be a powerful tool for website design. It can draw attention, convey emotion, inspire an atmosphere of desire, or directing conversation all these and more are accomplished through the clever and well-planned application of color. Similar to layouts and style of your words the color visitors will see on your website will determine the way they feel about it and whether or whether they’ll return.

What makes color important for Website Design

Colors can increase the visibility of your brand and can also entice visitors to your website to engage. The impression they form subconsciously about your company could be based on your website’s color scheme. So when a web design firm is first deciding to design your site, they first look at two aspects – the feelings your brand wants to create, and the cultural and philosophical contexts that it would like to be in line with. This is the initial step to choosing the right colors for the design of your website.

Color Psychology – colors trigger emotions
Psychology of color is the term used to describe the impact that color can influence a person’s feelings behaviours, feelings, and moods. Although the rules are not fixed in stone, we are drawn to certain colors because they affect our feelings. The context here is crucial. Red could mean fear and risk to certain people, but enthusiasm and passion to other people. When using colors in web design, it should blend seamlessly with aspects of the website including copy, typography, and images.

Below are some colors and the emotions they bring. While they aren’t fixed in stone, these are generalizations and can have an impact on the people who are watching. This will help you determine the color of your choice in accordance with how you would like your viewers to feel and the actions you would like them to do.

• Red Power, Love passion, danger exhilaration

• Orange: fun, warmth, comfort, freedom, playfulness

• White Peace, Clarity pure, purity, and cleanliness

• Blue: calm, confidence peace, trust and logic, as well as reliability

• Purple: luxury, sophistication, mystery, loyalty, creativity

• Pink: gentleness, sincerity, nurturing, warmth

• Green: health, nature, prosperity, abundance

• Brown nature protection, security, support

• Yellow: happiness, creativity, optimism, friendliness

• The Black: class, control power, sophistication and depression

Cultural Context
While various colors could have different meanings for individuals, colors can are also associated with cultural significance. In many Western countries, it is believed that black symbolizes mourning and death, while the same color is used in a variety of Eastern nations.

The color Red is thought to be associated with focus and pressure in Western culture, while many Eastern cultures believe it is associated with luck. It is important to consider the context when making a selection of colors. Most of the time, you’ll prefer to select the colors of your company based on the audience you want to reach. Based on the location where your market is located the colors displayed on your site could convey significant messages in different ways.

However, it’s not always the case particularly when it comes to massive and well-known brands that have images already embedded in our consciousness. The red color of Coca-Cola or KFC, for example, will typically have no negative associations anymore, considering the extent to which well-known and loved they are.

The Basics of Color Theory

Theory of Color is an established set of rules that can be helpful in understanding and creating complementary colors and combinations. These basic principles can assist you in creating a color colour scheme that is appropriate to your company’s specific requirements.

Primary Colors: They are three in total – blue, red and yellow.

Secondary Colors: These colors are created using primary color combinations like the green (yellow and blue) and orange (yellow and red) along with purple (blue plus red).

Tertiary Colors: These are colors made by mixing primary with secondary color.

Shades, Tints Tones: The colors listed above are referred to by some as “pure shades”. But, these colors can be used to create other colors. Tints are created by adding white to pure colors, which makes them less intense and lighter. Shades are created by adding a lack and making them heavier and more powerful. It is possible to use white and black in different levels to create tones using pure hues.

Contrast: Contrast is the perception of the difference between two hues when put next to each other. The greater the contrast, the more the two colours stand out from one another. This is a crucial idea since different levels of contrast can make an entirely different look to your site. A text that is colored and placed with a background that is low in contrast could cause issues with reading. Contrast may also make certain elements stand out (or even deflect attention from particular elements when used effectively) in your website and can make them stand out visually.

Color Models

When designing graphic designs, color is defined using color models. This is due to the fact that it is possible to find millions of different colors and it’s impossible to list every single one. The standards were developed to allow us to easily define colors by using numbers.

RGB Model: The model that is used when working with designs on the screen. RGB refers to Red as well as Green and Blue. The three colors are assigned a value of zero to 255, and the different combinations give us different shades. The colors are typically displayed as color codes, six-digit hexadecimal code numbers. It’s an “additive” color model.

CMYK Model: This model is utilized to print for printing purposes. It is a combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black Each color is described using its proportion of these colors. It is a “subtractive” colour model.

the LAB Model: The word LAB means lightness, A channel as well as B channel. It’s a more complicated model. It includes the lightness factor, which is a range of zero to 100, an A component that is located on the red-green axis, and a B component that is located on the blue and yellow axis. This means that the color description is more akin to human perception when compared to RGB and CMYK models.

Making Color Palettes

The first color you select for your website is the primary color of your company’s branding (Red is the color of Coca Cola, for example). This is where the psychology of color is particularly useful. The color you choose is in accordance with the feelings and the personality you want to communicate. Following that, you build your color palette with the colors that complement the base color. This is the time when the color wheel is used.

Color Wheel: A color wheel can be described as an instrument that is used to illustrate the connection between different colors. It’s basically an abstract drawing that arranges different hues of color within a circle.

With the aid of a color wheel, you have are five primary types of color palettes you can make with the help of color wheel

Analogous Palette: Analogous colors are put on top of each other in the form of a color wheel. They are in low contrast against each other and work well together, giving an elegant effect.

Monochromatic Palette: The palettes are made up of one hue that is distinctive, and is complemented by elements of various colors and hues. The palette is appealing to look at. To prevent an uninteresting look it’s beneficial to add different colors, or even complimentary elements to your website.

The HTML0 Triad Palette – This palette is composed of three colors, which are evenly spaced from each other on the wheel of color. This method should be employed with care, and not only to select colours that go well with each other and blend well but also to utilize the colors in a way that doesn’t appear too cluttered and loud.

Complementary Palette: The Complementary palette is made up of colors that are on opposite sides of the spectrum of colors. This is a great way to create striking art designs that attract attention to certain parts of your site.

Split-complementary Palette: The palette is similar to complement palettes, but it has another color placed beside one of the colors that complement each other on the wheel of color. If used correctly this design can be effective in creating a natural appearance without too much sound.

Effective Tools to Inspire

Inspiration for new colors can be found everywhere from competitor websites to nature, and the beautiful outdoors. It’s also beneficial to keep abreast of the new trends in branding. Here are some helpful tools to help you get going with fresh color concepts right away.

Pinterest The website Pinterest is a wealth of color palette concepts developed by designers from all over the globe. They can be an incredible source of ideas.

Pantone: The color Pantone has been the leading company in the area of color. It is an index of color that determines the various shades of the various hues. The most recent trends in color in fashion and design generally stem from pantone.

color-scheme Creation Websites: There are many dedicated color websites for designers that can assist you in creating colors and play around with the palettes in any way you would like. This is a fantastic opportunity to try out and create new palettes for yourself. Websites such as Adobe Color Wheel, Color Collective along with Design Seeds can be great for quick ideas.

Conclusion

While color alone may not be the sole factor in website design, it does play an important role. If used properly and in a way that is appropriate, the color(s) that you use be a defining factor for your company’s image. Utilizing the tricks and tips that were mentioned earlier, you will not have any issues using colors in your web design to get the most impact.