Question: I'm in the process of doing some usability testing this week for one our iOS apps. We're having them attempt a few targeted tasks to test goals like

* New users should be able to signup with their email in under 15 seconds
* Users should use all their 'votes' inside a challenge
* Users should be able to located 'John Doe', and add him as a friend

We capture the objective results of the task... yes, the user signed up in 9 seconds. But we try to record more subjective things like "the user looked confused on the settings screen."

I'm struggling to find a clear way to organize all the data we're collecting to make it easier to synthesize. 

**What are the best ways to record and organize different kinds of data you get from a usability test session?**

Answer: 
The 'flat design' aesthetic tends to favor large blocks of solid colors. If all of your colors are 'highlighter-esque' then you just end up with an incredibly busy UI where nothing stands out as they are all competing equally for your attention.

Intense vibrant colors--in UI design, at least--are there to draw attention so should only be used sparingly...just as you would with a true highlighter. 

Else, you end up with a hot dog stand:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8h80O.png)
Harsh colors are one of those things that break through the unconscious into conscious awareness as an annoyance when in an interface. In other words, some UI choices, like counterintuitive navigation, fatigue users and they might not know the culprit. However, people usually speak up, knowing exactly why they don't enjoy an interface when it comes to the color scheme. So the palette will naturally tend toward more soothing colors in further iterations.

In addition, by not using harsh colors in your main palette, you can get people's attention when you need to by injecting a bold color occasionally for promotional or warning purposes.

You ask what considerations to keep in mind when developing your color scheme. 

I like playing around in Illustrator to find 5 colors that will serve me well. You can also use online color resources like colourlovers.com and kuler.adobe.com. These are good starting places - but then you'll need to adjust them when you bring these colors into your actual UI and fonts.

I usually end up with 3-5 main palette colors and a handful of system and secondary colors.