In this research, two experiments were conducted to see the effect of color combination and layout in the design of web sites. In the experiment one, sensibility words were collected and analyzed to find out the relational patterns among those words. ...
In this research, two experiments were conducted to see the effect of color combination and layout in the design of web sites. In the experiment one, sensibility words were collected and analyzed to find out the relational patterns among those words. From this relational analysis of sensibility words, a sensibility scale was developed, which would provide a basis for a sensibility model for web site design. The 18 representative words were abstracted as a result of the experiment one included ‘unique, unusual, rich, soft, cold, warm, vivid, simple, neat, dynamic, urban, light, somber, bright, dark, fresh, masculine, and hard. Also three sensibility dimensions – ‘bright-dark,’ ‘soft-hard,’ ‘simple-rich’ – were found. Mentioned above 18 representative words explained 98.6% of the variance in the sensibility space. /The experiment two was about the sensibility effect of color combination and layout, and the combination of both factors in the web site design. Eight color combination samples and four basic layouts were selected and web pages designed from their combinations were used in the experiment two. The main sensibility effects were found in the ‘light, soft, and rich’ color combination and in the ‘light, clear, simple, warm, neat, and soft layout, respectively. Among the combinations of two factors, the combination of ‘dark, hard, and simple’ color combination and ‘cold, somber, hard, and urban’ layout had the sensibility effect. The results showing sensibility word with the sensibility of color combinations in themselves appeared first implies that much of the sensibility effects were caused by the color combinations. In case of layout, as it went from layout A to layout B, to layout C, and to layout D, that is, as the layout got more complicated, it had a ‘rich and urban’ impression. As a result, the sensibility effect caused by color combination was bigger than the sensibility effect caused by layout. However, lay