COLOR THEORY IN GRAPHICS DESIGN

Color theory is the collection of rules and guidelines which designers use to communicate with users through appealing color schemes in visual interfaces. To pick the best colors every time, designers use a color wheel and refer to extensive collected knowledge about human optical ability, psychology, culture and more.

Sir Isaac Newton established color theory when he invented the color wheel in 1666. Newton understood colors as human perceptions — not absolute qualities — of wavelengths of light. By systematically categorizing colors, he defined three groups:

1. Primary (red, blue, yellow)
2. Secondary (mixes of primary colors)
3. Tertiary (or intermediate — mixes of primary and secondary colors)

When starting your design process, you can consider using[DHM3] any of these main color schemes:

• Monochromatic — Take one hue and create other elements from different shades and tints of it.
• Analogous — Use three colors located beside one another on the color wheel (e.g., orange, yellow-orange and yellow to show sunlight). A variant is to mix white with these to form a “high-key” analogous color scheme (e.g., flames).
• Complementary — Use “opposite color” pairs — e.g., blue/yellow — to maximize contrast.
• Split-Complementary (or Compound Harmony) — Add colors from either side of your complementary color pair to soften contrast.
• Triadic — Take three colors which are equally distant on the color wheel (i.e., 120° apart: e.g., red/blue/yellow). These colors may not be vibrant, but the scheme can be as it maintains harmony and high contrast. It’s easier to make visually appealing designs with this than with a complementary scheme.
• Tetradic — Take four colors that are two sets of complementary pairs (e.g., orange/yellow/blue/violet) and choose one dominant color. This allows rich, interesting designs. However, watch the balance between warm and cool colors.
• Square — A variant of tetradic; you find four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel (i.e., 90° apart). Unlike tetradic, square schemes can work well if you use all four colors evenly.

Your colors must reflect your design’s goal and brand’s personality. You should also apply color theory to optimize a positive psychological impact on users. So, you should carefully determine how the color temperature (i.e., your use of warm, neutral and cool colors) reflects your message. For example, you can make a neutral color such as grey warm or cool depending on factors such as your organization’s character and the industry.