Of Colours, Theories, Harmonies & Combinations
Colours plays a very important role in our daily lives. Not matter your profession or hobby more can’t be said about colours.
Some basic terms to know :
Primary colours: Red/Blue/Yellow
Secondary colours: Orange/Green/Purple
Hues: Colour at its purest form
Tints: Hue + white
Tone: Hue + grey
Shade: Hue + black
Saturation: How Vibrant a colour is
Value: How dark or light a hue is i.e shades and tints
Colour theory can be said to be more of science than art which focuses on the mixing of colours to influence human perception.
Colour harmony refers to the property that certain aesthetically pleasing colour combinations have. You can use colour harmony to affect the mood or context of a design.
Colour combination can be said to be formula used in combining different hues, tints, tone or shades of colours to project a certain feel, mood or contet to your design.
COLOUR COMBINATIONS
Like I noted earlier combinations are basically just formulas using the colours on the colour wheels.
Monochromatic: Picks a base colour or hue in the wheel and uses different shades or tints to create a group of colours that are appealing to the eyes. These are good for digital arts and logos but doesn’t pop or grabs attention.
Analogous colours: Uses 2 or 3 colours close to each other in the colour wheel. It works well when one is used as a dominant colour and the rest as assent colours. Good also for digital arts but not good for grabbing attention.
Complementary colours: Takes colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel to create a strong contrast which can be jarring. These are used in creating items like toys for kids.
Triadic colours: These are bold vibrant colours good for infographics and charts
Tetradic colour: Makes use of 2 sets of complementary colour into one palette. These colours work best when you use one as the main colour and the others as assent colours.
You can create more varieties by changing the shades or tints in each palette.
TIPS
- Pick one dominant colour and find other colours that are in harmony to create a balance e.g 60/20/20
- Use just few colours
- Use colour palettes for inspiration from nature or eisting designs
Colour harmony and combinations helps us to be creative in a whole new way.
