Bonjour! Let us go back to time where we all love the fun day activities, the way we become artistic in our school times to paint whatever we want to. As once Joseph Adson also said: “Colours speak all languages.” May be that is the reason of how our parents, friends, and teachers have understood what we are saying through are drawings.
Still in our adulthood, every time we all fall for mesmerising presentations of our surroundings and colours. Recall the scene of sun rise or sun set in your mind, how beautifully it can engage you for a while. The way nature merges the yellow, orange, and red colour that give a mild contrast to blue sky and white clouds.
It is the point where you need to understand the colour theory for becoming the part of the nature. In actuality, the colour theory is the probe of how the colours of rainbow work together to cast a long-lasting impact on your emotions and insights. In addition, you can count it as the toolbox for the designers, artists, and architects.
Speaks through your designs to your end users. It is your chance to pick the right colours for your projects, brands, business, products, promotions, designs, infographics and much more. Shred your shoulders and convey the right as rain message through your creative work.
Artistic Spectrums: Theory Behind Colour Wheel
Now you have some idea about the colour theory that what it is how it manifests its importance in today’s world. The moment has arrived to tell you about the heart of the colour theory. It is none of other, we are talking about the colour wheel. If you put your attention to history, you will know that it was Sir Isaac Newton who has invented the colour wheel in 1666. He understood the colours as the human interpretations, not as the inborn qualities.
Apart from this, the colour wheel contains the wider range of 12 basic colours. Amusingly, they are arranged in a circular pattern to exemplify the relationship between hues, tints, shades, values, and saturation. You can influence your users on different social media platforms through your graphics by meticulously categorising the colours in following groups. Have a look:
- Primary (Red, Blue, Yellow)
- Secondary (Mixture of primary colours)
- Tertiary (Mixture of primary & secondary colours)
Probing Categories of Colour Wheel
We have explained the colour wheel to you, but you might stick at the point where you only know the three main categories. Likewise, now you know the terms and divisions but want to take more interest in knowing it briefly. Right? Persists your hand from clicking another tab as we are going to tell you about these categories.
Primary Colours
These are the colours which create marvellous designing impacts by merging two or more colours. With the format of prime numbers, you have already read that there are three primary numbers. It will not wrong if you count it as the parent colour in bed rocking your immersive designs in colour scheme. Opting for primary colours does not mean you are restricted to only three colours; you can use their combinations too.
Secondary Colours
These colours are formed by combining the two or more primary colours. Likewise, orange, purple, green are the secondary colours that are supported by merging three primary colours. For example, the mixture of red and light green forms yellow or red and light blue forms magenta. In between this, do not forget that you can achieve the secondary colour by mixing the purest form of primary colour. Let us make it clear to you that this purest form is known as the hue that brought the distinct variants in your colour wheel.
Tertiary Colours
Now it is something more creative and interesting for the creators. You will find the tertiary colours when you mixed the primary and secondary colours by colour wheel. It is the point where merging complexities start. Keep it in your mind that you cannot mix all types of primaries with secondary colours as it may not give the required results every time. For example, red can completely mix in light green but not in dark green while blue and purple to give you a violet colouration.
Comprehension of Colour Terminology
What comes into your mind when you heard the term colour terminology. Without any hesitation, you can say that now you know basics of colour theory. Thence, mould your cautions towards the colour terminology. In the fine fettle, it refers as the customised language which can depicts the manifolds of different colours. In addition, it covers their characteristics, assets, and relations. Apart from this, colour terminology is used to illustrate the colour mixing, contrasts, and harmonies. Here we have break down the information about some significant elements of colour terminology. Have a look:
Hues
Hues refer to the purest and most basic form of a colour, often found on the colour wheel. They are the 12 colours positioned around the wheel, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, etc. All other colours are derived from these hues by mixing them together or adding white, black, or grey.
Values
Values in colour terminology describe the lightness or darkness of a colour. They represent the scale from pure colour (at its full intensity) to shades (adding black, making it darker) and tints (adding white, making it lighter). A high-value colour is lighter, while a low-value colour is darker.
Tint
Tint refers to a colour that has been lightened by adding white to it. It is a variation of the original hue but with increased lightness. Tinting a colour reduces its saturation and makes it lighter without changing the hue itself.
