I have 6 devices in my house that can browse the web. 5 computers and one Dell Streak handheld.
On each one, the color scheme of our webiste designs look completely different. Each browser and each monitor handles color representation differently, and on top of that, everyone sets their monitor in a different way.
Every monitor arrives with a different color setting. My friend got one with too much red. I couldn’t convince him to fix it, so he will never see the intended colors of any design. It appears that every new monitor arrives with a different setting. Even when you properly balance them, the colors will differ with different manufacturers.
During the day, your eyes adjust to compensate for the brightness of the sunlight. This makes the computer monitor look rather dark. At night, the same web page will glow with brighter colors. If you paint a canvas landscape with oils and your lighting is poor, in the morning it may look washed out or candy colored. Your eyes tell you what to do, but the lighting and color balance tells your eyes what it looks like.
This can work to your advantage. Don’t knock it. Your idea of a good color scheme might be too strong after you have been staring at it for several days, tweaking and adjusting. Outside random intervention can produce delightful results. I like to see my website designs on several monitors. It is a stimulating visual experience. I can usually depend upon the assumption that if the colors are well balanced, or at least carefully chosen, the color scheme and navigational behaviors will look just as good on all monitors…it will just be a different mood and attitude of colors.
So…in conclusion, it is an interesting phenomenon to think that a website has many faces.