Color is our visual perception of different wavelengths of light. Humans have three different receptors in their eyes that perceive short, medium and long wavelengths of light. However, despite our universal anatomy, not all people perceive colors in the same way. After all, individual color interpretation is influenced by factors such as age, gender identity, culture and personal preference. Moreover, it is a fact that about 8% of the world’s population suffers from some form of color blindness.

You make color choices all the time, even if you don’t realize it. This usually happens instinctively, but there is actually a whole science behind it called color theory. Color theory describes how different colors are related to each other and what they look like when combined into multiple color schemes. An offshoot of color theory is color psychology, which studies the colors and emotions people perceive in the context of their cultures. Taken together, these areas of color knowledge provide important information for anyone who deals with color, whether you’re a small business owner creating a flyer for an upcoming event, a designer choosing a color scheme for your next project, or an entrepreneur designing a logo.

Think of the color red. What comes to mind? Perhaps feelings such as anger, passion and energy bubble to the surface. Or perhaps visions of flushed cheeks, a cherry shade of lipstick, a stop sign, blood or a heart fly through your head. While these may not have been the exact thoughts and feelings that the color red evoked in you, you probably associated the color with certain emotions, ideas and objects. You are not alone: it is a universal human experience and a powerful tool you can use as a designer. Understanding that color choice goes beyond personal preference can help you not only improve product usability, but even have a psychological impact on users.

To unleash the power of color, you must first understand color theory, the color wheel, how to use complementary colors to create a striking color scheme, and the psychological effects of those colors. Whether you’re just delving into this topic (or just looking for a refresher), here’s how to get started:

Understanding color theory

Color theory is an interdisciplinary branch of knowledge that deals with the formation of color impressions in humans, and the theoretical and practical aspects of the external factors involved in the process of creating these impressions.

Color theory can help designers determine which colors look good together. Color theory, however, goes beyond just “looking at” color combinations, and this is where the scientific part comes in. At the heart of color theory is the color wheel created in the late 17th century by Sir Isaac Newton. Best known for his breakthroughs in physics, Newton presented the color spectrum in a circle.

Nowadays, the color wheel can help artists and designers find harmonious color combinations based on the geometric relationships shown on the color wheel. For example, the triadic color scheme includes three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel, resulting in a bold combination. Meanwhile, a tetradic color scheme includes four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel and can work well if you want to use a dominant color with additional accent colors.

Color wheel

A color wheel is a visual representation of colors, with hues arranged by wavelength. Color wheels provide a geometric representation of color relationships and show the relationship between primary colors, secondary colors and tertiary colors.

In the traditional FISH color wheel, the primary colors are red, yellow and blue. Secondary colors – orange, green and purple – can be created by mixing primary colors. Red and yellow create orange. Yellow and blue form green. Red and blue create purple. You remember this from elementary school, right?

Then mixing secondary and primary colors creates tertiary colors.

There are many different iterations of the color wheel, but many involving these three types of relationships show more than a dozen colors.

Modern color theory

Primary colors are shades that can be mixed to produce a wide range of colors. As we have already learned, there are different sets of primary colors depending on the mixing model used. Most of us are familiar with the primary colors red, yellow and blue (RYB), which are taught to children when they acquire basic art skills. These are still the primary colors that most painters, artists and interior designers use today. The RYB model is an example of a subtractive color model. Subtractive mixing involves inks, dyes or pigments creating new colors by absorbing certain parts of the visible spectrum.

Cyan, magenta and yellow (CMY) are also subtractive primary colors. The traditional shades of red and blue typically used in color printing have been replaced over time by magenta and cyan as technology has advanced, and these pigments have made a wider range of colors possible. CMYK is also the name of the printing process itself, where K stands for “key ink.” This is usually black, which helps bring out artistic details, as black achieved by mixing the three primary colors is grayer.

The last model used is the red, green and blue (RGB) system. RGB is an additive color model that starts with darkness and uses the different colors of light mixed together to produce white. We see this model most often on computer and TV screens. Photographers will also be familiar with working with the RGB color profile when editing images for use on the Internet and switching to the CMYK color profile when printing.

