Colors are very powerful. They can change how we feel, what we think, and what we buy. Some studies say that people decide about a product in 90 seconds. And most of this decision comes from the color.
For people who design websites and apps (called UI designers), colors are very important. They need to use colors in a way that shows what a brand is about. To do this, they use something called color theory. This is like a set of rules to help designers choose the best colors.
What is Color Theory?
Color theory is like a guide for using colors in art and design. It helps designers choose colors that look good together and send the right message.
A lot of color theory comes from the color wheel. Isaac Newton made this wheel a long time ago. It shows us basic colors:
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Primary Colors: Red, blue, and yellow. You cannot make these colors by mixing other colors.
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Secondary Colors: Orange, purple, and green. You make these by mixing two primary colors.
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Tertiary Colors: These are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color. Examples are magenta, teal, and amber.
More About the Color Wheel
There are more colors than just the basic ones. The advanced color wheel shows us different types of colors:
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Hue: This is the pure color. For example, red is a hue.
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Shade: This is when you add black to a hue. It makes the color darker.
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Tint: This is when you add white to a hue. It makes the color lighter.
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Tone: This is when you add grey to a hue.
Color Temperature
Colors can also be warm, cool, or neutral:
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Warm Colors: These have red and yellow. They often make us feel happy and energetic.
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Cool Colors: These have blue, green, and purple. They often make us feel calm.
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Neutral Colors: These are brown, grey, black, and white.
Why Color Harmony is Important
Color harmony means using colors that look good together. It makes a design look balanced. If colors do not work well together, the design can look boring or messy.
How Colors are Made: Two Models
There are two main ways we make colors:
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Additive (RGB): This model uses red, green, and blue. It is used for screens like phones and computers. The more colors you add, the closer you get to white.
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Subtractive (CMYK): This model uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. It is used for printing on paper.
What are Color Palettes?
A color palette is a set of colors that designers use. It helps a brand have a consistent look. Colors are often shown as HEX codes, which computers use to understand colors.
Types of Color Palettes
There are different ways to make a color palette:
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Monochromatic: Uses different shades and tones of one color.
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Analogous: Uses three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.
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Complementary: Uses two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.
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Split-Complementary: Uses one color and the two colors next to its opposite.
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Triadic: Uses three colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel.
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Tetradic: Uses two sets of opposite colors.
How to Choose a Good Color Palette
Choosing the right colors is important. Here are some things to think about:
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Know your audience: Who are you making this for? What do they like?
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Think about color psychology: How do colors make people feel?
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Orange: Energetic, creative
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Red: Excitement, passion
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Yellow: Happy, warm
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Blue: Calm, trust
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Green: Nature, health
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Black: Powerful, elegant
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Choose carefully: Use one main color, some accent colors, and a color for text.
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Use contrast: Make sure colors are different enough so that things are easy to see.
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Follow the rules: Use colors in a way that people expect.
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Ask for feedback: Get other people to look at your colors and tell you what they think.
Tools to Help You Choose
If you need help choosing colors, there are some online tools you can use:
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Adobe Color: A big website with lots of color paletteshttps://color.adobe.com/es/
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Coolors: An easy website for creating and trying out colors.https://coolors.co
Colors are important for design. By learning about color theory, you can make designs that look good and send the right message. Remember to think about your audience, how colors make people feel, and try different palettes. This will help you create the best designs.