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As it happens, I just came across several websites advising people to limit the number of colors in a design. What's wrong with this advice?
Proper use of color has nothing to do with the number of colors that have been applied. You only need to have a look at the work of Vincent van Gogh to be convinced. And obviously there are numerous other artists who have falsified this idea as well.
What is important is to structure your use of color. In other words: you need to have a clear idea of where your design is headed and how to get it there. Just for fun I looked up some well designed websites that use a large number of colors:
Colourful pictures incorporated into colourful texts and menus
A wild, yet very powerful use of colors
Funny but 'to the point' use of colors
On this Mercedes website color IS the structuring ingredient
And another website where color brings structure
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I came across the Birkbeck College project of Surface Architects.
It blew me away. These guys are actually building with color. Color is right there alongside brick, panels, glass, concrete and stone. Color is not a layer on top of the building, color IS the building.
Their architectural spaces are defined by physical material as well as by color. Putting the outlines of the physical shapes next to the outlines of the colors show that this is a tale of two stories. The one story is told by the physical dimensions. The other story is told by the colors. The two stories intersect, but are not quite the same. Together the two stories shape the space.
BTW: their website is most certainly worth a visit. It has a most remarkable use of color. It looks like they've extended their design principles to the website...
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Dutch artist Krijn de Koning transforms space with color. He produces colorful, maze like structures and imposes new meaning on existing space. De Koning was just awarded the 2007 Sikkens Prize, sponsored by paint giant Akzo-Nobel. He is in good company: Gerrit Rietveld, le Corbusier and Donald Judd were among previous laureates.
Krijn de Koning's work is not just amazing, it's fun as well. My kids love to play around in his art.

Congrats Krijn....
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