Before seeing the rounded-v2 theme by Ghyslain Armand, I would never have considered the color brown as a main color to use in a website. Now I love it. It allows darkness in a color scheme without reverting to the old neon-on-black look of early websites. It has a sophistication about it that black sites are often lacking. Very dark sites that are almost, but not quite, black can also have this kind of sophistication. Black can still look sophisticated, too, depending upon how it is used in the overall design, of course. Generally, though, dark sites tend to me to look amateurish or outdated if not well-done. Since choosing brown for my new design, I notice other brown sites more these days. Another brown website I found today is a blog on the 9Rules network, LeliaThomas.com. Lelia is an artist, and she showcases her portfolio in her blog.

In Lelia’s case, she has chosen to restict herself to a monochromatic theme for all design elements except for the colors she uses in her artwork itself. Brown is neutral enough that she can use every color she wants in her art portfolio, and it will not clash with her website design. This design strategy also works to make the colors of her artwork seem to pop a little more than they would if they were competing for attention with many other colors surrounding them.