Chroma
Chroma denotes the intensity or saturation of a colour, describing its purity, richness, or strength. Higher chroma means a more vivid or intense colour, while lower chroma indicates a more muted or dull colour. Colours with high chroma are vibrant and vivid, while those with low chroma appear more muted or greyish.
Languages of Colours: The Colour Theory
Did you know that “The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” But the problem will arise if you do not paint them with the righteous colours. Probably, you can save yourself from these hurdles by understanding the language of colours. Apparently, every colour tells a story, and it is not wrong to say that colours provoke the emotions. It can affect the mood of the people who belongs to different cultures.
Being a designer, you should engage yourself fully in learning the meaning of colours to provide the impeccable artwork. On the contrary, it is mendacious to understand the human psychology. People perceive colours following their cultural mindsets. For example, green colour nourishes your thoughts towards the nature and peace. While yellow colours depict the happiness and positivity.
Let us break the chain of choosing the colours randomly as it will only keep enhancing the troubles in your designs. We have mentioned primary and secondary colours with their meanings for your ease. Let start:
Black
The symphony of black colour elicits the feelings of strength, control, and elegance. Undoubtedly, the patrons adore this colour for its solemnity, transparency, and freedom. Yet, the overdo usage of black colour will imparts negative and sad feelings to others.
Blue
Have you ever noticed that most of the brands use blue colour in their designing? There is a certain purpose behind it. They do so because it is in league with the feelings like trust, stability, virgin, safety, and loyalty. People do like this colour for the sensation of calming and peaceful effects, professionalism, and constancy. Besides this, the blue colour assists in building the relationship between brand and customer.
White
In cultural phenomenon, the white colour is considered as the sign of purity, simplicity, and innocence. On the other hand, there are some cultures, who symbolises the white colour for spirituality and peacefulness. With the sense of cleanliness and hygiene, it creates a sense of space and straightforwardness. In addition, the neutral backdrop pf it complements the enhancement of other colours.
Green
“Green is the prime colour of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” It creates the harmony and balancing of the nature and growth’s reflection. It brought the sense of calmness, firmness, and symmetry.
Opt for the green colour, if you are looking for evoking the sensations for healthy life, wellness, and recovery. While in cultural analysis, there are few who consider it as the sign of prosperity and wealth. In addition, it arouses the emotions like hope, encouragement, and renewals.
Red
Have you heard this saying of Paul: “We live in a rainbow of chaos.” So, if you want to grab the attention of your end-users in first glimpse, then choose the red colour from rainbow. From the symphony, the red colour stands for showcasing the emotions like love, aggression, passion, energy, strength, and courage. On the contrary, you can also use red colour for signifying the warning or danger signs.
Yellow
Yellow! Another colour that speaks louder in the harmony of your designs. What an amazing phrase it is by Janes Johns: “My favourite colour to glaze with is yellow. It always glows just like stained glass lit up by the sun.” Without any hitch, it is associated with the cherishing moments of happiness into your life.
In addition, if you want to talk to your users by your designs then choose this colour for provoking emotions like joy, passion, positivity, and confidence. Last but not least, yellow colour can stand out in the crowd for highlighting something significant.
Orange
Did you want to encourage your audience with the churlishness of freedom then orange is your colour. On the other hand, it signifies the truthfulness and making you, ‘You.’ Embrace your inner innocence with this colour. From user perspective, orange colour stands for the fun, energy and warmthless.
Golden
Coco Chanel stated: “Luxury lies not in the richness of things, but in the absence of vulgarity.” Similarly, it is your golden colour that signifies the luxury, charm, and richness in your design. In addition, if you want to share your message by following classy methodologies, then it is your time to add beauty of golden colour from colour wheel.
All alone, it stands for the treasure, prosperity and friendliness for your brand and products. In between this, do not forget that it can also get the attention of negativity if you make over usage of it. The negative emotions include ego, pride, selfishness.
Purple
It serves as a multifaceted tool, embodying various meanings and emotions depending on its tone and context within a design. Historically, it is associated with royalty and luxury due to its rarity. In addition, it signifies opulence, sophistication, and exclusivity, making it a prime choice for high-end brands seeking an air of elegance.
Besides this, purple colour notions of creativity, fostering connections to artistic expression, innovation, and imaginative thinking. I associations and target audiences, can wield its diverse symbolism to effectively convey desired emotions and messages, contributing a unique aura to any visual composition.