color it plays a vital role in design
and everyday life it can draw your eye
to an image evoke a certain mood or
emotion even communicate something
important without using words at all so
how do we know which colors look good
together and which ones don't
the answer is simple color theory
artists and designers have followed
color theory for centuries but anyone
can learn more about it it can help you
feel confident in many different
situations whether it's choosing colors
for a design or putting together the
perfect outfit all it takes is a little
insight and you'll be looking at color
in a whole new way let's start at the
beginning the very beginning with a
refresher on the basics remember
learning about primary and secondary
colors in school then you already have
some knowledge of color theory red and
yellow make orange yellow and blue make
green and blue and red make purple if we
mix these colors together we get even
more in between shades like red orange
and yellow green all together they form
what's called a color wheel you can
probably see where it gets its name now
let's take it one step further
with hue saturation and value these are
terms you might never see in daily life
but they're the key to understanding
more nuanced colors like all those
little paint chips at the
home-improvement store hue is the
easiest one it's basically just another
word for color saturation refers to
intensity in other words whether the
color appears more subtle or more
vibrant value has to do with how dark or
light the color is ranging from black to
white as you can see this gives us many
different shades from a deep reddish
brown
two light pastel pink so how do we put
this all together to create
professional-looking color schemes
they're actually tried-and-true formulas
based on something called color harmony
that can help all you need is the color
wheel the easiest formula for harmony is
monochromatic because it only uses one
color or hue just pick a spot on the
color wheel and use your knowledge of
saturation and value to create
variations the best thing about
monochromatic color schemes is that
they're guaranteed to match an analogous
color scheme uses colors that are next
to each other on the wheel like reds and
oranges or cooler colors like blues and
greens don't be afraid to play with the
palette and create your own unique
interpretation that's what these
formulas really are merely starting
points to help guide and inspire you
complementary colors are opposite each
other on the wheel for instance blue and
orange or the classic red and green to
avoid complementary color schemes that
are too simplistic add some variety by
introducing lighter darker or d
saturated tones
a split complementary color scheme uses
the colors on either side of the
complement this gives you the same level
of contrast but more colors to work with
and potentially more interesting results
a triadic color scheme uses three colors
that are evenly spaced forming a perfect
triangle on the wheel these combinations
tend to be pretty striking
especially with primary or secondary
colors so be mindful when using them in
your work too tragic color schemes form
a rectangle on the wheel using not one
but two complementary color pairs this
formula works best if you let one color
dominate while the others serve as an
accent there are a few classic do's and
don'ts when it comes to color for
instance have you ever seen colors that
seemed to vibrate when they're placed
next to each other the solution is to
tone it down literally and there's a
simple way to do it start with one color
and try adjusting its lightness darkness
or saturation sometimes a little
contrast is all your color palette needs
readability is an important factor in
any design your color should be legible
engaging and easy on the eyes sometimes
that means not using color at least not
in every little detail neutral colors
like black white and gray can help you
balance your design so when you do use
color it really stands out
every color sends a message it's
important to consider the tone of your
project and choose a color palette that
fits for example bright colors tend to
have a fun or modern vibe the saturated
colors often appear more businesslike
sometimes it just depends on the context
you'd be surprised to a flexible color
can be you can find ideas for color
schemes in all kinds of interesting
places from advertising and branding to
famous works of art you can even use a
web resource to browse color palettes or
generate your own even experienced
designers take inspiration from the
world around them there's nothing wrong
with finding something you like and
making it your own everywhere you look
there's color color and more color it
can be intimidating to use it in your
work but it doesn't have to be just keep
experimenting and remember what you've
learned about color theory soon choosing
great looking colors will feel like
second nature we hope you enjoyed
learning the basics of color check out
the rest of our design topics including
typography images and Composition
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