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Learn Basic Color Theory for Better DesignsToday

Whether you're putting together a portfolio web site or just slapping together some slides, knowing how colors affect the minds of your audience makes your message more appealing. Smashing magazine offers a post that serves as Color Psychology 101 for would-be designers.

Beyond explaining which colors work as "warm" and "cool," how primaries play off secondary colors, and offering lots of keen examples of every kind of color design, Smashing's post offers some clues on how colors are perceived when images are translated to mental impressions. Here's a little primer on orange that caught me unawares:

Orange is a very vibrant and energetic color. In its muted forms, it can be associated with the earth and with autumn. Because of its association with the changing seasons, orange can represent change and movement in general.

Because orange is associated with the fruit of the same name, it can be associated with health and vitality. In designs, orange commands attention without being as overpowering as red. It's often considered more friendly and inviting, and less in-your-face.

Hit the link for a deeper read. While you've got your monocle and draft paper out, tell us what color schemes you like, and which have never appealed to you, in the comments.

Sketchpad Is a No-Flash-Required HTML5 Painting AppToday

Chrome/Firefox/Safari: Want proof that HTML5 is the way of the future? Try Sketchpad, a surprisingly robust online painting app that doesn't require Flash, Shockwave, or any other plug-in—just a modern browser and a mouse.

Run by a team that dubs themselves Colorjack, this "Sketchpad" demo shows off the capabilities of modern JavaScript and HTML5 support. You can paint any color in any shade or opacity, take on patterns and "Spirographs," and use all the tools you're likely familiar with from Microsoft's older versions of that old Paint standby.

Sketchpad also offers a handful of control windows you can move around and keep open. If the app supported drag-and-drop file imports, as Firefox 3.6 does, this would be a truly robust, and almost desktop-replacing, webapp.

When you're done with your efforts, hit the save icon and your image pops up in a new tab, ready to be saved. Sketchpad is free to use, and works on any browser that supports HTML5—including, it's bee

What to Do If Your Toyota's Been RecalledToday

Got one of those Toyotas with the "sticky" gas pedal? Maybe a just-recalled Prius? Don't trade in your car or panic if your dealer's booked through next week. Here's a few tips from the experts on saving money and driving safely.

First off, if you're not sure whether your Toyota might be part of the recall or not, here's the read-out. 2010-model Prius hybrids are soon to be called in for a fix to the anti-lock brake software. Toyota's own recall page has the lengthy details and model list. Otherwise, here's CNNMoney's thumbnail of the list:

Which cars are involved? The stuck-pedal recall of 2.3 million vehicles announced last week affects Toyota's 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix models; the 2005-2010 Avalon; 2010 Highlander; 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia; and some 2007-2010 Camrys (only those with gas pedal assemblies made by a specific Toyota supplier; your dealer can check). No Lexus or Scion models are involved.

Toyota's starting to send out mailers to affected car owners announcing th

Today Is National PC Cleanup Day, So Let's Tidy Up Your SystemYesterday

The Web Worker Daily blog reminds us that today is National Clean Out Your Computer Day. Want to do some serious PC cleaning but not sure where to start? We've got your back, so let's get with the purging.

Photo by karindalziel.

Clean Out Your Inbox

One of the first places you'll probably find bogged down with a bunch of junk you don't need is your email inbox. If you use Gmail to manage your email, follow these simple steps to free up loads of space without losing important emails. Once you've wrestled your inbox into submission, assign a Trusted Trio of three folders to keep your inbox clean: Follow Up, Archive, and Hold.

Daring productivity mavens may want to take this tip a step further and try out our own Gina Trapani's idea and eliminate the Archive folder:

Gmail comes with an archive area built in: click on the "All Mail" link to see it. When you archive a message in Gmail (either by

Google Wave in Action: Real-World Use Case StudiesYesterday

A week ago we asked readers to tell us how they're using Google Wave in their daily lives, and despite a bit of "ha! no one's using Wave!" snarking on the Twitter, we got lots of interesting responses.

Unsurprisingly, most Wavers use it as a real-time wiki, but some take advantage of features unique to Wave, like inline and private replies, public tags, and gadgets. I featured the most unique use cases I got in a brand new chapter just added to The Complete Guide to Google Wave. The following is the text of the just-published Chapter 10, which describes ways in which a few people who don't work for Google are using Wave to get things done—with screenshots.

So far you've learned the finer workings of Wave in great detail, but there's a big difference between understanding how to swing a hammer and building a house. In this chapter, you'll meet regular people who are already getting things done with Wave in their daily work and life. You'll learn the Wave techniques they've developed through trial and error, and the specific Wave features they use to get certain jobs done. Finally, you'll create wave templates you can use and reuse for your own purposes.

Take a look at some real-world case studies of Wave in action.

Wave as a Group To-do List and