A Splash of Color

I believe that color in web design is very hingent on layout. In my experience, if I try to pick a color scheme before I have a solid layout, the color never really fits in the end product.

Color is like frosting on a cake. If you pick the frosting before you decide what flavor the layers are going to have, your cake could turn out very wrong: No one likes a carrot cake with strawberry frosting.

If your site is for an already established brand, you're most likely going to have your palette already picked for you. However, if this is a establishing brand/concept, your color choice is going to be very important for the future and growth of the business/idea. Just like typography, color can make or break the recognition and credibility of whatever you're designing for. Coca-Cola probably wouldn't be as recognized as it is today had the logo been, say, brown and green. In my opinion, colors should always reflect your emotion for whatever you're designing for. Almost like some people look better in a pinstripe vs. solid suit, some logos/layouts/designs look better in certain colors.

No matter what color is picked, you have to be happy with it. I've noticed if I'm being swayed to choose a set of colors that I don't like for a project, it usually doesn't come out looking good. However, when I have a set of colors in mind, I often end up with a genuinely solid end product that everyone's happy with. What some people forget is that although they might like a certain color, it may not fit what the designer is laying out. Most often, as I'm finishing a layout, I can start to envision what I want for colors. If I put someone else's color choices in, they generally don't work very well, since the layout complements the colors that it's been designed with in thought.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't consider advice and constructive criticism on color choice and all other aspects. It just mean's that although changes can be made, its probably not wise to throw a completely different color scheme into a project at the last minute; You're most likely going to lose more than you gain.