Colors are all around us. Think about it. The bright blue in a clear morning sky makes us feel energetic and give us a feeling of freedom; the bright yellows and reds in the flowers that bloom in Autumn evoke emotions of happiness, life, and energy; the beautiful black sky at night invokes thoughts of mystery and calmness.
How do we know which colors look good together for your design and which ones don’t?
The Answer is Simple, Color Theory.
Color theory can be defined as both the science and art of using color in the right way. It helps in determining how humans perceive color; and the visual effects of how colors mix, match, or contrast with each other. It can help you feel confident in many different situations, like choosing colors for the Design.
Color theory helps designers build a strong brand. There is a reason behind Pepsi choosing Blue or Coke choosing Red. A significant amount of company success goes to the color they chose for their branding. That is how color theory helps you in setting up your brand identity.
Basics of Color theory
In simplified terms, color theory can be broken into three parts. The color wheel, color value, and color schemes.
The Color Wheel
Ages ago it was Newton who developed the color wheel which laid the groundwork for later generations of scholars, artists most of whom lived and worked in the 19th century.
The primary colors, Red, Yellow, and Blue are the basis of all colors and they cannot be mixed.
The secondary colors are derived from combinations of the primary colors. They are violet, orange, and green.
The tertiary colors complete the wheel to 12 basics colors. The 6 tertiary colors are created by mixing one primary color with an adjacent part of the secondary color.
The Color Value
Now let’s learn about Color Values. The value of any color is the darkness or lightness of the color. Hue is the pure form of any color, Any single color can be called as Hue. Adding white to a color produces a TINT and adding black to a color produces a SHADE.
The Color Schemes.
Color schemes are ways color is put together intelligently. Monochromatic means one color and is made up of its Shade and Tints.
Complementary colors are found directly across from each other while Analogous colors are next to each other.
Color with its certain feelings and emotions.
There are various studies out there that will give you an idea of what feelings, emotions, and messages are generally evoked by which colors. The above image shows various emotions invoke by the different colors.
Word of Advice.
In this way, one can easily consider the effect of colors on user’s minds before they opt for creating Content. You do not have to be Picasso or Michelangelo before you start Designing or creating Content. However, a basic understanding of the usage of the best colors can be a solid prerequisite for Design.