Color is such a vast and variable element that it can be difficult to cover it fully in any one post. It can also be a little overwhelming when trying to implement it into your designs. Below are some sample color palettes, taken from classic color theory based combinations.
The color wheel is one of the first places I turn for color inspiration and guidance when choosing a color scheme. Color charts and pre-made palettes are nice, but the color wheel is simple and easy to understand and use.
Complementary Combinations
Complementary colors are easy to pick out; they are hues that are directly across from each other on the color wheel.
Red and Green
Red and green is one of the more difficult combinations to work with because it tends to remind everyone of Christmas. This is also a combination that is difficult for those with certain types of color blindness. To get away from the connotations with Christmas, try a darker shade of one color and a lighter tint of the other. Or use tints of both. This can have a very fresh, new feeling.
Yellow and Purple
For a richer twist, try making the yellow more of a gold.
Blue and Orange
Blue and orange are a very bold combination.
Although I’ve only listed the primary color combinations, any color that is directly across from another on the color wheel is a complementary color. Notice how each cool color—blue, purple, green—has a corresponding, complementary warm color—yellow, red, orange.
Triad Combinations
Triad means three, and these are also easy to figure out—just pick a color from the color wheel and go to the other two colors that are exactly a third of the way around the wheel.
Red, Yellow and Blue – The Primary Triad
These are the primary colors and generally coincide with children’s items (take a look at kids’ games, cartoons and toys).
Green, Purple and Orange – The Secondary Triad
These are secondary colors, created from the primary colors. The other colors along the wheel (tertiary colors) are blendings of the primary and secondary colors. The tertiary colors can also be combined into triad palettes.
Split Complementary
These are different than triads, although they, too, have three colors. For a split complementary, you take the two colors on either side of the color wheel from the direct complementary.
Green, Red-Orange and Red-Purple
The direct complementary of green is red, but on either side of red we have red-orange and red-purple. A split complementary is half way between a full complementary and a triad.
Orange, Blue-Purple and Blue-Green
You don’t always have to have a primary color in your palette!
Double Complementary
Be careful with choosing a double complementary color palette because too many colors can overwhelm the eye. Used strategically, though, this can be very effective.
Red, Green, Yellow and Purple
Isn’t it interesting to observe that you can’t have a double complementary with all of the primary colors? The complementary of a primary is a secondary color.
Yellow-Orange, Blue-Purple, Blue-Green and Red-Orange
Notice how this is similar in its base colors to the double complementary above, but has a different mood.
More color palette explorations on Creative Curio
- Nature’s Color Palette
- Picking the Perfect Color Palette
- Need Color Inspiration?
- Finding Color Inspiration Around the Web
Things to Remember or Expert Advice
For more complex color combinations that are still harmonious, create shades (adding black), tints (adding white) and tones (adding grey) to the classic combination hues listed above.
Most colors can have multiple meanings. What blue says to the viewer, for example, whether sad or peaceful, is influenced by the other elements of design and the message of the piece.
The neutral colors like grey, brown and even white can enhance the unity of the rest of the colors if you give them a slight hue. Instead of pure grey, for example, add a touch of blue for a cool appearance, or as a less stark option for white, mix in some yellow or orange.
The warm colors—yellow, orange and red—are good attention grabbing colors and can be effectively used to highlight important information. This would be a good way to use a double complimentary palette; make these brighter colors less prominent. It’s probably not a good idea to make the actual text yellow, though, but rather have some other sort of highlight—an arrow or background box—signal the need for attention.
Other Color Resources
- Follow the Rainbow: 101 Color Resources for Web Designers
- Designer’s Guide to Color Combinations is a book that provides classic color combinations and real world examples
- Color Expert has some great Squidoo lenses on color meaning, symbolism and psychology
This has been the seventh and final installment in Real World Examples of the elements of design. Previously covered have been line, shape, space, scale, texture, value and color (part 1).
I love the way that you used the color wheel throughout the post to showoff the color combinations. Smart idea!
This reminds me of my 6th grade art teacher making us study the color wheel for at least a month in order to learn all of the terms and combinations. At the time I was mad because I had to do WORK in art class, but I’m glad that she pressed the issue.
To me color combinations are something that you have to both understand on an elemental level and then combine that information with an instinct that you gain from experience and past knowledge. Starting off with the basics is, of course, a smart move.
Jacob,
What can I say? I’m a visual person! I totally agree, there’s the theory and then there’s intuition. You need the foundation, but you also need the experience. Great observation!
I love http://www.colourlovers.com for finding great colour combos, you can then change the hues in photoshop to come up with other ones that work in the ways you mentioned.
I see your getting close to your 1000 readers mark.
Jacob Cass,
The thing I don’t like about sites like Colour Lovers (as cool as they are) is that the palettes often look good as palettes, but don’t work in a real design. And it can waste a lot of time skimming through the thousands of combinations. I do really like their blog, though. They often have some interesting facts on color!
Yup, it’s been hovering between 850 and 950 for the past couple of weeks. Care to let me in on your secret to 2500+ in 6 months?
