Color and User Experience Introduction Page

Color is not only a technical communicator's tool for aesthetics, but also for improvements in accessibility and additional subliminal conveying of the content's purpose. As Murch (1985) puts it, "color is a sensation, like taste or smell, that is tied to the properties of our nervous system" (p. 14). Different color choices can invoke different human responses, and each person perceives color differently due to their physiological and/or emotional makeup. One of the most universal responses is to colors like green and red- green is typically associated with "go" or "do" while red is associated with "stop" or "don't".

User experience, often abbreviated as UX, is fairly self-explanatory. It is defined as the personal interaction a user of the internet has with the platform they are utilizing. Both UX designers and technical communicators aim "to leverage and produce engaging experiences" with qualities catered specifically to the intended user(s) ease-of-use in order to create a positive environment (Verhulsdonck & Shalamobva, 2020, p. 377). Through this, "UX widens the understanding of usability" (p. 379).