Understanding Color Theory: A beginners guide to color theory and its importance

What is Color Theory?

Color is an essential part of human-computer interaction, and similar to other elements like typography, designers should select colors with care. Since there are infinite color combinations out there, it can be hard to decide what color scheme will work the best for your product. Fortunately, we have a color theory, a discipline that helps us select balanced and effective color combinations.

In color theory, colors are organized on a color wheel and grouped into 3 categories: primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors.

The color wheel

Designers typically rely on the color wheel to choose the colors. Understanding the color wheel and color harmonies (what works, what doesn’t, and how color communicates) is just as exciting as that new box of crayons. No really !!

Beginning with the 3-part color wheel we have:

Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blue
In traditional color theory (used in paint and pigments), primary colors are the 3 pigment colors that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues.

Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purple
These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green
These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That’s why the hue is a two-word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange.

If you draw a line through the center of the wheel, and you’ll separate the warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) from cool colors (blues, greens, purples). Warm colors are generally associated with energy, brightness, and action, whereas cool colors are often identified with calm, peace, and serenity.

Hue, shade, tint, and tone

Simply put, tints, tones, and shades are variations of hues, or colors, on the color wheel.

Hue is pretty much synonymous with what we actually mean when we said the word “color.” All of the primary and secondary colors, for instance, are “hues.”Hues are important to remember when combining two primary colors to create a secondary color. If you don’t use the hues of the two primary colors you’re mixing together, you won’t generate the hue of the secondary color. This is because a hue has the fewest other colors inside it.

A tint is a hue to which white has been added. For example, red + white = pink. A shade is a hue to which black has been added. For example, red + black = burgundy. Finally, a tone is a color to which black and white (or grey) have been added. This darkens the original hue while making the color appear more subtle and less intense.

Color Schemes

Let’s talk schemes… Using the color wheel, designers develop a color scheme for different materials.

Complementary colors

Complementary colors are opposites on the color wheel — red and green, for example. Because there’s a sharp contrast between the two colors, they can really make imagery pop, but overusing them can get tiresome

Analogous colors

Analogous colors sit next to one another on the color wheel — red, orange, and yellow, for example. When creating an analogous color scheme, one color will dominate, one will support, and another will accent

Triadic colors

Triadic colors are evenly spaced around the color wheel and tend to be very bright and dynamic. Using a triadic color scheme in your project creates visual contrast and harmony simultaneously, making each item stand out while making the overall image pop.

Quick Tips to get started

· Don’t stick with presets. Almost every program you use will automatically give you preset colors. Get past the presets and explore color on your own. Don’t let the program decide how you use color in your design.

· Start with one color you like. Every time you design something, start with one color and build the color scheme from there. If you try and start with more than one color, you’ll have a harder time finding harmony between your colors.

· Save your color schemes. If you find a color (or color scheme) you like, it’ll probably be useful to you later. It isn’t suggested to use the same color scheme for every chart or graphic you create, but you can always use different schemes in different ways later on.

· Practice makes perfect. The more you play with color and practice design, the better you get. No one creates their masterpiece the first time around.

But why would you care about Color Theory?

The importance of color design stems from the significance of color to the human mind. Color creates ideas, expresses messages, spark interest, and generate certain emotions. With this basic knowledge about colors and color schemes, you’re prepared to make effective branding decisions. Like what color your logo should be or the emotions that colors evoke and the psychology behind color choices on your website, designs.

Not only can knowledge of color theory guide you in your own marketing, but it can also help you better understand what your competition is doing.

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