Principles of color theory

You probably first encountered the most basic concept of color theory in elementary school, when you were given a palette of basic colors to paint with. Red, blue and yellow are primary colors and cannot be created by mixing colors. Mix them all together and you get a brown color. But mix them together and you can create all other colors.

Color theory also includes darkness or lightness of color or color values. You can change the shade of a color by adding white for shade, which will give lighter pastel colors, and black to darken and dull the color. When gray is added to a primary, secondary or tertiary color, it creates tone. If the color is toned down, the brightness and intensity are reduced. When you add shades, tints and tones, you get an expanded color wheel.

Color theory also includes how colors are arranged to create schemes. For example, a monochromatic color scheme is one in which one color has different shades and hues. Or an analogous color scheme includes adjacent colors on a wheel, such as red, orange and yellow.

Complementary colors

When combining colors, you can find harmony by choosing complementary colors. In this case, opposites attract. This particular color scheme draws from two colors on the opposite side of the color wheel. When you do this, you get a high contrast color combination that is bright and striking.

Examples of complementary color combinations are: Red and green; yellow and purple; orange and blue; green and magenta. Complementary color combinations tend to be bold, so sports teams often use this formula to define their colors. To add a third color and reduce the intensity of the color scheme, you can use a split complementary color scheme. It uses one color as a base and two colors adjacent to its complement.

Additional notes on color theory

Now let’s look at how designers can use color theory to improve their designs. Recall the last time you filled out a contact form on a website. Skip a field and you’re likely to get a red error message. Conversely, if you need to re-enter your password for verification and you enter everything correctly, a green message will signal that you can continue. In this case, color not only communicates how to use the product, but also draws on psychology to elicit emotional responses (green = good, red = bad).

Red and green are not the only colors with psychological power: the color wheel can also be divided into warm and cool colors. People associate cooler colors, such as blue, with calm and peace. Warm colors, such as red, are more energetic and associated with passion.

Color has an impact on the products themselves. Research suggests that people make a subconscious evaluation of a product within 90 seconds, and according to CCICOLOR, the Color Research Institute, 62% to 90% of that evaluation is based on color alone. Another 2011 study published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science found that color is an important factor in consumer perceptions of brands.

According to a 2003 survey conducted by Joe Hallock for his master’s thesis at the University of Washington, 34% of survey participants associated the color blue with trust; 28% associated green with safety; 75% associated red with speed; 42% associated black with high quality; and 26% associated orange with cheap or inexpensive. When it comes to favorite colors, research from the 1990s showed that men prefer bolder colors, while women prefer softer colors.

Designers’ challenges with color theory

However, designers can face challenges when deciding on a consistent color scheme. Everyone has their own color preferences, whether it’s a specific color or a group of colors, such as warmer or cooler colors. Involving branding experts will help take preference out of the equation and help meet brand requirements. There is also a chance that your color palette will be incorporated into your team’s design system.

Readability is also important and should be considered first. The color scheme may be beautiful and innovative, but if it causes users to strain their eyes while deciphering the text, the design will not be a success. What’s more, that 4 to 5 percent of the population are daltonists. With this in mind, you can use alternatives to color to help the user. For example, required fields can be signaled with an asterisk rather than a color.

As in fashion, color schemes also experience different fads. Designers should consider the longevity of more fashionable colors. The question should be asked whether the color will still be a good choice a year from now. Moreover, it is worth noting how color can be interpreted in different cultures. Depending on where clients are located, red can symbolize passion, love, happiness, prosperity, aggression or death. Ultimately, however, if you want to please everyone, you will ultimately please no one. A good solution may be to find a target audience and test color schemes with them.

Sources:
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-trichromatic-theory-of-color-vision-2795831
https://webvision.med.utah.edu/book/part-viii-psychophysics-of-vision/color-perception/
https://www.joehallock.com/