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Understanding The Colour

Color theory explains how humans perceive color and how colors can be organized. It involves understanding how colors mix or contrast with each other, and the visual and psychological messages they communicate. On a color wheel, colors are categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary. Color theory is important for branding and entrepreneurship because color has a strong influence on purchasing decisions.

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nayomi
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27 views

Understanding The Colour

Color theory explains how humans perceive color and how colors can be organized. It involves understanding how colors mix or contrast with each other, and the visual and psychological messages they communicate. On a color wheel, colors are categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary. Color theory is important for branding and entrepreneurship because color has a strong influence on purchasing decisions.

Uploaded by

nayomi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Color theory is both the science and art of using color.

It
explains how humans perceive color; and the visual effects of
how colors mix, match or contrast with each other.
Color theory also involves the messages colors communicate;
and the methods used to replicate color.

In color theory, colors are organized on a color wheel and


grouped into 3 categories: primary colors, secondary colors and
tertiary colors. More on that later.

So why should you care about color theory as an entrepreneur?


Why can’t you just slap some red on your packaging and be
done with it? It worked for Coke, right?

Color theory will help you build your brand. And that will help you
get more sales. Let’s see how it all works.

UNDERSTANDING THE COLOUR

Color is perception. Our eyes see something (the sky, for


example), and data sent from our eyes to our brains tells us it’s
a certain color (blue). Objects reflect light in different
combinations of wavelengths. Our brains pick up on those
wavelength combinations and translate them into the
phenomenon we call color.

When you’re strolling down the soft drink aisle scanning the
shelves filled with 82 million cans and bottles and trying to find
your six-pack of Coke, what do you look for?
The scripted logo or that familiar red can?

People decide whether or not they like a product in 90 seconds


or less. 90% of that decision is based solely on color. So, a very
important part of your branding must focus on color.
RGB: the additive color mixing model
Humans see colors in light waves. Mixing light—or the additive
color mixing model—allows you to create colors by mixing red,
green and blue light sources of various intensities. The more
light you add, the brighter the color mix becomes. If you mix all
three colors of light, you get pure, white light.

Why should you care?


Let’s say you have a very distinct brand with a bright yellow
logo. If you post the logo on Facebook, Twitter or your website
and don’t use the correct color process, your logo will appear
muddy instead of that bright yellow. That’s why, when working
with files for any screen, use RGB, not CMYK.

CMYK: the subtractive color


mixing model
Any color you see on a physical surface (paper, signage,
packaging, etc.) uses the subtractive color mixing model.
Most people are more familiar with this color model because it’s
what we learned in kindergarten when mixing finger paints. In
this case, “subtractive” simply refers to the fact that you subtract
the light from the paper by adding more color.

Traditionally, the primary colors used in subtractive process


were red, yellow and blue, as these were the colors painters
mixed to get all other hues. As color printing emerged, they were
subsequently replaced with cyan, magenta, yellow and key/black
(CMYK), as this color combo enables printers to produce a wider
variety of colors on paper.

Why should you care?


You’ve decided to print a full-color brochure. If you’re investing
all that money into your marketing (printing ain’t cheap!), you
expect your printer is going to get the colors right.
Since printing uses the subtractive color mixing method, getting
accurate color reproduction can only be achieved by using
CMYK. Using RGB will not only result in inaccurate color, but a
big bill from your printer when you’re forced to ask them to
reprint your entire run.

The color wheel


Color wheel basics
Colors that look good together are called a color harmony. Artists and
designers use these to create a particular look or feel. You can use a color
wheel to find color harmonies by using the rules of color combinations.
Color combinations determine the relative positions of different colors in
order to find colors that create a pleasing effect.

There are two types of color wheel. The RYB or red, yellow, blue color
wheel is typically used by artists, as it helps with combining paint colors.
Then there is the RGB, or red, green and blue color wheel, which is
designed for online use, as it refers to mixing light – like on a computer or
TV screen. Designer’s color wheel is an RGB color wheel, as it is designed
for online use.

Primary, secondary and tertiary colors

There are 12 main colors on the color wheel. In the RGB color wheel,
these hues are red, orange, yellow, chartreuse green, green, spring green,
cyan, azure, blue, violet, magenta and rose.

The color wheel can be divided into primary, secondary and tertiary
colors.

Primary colors in the RGB color wheel are the colors that, added
together, create pure white light. These colors are red, green and blue.

In the RYB color wheel, primary colors are colors that can’t be mixed from
other colors. There are three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue.
Secondary colors are colors that result from mixing two primary colors.
There are three secondary colors. In the RGB color wheel, these are cyan,
magenta and yellow. When you mix light, red and green make yellow,
green and blue make cyan, and blue and red make magenta.

In the RYB color wheel, the secondary colors are purple (red mixed with
blue), orange (red mixed with yellow), and green (yellow mixed with blue).

Tertiary colors are colors made by combining a secondary color with a


primary color. There are six tertiary colors. In the RGB color wheel these
are orange, chartreuse green, spring green, azure, violet and rose.

In the RYB color wheel, the tertiary colors are red-orange, yellow-orange,
yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet.

Warm and cool colors

The color wheel can also be divided into warm and cool colors. The
warmth or coolness of a color is also known as its color temperature. The
color combinations found on a color wheel often have a balance of warm
and cool colors. According to color psychology, different color
temperatures evoke different feelings. For example, warm colors are said
to bring to mind coziness and energy, while cool colors are associated
with serenity and isolation.

Warm colors are the colors from red through to yellow. These colors are
said to bring to mind warmth, like the sun.

Cool colors are the colors from blue to green and purple. These colors are
said to bring to mind coolness, like water.

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