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The second part of the Brandcurve Color Theory Primer will discuss color harmony and context. In part one, I talked about the color wheel, which provided a basic understanding of primary, secondary and tertiary colors. In part two, I’ll discuss how those colors can be used together to create “harmonious” designs and visuals.
Color harmony theory tells us that there are certain colors on the color wheel that will look good together. There are three main ways to choose colors for your brand color palette that will look harmonious together.
Color Harmony
Analogous Colors
Analogous colors are located next to each other on the color wheel. For example, choose three colors next to each other on the color wheel, and you can feel confident that those colors will be pleasing to the eye when they appear together.
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are located opposite each other on the color wheel. For example, if you select blue on the color wheel, then the color exactly opposite of blue is orange. Together, complementary colors like blue and orange create a high contrast, which you might think would not be pleasing to the eye. However, they actually work very well together and can be very attention getting.
Color Triads
Color triads are created by placing an equilateral triangle on the color wheel. The points of the triangle will land on (or point to) three colors that can be very powerful together. You can start by using the primary colors as a reference point. Red, yellow and blue are the “absolute prime” color triad. Creating a color triad is a simple way to start when you’re trying to define a basic color palette for your logo and brand.
Color Context
It’s important to understand that the appearance of a color can vary depending on its context. For example, have you ever had an item that you simply couldn’t tell what color it was until you put it against a white background? This is the perfect real world example of how the context of color can affect its appearance. The image above shows how red can look very different when in the context of two different color backgrounds.
In summary, when choosing a color palette for your brand, take the time to test how different colors look next to each other and test different combinations until you find the best combination to meet your branding goals.
Check back within the next day or so for Part 3 of the Brandcurve Color Primer: Basic Color Terms or subscribe to the Brandcurve feed, so you won’t miss any color branding lessons.
Follow the link to read the Brandcurve Color Theory Primer Part 1: The Color Wheel.
Tags: color theory, color wheel, color branding, color marketing, logo design, web design, color palette, brand design
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[...] Part 2: Color Harmony and Context [...]
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[...] Part 2: Color Harmony and Context [...]
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Gab, I just checked out your “dream team” list. I’m thrilled to be included, and I found some new blogs on the list that I can’t wait to check out! And thanks to the link to Ann’s post, too! There are some great resources there for Brandcurve readers, too. Thanks for sharing the link here!
Err, ann’s post is here:
http://www.seosmarty.com/color-geographic-niche-targeting/
Nice explanations here Susan. I wasn’t aware of the triad thing, nor of the analogous colours bit. Appreciate the insights!
On a related note, Ann Smarty’s posted some good stuff on color branding recently that you might like:
Also on a related note, you’re my branding expert in the dream team here: seoroi.com/about-seo-roi/dream-team . Is that OK with you? If not, I’ll drop your name off. If it is, can you email me a headshot for the page?