Colour

Guide
by
Dhruvi Bajaj
COLOUR
GUIDE
By
Dhruvi Bajaj
 Contents
1. What is Color Theory? 1
2. Color Models 1
3. Color Wheel 2
4. Color Temperature 2
5. Colour Terminology 2
6. Color Harmony 4
i. Monochromatic Color Scheme 4
ii. Analogous Color Scheme 9
iii. Complementary Color Scheme 12
iv. Split-Complementary Color Scheme 13
v. Triadic Color Scheme 16
vi. Tetradic (Double Complimentary) 17
Color Scheme
vii. Square Color Scheme 18
7. Heritage Color Scheme 19
8. Vintage Color Palette 20
9. Pastel Color Palette 21
10. Retro Color Palette 22
11. Natural Color Palette 23
12. Color Names 26
13. Color Emotion Guide 27
What is Color Theory?
Color theory is a term used to describe the collection of rules and guidelines regarding the
use of color in art and design. It 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.
Color is a powerful tool in design. It can be used to attract attention, organize and
emphasize elements, evoke emotion and help a design look aesthetically pleasing. In
order to choose the right colors and color combinations, it is important to have a basic
understanding of color theory.

Color Models
Before you start mixing colors you need to understand that color has two different
natures: the tangible colors which are the surface of objects and the others which are
produced by light such as the beams of TV. These types create two color models by
which color wheel is formed: additive and subtractive.
The Additive color model considers red, blue, and green as primary colors so it’s
also known as RGB(red, green, blue) color system. This model is the basis of all colors
used on the screen. The combination of primary colors in equal proportions of this system
produces secondary colors which are cyan, magenta and yellow, the more light you add,
the brighter and lighter the color becomes.
The Subtractive color model obtains colors by the subtraction of light. It consists of
two color systems. The first is RYB (red, yellow, blue) also known as artistic system often
used in art education, especially in painting. RYB was the basis for the modern scientific
color theory which determined that cyan, magenta, and yellow are the most effective set
of three colors to combine. This is how the color model CMY has been formed. It was
mostly used in printing and when the photomechanical printing included black ink, the key
component, the system was named CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). Without
this additional pigment, the shade closest to black would be muddy brown.

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Color Wheel
A color wheel is a visual representation of
colors arranged according to their chromatic
relationship.
Modern color theory is heavily based on
Isaac Newton’s color wheel, which displays
three categories of colors:
Primary Colors
The core colors in every wheel are RED,
BLUE, and YELLOW. These are the
primary colors that are used to make all
other colors.
Secondary Colors
These colors are made from an equal
mixture of two primaries.
Orange
Green
Violet
Tertiary Colors
These colors are obtained by a combination
of a primary and a secondary color.

Color Temperature
Another important idea that the color wheel
vividly displays is the concept of color
temperature. The wheel is divided in two
halves of temperature, with red, orange and
yellow colors representing the " warm"
colors, and green, blue and purple being
the " cool " tones. The temperatures are
another concept used to determine how
colors work with or against each other; they
also are associated with the visceral effects
of the colors and the feelings people
associate with.
Warm colors tend to “advance” in a space
that means they make the room feel
smaller while cool colors tend to “recede” in
a space or make the room feel larger.

Black, gray and white are true neutrals.

Brown, tan and their derivatives are called
near-neutrals Cool Colors Warm colors
Colour Terminology
Terminology has evolved to help understand and discuss human responses to colour
and its uses. Colors can be measured and classified in terms of various properties.

