Color is one of the most powerful elements of graphic design, but also one of the most challenging to master. How can you level up your color knowledge and create more effective and engaging designs? In this article, you will learn some practical tips and resources to help you improve your color skills and confidence.
Color theory is the science and art of how colors interact and affect human perception and emotions. It covers concepts such as hue, saturation, value, contrast, harmony, and temperature. By understanding color theory, you can make more informed and intentional choices for your design projects. You can use color wheels, palettes, and schemes to help you create harmonious and balanced color combinations that suit your message and audience.
Point is that there are several color theories. I always try to include spiritual considerations in my choices; for instance red is coming to us, blue goes away from us. This is the meeting between light and darkness that gives life to colors :) Please, allow me more details: Blue is when we see darkness through light, this is when we look at the sky during a clear day. Red is when we see light through darkness, it's dawn and dusk :) Colors' life should be considered with continuity in a circle. This is Goethe's conception; the man who tried his best to re conciliate art and science... Newton's theory, which considers them in linearity is correct, however just physically.
Color psychology is the study of how colors influence human behavior and feelings. It can help you communicate more effectively and persuasively with your design, as well as evoke different moods and emotions. For example, red can convey excitement, passion, or danger, while blue can suggest calmness, trust, or professionalism. However, color psychology is not universal and can vary depending on culture, context, and personal preferences. Therefore, you should always test and research your target audience and their color associations before making final decisions.
Colors hold a HUGE role in the success of your piece. The right color scheme can help convey emotions, create visual interest and make a lasting impression.
Definetelly would suggest to do some deep dive research to everyone who is looking forward to use designs, animations and even videos in their communication or advertisement! I would start with just a basic understanding on what emotions and feeling each color convey and then would spend as much as necessary time to understand what kind of emotions and feelings I want to encourage in my auditory. When that understanding is achieved, then it is time build visual identity and some branding guidelines around those colors. Just as I told, color science does not stop with designs in movies colorists use various tones to encourage different emotions in the audience.
Color tools are online or software applications that can help you generate, explore, and apply colors for your design projects. They can save you time and effort, as well as inspire you with new and unexpected color ideas. Some examples of color tools are Adobe Color, Coolors, Paletton, and Color Hunt. You can use these tools to create custom or random color palettes, find complementary or analogous colors, adjust hue, saturation, and brightness, and export or import color codes.
Color is very powerful. Warm colors such as reds, oranges, and yellows are found on the right side of the color wheel and create energy in your designs. Cool colors such as blues and greens are found on the left side of the wheel and create a calming effect.
Color trends are the popular and emerging colors that reflect the current mood, style, and culture of the design world. They can help you stay updated and relevant with your design, as well as attract and impress your clients and customers. You can follow color trends by browsing design blogs, magazines, websites, and social media platforms, such as Behance, Dribbble, Pinterest, and Instagram. You can also check out annual color reports and forecasts from authoritative sources, such as Pantone, Shutterstock, and WGSN.
Color exercises are fun and educational activities that can help you improve your color skills and knowledge. They can challenge you to apply color theory and psychology principles, experiment with different color combinations and effects, and develop your color intuition and sensitivity. Some examples of color exercises are creating mood boards, matching colors to emotions, recreating famous artworks or logos with different colors, and mixing colors with different media.
Feedback is an essential part of learning and improving your color knowledge and skills. It can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as get new perspectives and insights from others. You can get feedback on your color choices from your peers, mentors, clients, or online communities. You can ask specific questions, such as how well your colors match your design goals, how they affect the readability and usability of your design, and how they make the viewers feel. You can also give feedback to others and learn from their color choices and solutions.
Consider tying your color decisions to something that isn’t subjective, like a highly legible color contrast ratio for text, or hues that are easier to distinguish for people who are color-blind.