Colors have a significant impact on our choices and preferences in daily life. Whether we pick one piece of clothing over another or choose a paint color for our house, it all comes down to color.
Many jobs are based on the science of color. Graphic designers, web designers, and UI (user interface) designers rely on something called Color Theory to create color combinations that look good and fit their needs.

So, What is Color Theory?

Color theory is the science of colors, their use, their combination, and the effect it has on human perception.

This practical discipline allows interface designers to attain harmony between colors, which in turn serves to leave a memorable impression and stimulate an emotional response.

A color wheel usually represents all hues of colors. The color wheel presents the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors (which you may already have learned in basic art classes in school) and their variants in an organized way that helps designers use certain schemes systematically.

Let us take a closer look at what exactly color variants are:

Hue

Hue is the dominant color we pick from the color wheel, such as red, blue, or green.

Tint

White is added to the hue to create tints of a color.

Shade

To create shades, black is added to the hue.

Tone

When pure gray (a mix of black and white only) is added to a hue, different tones of color are generated.

Tints and shades describe how light or dark a color is, while tones describe the color as vivid or dull.

Saturation

Saturation is the measure of how vibrant a color appears to the viewer. A color with high saturation looks brighter.

Temperature

Colors can be classified according to their temperature. There are warm colors, cool colors, and neutral colors. Red, orange, and yellow are considered warm colors, while blue, green, and purple are cool colors. Gray, white, and black are neutral colors.

Choosing the best combination of warm, cool, and neutral colors is of vital importance in delivering the right message to the viewer. The temperature of colors triggers very specific responses in the brain.
Warm colors are associated with sunlight, giving a feeling of energy, excitement, vibrance, jubilance, and merriment, and sometimes warning or anger.

On the other hand, cool colors, especially blue and its shades, induce calmness, tranquility, and assurance, but may also reflect darkness and distance. Neutral colors are used to balance and legibility the text.

Now that we've covered color variants, let's dive into the two primary color models that designers rely on.

Dive into more detail about Color Models, Palettes, and tools on our website This blog was originally published on December 4, 2024..