It depends how you are using the colours on CL, if you use the search tool to your full advantage it comes in very handy. I wrote another post on the best colour tools on JCD as well.
Secrets of 2500+? I did have a few very popular posts that brought many bursts of subscribers, other than that I guess it is just because I give an original perspective on learning design – that from the perspective of a Uni student studying design? And lots of hard work, reading and being part of the community. I try to do to others as I would like done to me and it works full circle I believe. Kind of hard to sum up 7 months work into a few paragraphs.
Jacob,
It’s a great time of life.
I so wish I had started blogging back in college (around 2003). I’m sure there are many things I’ve forgotten–stuff I struggled with, questions I had and tidbits professors taught–that would be great to share with people who are learning and I wish I could go back and refresh my memory! Not to mention the time I would have to build up a community and be more active… ha, I thought once I was done with homework and so many projects that I would have all the time in the world. Life gets so much more busy when school and a part time job isn’t your only responsibility anymore! Enjoy it while you can
Oh I am
Nice post. Hope you try out my online color utility colorspire to see if it helps or not. Thanks a lot!
LaurenMarie – I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t been to your site since the redesign (normally just read via RSS) – It looks great.
ColourLovers and ColorSchemer are two of my favorite color inspiration sites.
Kevin,
Tried out ColorSpire and if I could have a wish list for features, I would like it give me color suggestions. Like if I pick out a blue for my main color, I’d like it to suggest using orange as a complimentary or red and yellow for a triad, etc. I’m sure that some amazing programming would have to go into a resource like that though!
Char,
No worries! I have yet to really learn how to use ColourLovers, though I do read the blog from time to time. Some very interesting stuff on color from them.
Awesome reminder on color theory and usage! Another site that you could try out is kuler.adobe.com – it’s an awesome resource for color picking and throwing up color ideas.
Alfred,
Pleased you found it useful!
LaurenMarie,
Thanks for your suggestion and I’ll think about it in the future version of colorspire.
Kevin,
You’re welcome and good luck!
Nice blog. Got here through StumbleUpon.
Although I’m sure complimentary colors are very nice and polite, shouldn’t it be spelled complementary?
Nada,
Eek, you’re so right. Thanks for letting me know (and the laugh!)
Cool.
Hummm I forget what I would say, cause the labels about the options to post the comment are over the text boxes
.
BRIO,
Too bad you forgot what you were going to say. If you think of it, do come back!
Colour my world
Nice colour wheels!
I use http://www.colourlovers.com/ and http://kuler.adobe.com/ to get my colour themes. Although at the end of the day its what works best on the eye and sometimes these pre-done schemes just don’t work visually.
Greg,
Yup, it takes a good designer to know what will work and what won’t and while there are a lot of pretty color schemes on those sites, some of them just aren’t practical. Good insight.
Your mention of purple and yellow, especially your suggestion of making the yellow more gold, brings to mind a great struggle. In the state in which I reside,there is a popular college football team whose colors are purple and gold, usually represented as purple and yellow. Anything purple and yellow is immediately identified with that team. One of my professors moved here from out of state and was not familiar with this phenomenon, which provided him with plenty of chiding, as most of his paintings were based on complementary color schemes.
paul,
Yeah, here purple and yellow/gold are the Lakers basketball team. It can be tough to do something that relies too heavily on popular complementaries, like red and green, so changing their value can create a different reaction.
HELP! My 6th grader has an art project that she must do! The project: Draw a picture, this picture can be of anything, then they are to take the color wheel and divide the picture into sections like the color wheel. After that they are to shade the color wheel appropriately. They are using the primary colors…..any suggestions or places i can find samples?
Kresskala,
What do you need samples of? It sounds like she can draw a shape–square, blob, house–and fill it in like the color wheel (it’s not a copyrighted image). Have you tried a Google image search?
i think the idea of bringing the connected colour is great u have the great job lot the best
It is nice, however if there were colour codes, it would have been even more nice
When I see this kind of color wheels it allways reminds me when I was playing and painting in kindergarten. But now when I am older I am daily using this color wheels in dreamweaver, photoshop and other similar programs. And my favourite color is red.
I see this kind of color wheels it allways reminds me when I was playing and painting in kindergarten
This is a nice site with some good info on it. Ever thought about writing an article or 2 and submitting it to some directories?
Very informative on the color spectrum!
Ha the color wheel is a must for anyone who enjoys coordination colors. I am a fan of using primary colors from opposite spectrum, it is vibrant and when combine with one neutral color can look fabulous.
This post reminds me of my grade school years. I am very fond of colors.
Awesome reminder on color theory and usage! Another site that you could try out is kuler.adobe.com – it’s an awesome resource for color picking and throwing up color ideas.
Great web site. I am certain that this will become a favorite in our household. I am a passionate colorist and enjoy nothing more than combining derivatives of primary colors together. The cycle of color is such a beauty in itself. The visual of the color wheel inspires and increases the creativity when decorating, drawing, and or painting.
painting our house regarded as work of art..it needs ideas and tips..thanks for these ideas
I use color wheels and color theory for designing websites. It takes the guess work of which colours go which which. I’ve also used them with great success when decorating my home.
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