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Hue
This is the actual named colour, such as green, red orange. Hues are pure colours with
no black or white added. Adding more of the same colour may increase the intensity,
but will not change the hue. Hue, along with saturation and brightness is one of the
three colour components used to define all colours in the HSB colour model.
Chromaticity
Think about a color's "purity" when describing its "chromaticity" or "CHROMA". This
property of color tells us how pure a hue is. That means there is no white, black, or grey
present in a color that has high Chroma. These colors will appear very vivid and pure.
This concept is related to and often confused with saturation.
Saturation
Related to chromaticity, saturation tells us how a color looks under certain lighting
conditions. For instance, a room painted a solid color will appear different at night than
in daylight. Over the course of the day, although the color is the same, the saturation
changes. This property of color can also be called intensity. Don't think
about Saturation in terms of light and dark but rather in terms of pale or weak and pure
or strong.
Value
When we describe a color as "light" or "dark", we are discussing its value. This is
basically a representation of variation in the perception of a color’s overall brightness.
The characteristic is defined by the level of whiteness. The more white has been added
to a hue, the higher value it receives. If the hue of a color is “blue”, then the value
determines if the color description could be “light blue” (high value) or “dark blue” (low
value).
Tints
It is a hue or mixture of pure colors with only White added. Tint lightens the color, but it
doesn't make it brighter. Even though the color may appear brighter, in actual fact it is
not. In other words, it remains exactly the same color, only a paler version. Tint
can range from slightly lighter than your original color, all the way to White with barely
any of the color mixed in.
Tones
It is a hue or mixture of pure colors with only Grey added. A neutral mixture
of Grey, no matter how light or dark, will tone down the intensity of any color. Toned
colors are generally considered more pleasing to the eye. They are complex, subtle
and sophisticated. That's because bright pure colors are most often associated with
children
Shades
It is a hue or mixture of pure colors
with only Black added. A Shade
darkens the color. It remains the
same Hue only a darker version. A
Shade can range from
slightly darker than your original
color, all the way to nearly Black with
barely any of the color mixed in.

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Color Harmony
The word “harmony” usually associates with something orderly and pleasing. The color
harmony is about the arrangement of the colors in design in the most attractive and
effective way for users’ perception. When colors are organized, viewers feel pleased and
calm, while disharmony in design gives the feeling of chaos and disgust. The color
balance is vital in design since users make their impression by the first look, and colors
have the big influence.
Colors can be combined to form one of five main color schemes that allow designers to
achieve harmony in their designs.

Monochromatic Color Scheme

A monochromatic color scheme uses tints and
shades of the same color. Using a particular color
on your walls, a darker shade of that same color on
your trim, and a lighter tint of that same color on the
ceiling is a good example of a monochromatic color
scheme. As boring as this color scheme may sound,
we tend to use it quite a bit because it generally
allows other items in the space to become the
focus.
• It looks elegant and produces a soothing effect. It
is easy to manage and looks balanced.
• This scheme lacks colour contrast and thus is not
much vibrant.

Red

Red color is most commonly

associated with heat, energy, activity,
passion, romance, love, anger, danger
and urgency.
Effects on body:- draws attention,
increases heart rate and makes one
excited, triggers opposing emotions like
love or comfort as well as aggression.

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 Yellow
Yellow the color of sunshine, is associated
with joy, cheerfulness, friendliness, loyalty
Warmth, optimism and intellect.
Effects on body:- helps in happy mood,
evokes pleasant and cheerful feelings, too
much exposure causes fatigue and stress,
speeds up metabolism and increases
appetite.

Blue

Blue is associated with

peace, stability, calmness,
confidence, tranquillity,
sincerity, integrity, intuition
and imagination.
Effects on body:- soothing
effect on human mind,
slows metabolism and
supresses appetite, too
much exposure causes
depression, materials in blue appear to be light in weight

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 Orange

Orange represents enthusiasm,

fascination, happiness, creativity,
determination, attraction, success,
change, spirituality, knowledge,
encouragement and stimulation.
Effects on body:- stimulates
mental abilities, increases
appetite, increases oxygen supply
to the brain.

Green

Green represent life, growth, healing,

nature, environment, money, safety,
freshness and relaxation.
Effects on body:- soothing effect on
eyes, relaxes the body and releases
stress, improves vision, healing and
hygienic effect.

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 Violet

Violet color depicts royalty, luxury,

dignity, wisdom, spirituality, passion,
vision and magic.
Effects on body:-helps develop
spirituality and deep thoughts,
evokes sad feelings, causes
frustration.

Pink
Pink represents romance, compassion,
beauty, love, friendship, feminism and
sensitivity.
Effects on body:- denotes feminine
qualities and reduces anger and anxiety.

Reddish-orange
Yellowish-orange
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Yellowish-green

Bluish-green

Reddish-purple

Bluish-purple

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 Neutrals
Black-It is a color of sophistication,
power, mystery, formality, evil, depth.
Effects on body:- Feeling of perspective
and depth, makes people wearing it look
thin.
White- it represents peace, hope, light,
purity, freshness, cleanliness,
goodness, simplicity and coolness.
Effects on body:- Has calming effect
and represents a successful beginning.
Grey-the color denotes stability,
security, maturity, authority and strength
of character.
Effects on body:- creates expectation
and provides a sense of security.

Near- neutrals
Brown:- Brown is the color of earth, wood,
stone, wholesomeness, reliability,
elegance, security, healing, home,
grounding, foundations, stability, warmth,
and honesty.
Effects on body:-Creates a feelings of
wholesomeness, stability, and peace,
provides feelings of organization, history,
and connection, as well as cosy feelings of
relaxation and warmth.

Analogous Color Scheme

Analogous, or related color harmonies, are
defined by the implementation of one main “root”
color and two (or more) colors that are in close
proximity on the color wheel. This sort of color
scheme tends to manifest itself in a combination
like room color, couch or chair fabrics, window
treatments, etc.
• Analogous scheme is similar to
monochromatic but offers more nuances, it is
as easy to use as the latter but more richer.
• This scheme lacks color contrast, not as
vibrant as complementary scheme. 9

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Complementary Color Scheme
A design with complementary colors
employs two pigments that are directly
opposite each other on the color wheel. By using
two colors with the greatest visual contrast, each
hue is made more vivid as a result. This simple
form of color harmony is the most commonly
understood in color theory and widely used in
visual composition.
• Complementary color scheme provides
stronger contrast than previous color schemes
and draws maximum attention.
• This scheme is harder to balance than the
previous themes, especially when de-
saturated warm colors are used.
While using this scheme, it is important to choose one dominant color and use its
complementary color as an accent. This scheme combines a warm and a cool color.

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Split-Complementary Color Scheme
A split-complementary color schemes a
variation of the complementary color
scheme. This scheme works similar to it but
employs more colors. It uses a color and two
colors adjacent to its complementary.
• It offers more nuance than complementary
scheme while maintaining strong visual
contrast (but less sharp than in
complementary scheme).
• IT is harder to balance.

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Triadic Color Scheme
Color triads use three colors that are equidistant to
one another on the color wheel. These designs
are more complex than complementary colors but
are based on the same principle.
• This scheme creates a striking visual contrast
while retaining harmony.
• It is not as contrasting as the complementary
color scheme.
Examples of color triads include primary colors
and secondary colors.
To save the balance in with this scheme, it is
recommended to use one color as a dominant, the
other as accents.

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Tetradic (Double Complimentary)
Color Scheme
This scheme employs four colors from the wheel
which are complementary pairs. If you connect the
points on the chosen colors they form the
rectangle.
• It is the richest color scheme as it offers more
colour variety than any other schemes.
• The scheme is hard to harmonize (avoid using
all colors in equal amount) but if done right, the
results may be stunning.

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Square Color Scheme
The square color scheme is similar to the
rectangle, but with all four colors spaced
evenly around the color circle.
Square color schemes works best if you let
one color be dominant.
You should also pay attention to the
balance between warm and cool colors in
your design.

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Heritage
Color
Palette

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Vintage Color Palette

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Pastel Color Palette
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Retro Color Palette

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 Natural
Color
Palette

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C
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