The Color Theory
1. Introduction. The color theory is the science of understanding how humans perceive color, the visual effects of how colors mix and contrast with each other, the feelings and messages that colors convey, and how to replicate colors. Colors are organized on a color wheel, with primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Knowing colors will help with branding, as well as making sales. Utilizing the color theory will help make an attractive and successful magazine.
2. The RGB color mixing model. Humans see colors in light waves, and adding light with the colors red, blue, and green are mixed at different intensities to make different colors. For example, the color pink (hex color #ffc0cb) is made up of 100% red, 75.3% green, and 79.6% blue. If you mix all colors, you end up with white, and if you do not use any of the colors, you end up with black. The RGB mixing model is best used for any color that will show up on a device, such as a website.
3. The CMYK Color Mixing Model. Any color seen on a physical item such as paper or packaging uses the subtractive color mixing model. In this system, you subtract light by adding more color. The primary colors used in this system were originally red, yellow, and blue, but have since emerged into cyan, magenta, yellow, and key/black since these colors make it easier for printers to print a wider variety of colors. An example of this is pink (hex color #ffc0cb) is made with 0% cyan, 25% magenta, 20% yellow, and 0% key/black.
4. The Color Wheel. The first color wheel was created by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. It consists of three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, three secondary colors, green, orange, and purple, and six tertiary colors, red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, and blue-violet, red-violet. The color wheel is divided into cooler colors, and warmer colors. The coolness or warmth of the color is based off of the color's temperature, and the color combinations on the color wheel have a balance between warm and cool colors. Warm colors (red through yellow) bring on a feeling of coziness and energy, while cooler colors (blue to green and purple) evoke a feeling of serenity and isolation.
5. Shades, Tints, & Tones. Different shades, tints, and tones of a color are created by adding black, gray, and white to a base hue (the pure color). A shade can be created by darkening a color by adding black to a base hue, which creates a deeper and richer color. Shades can be dramatic, and overpowering. An example of this is adding black to red, which creates burgundy. A tint is created by lightening a color by adding white. This makes a color less intense, and is used to balance vivid color combinations. An example of this is adding white to red, which makes pink. A tone is created by adding gray to a base hue to darken the color, are more pleasing to the eye, and are more subtle and less intense than the original color. They do not look pastel, and reveal complexities, that cannot be seen in the base color.
6. Hue, Saturation, and Luminance. A hue is any plain color on a color wheel. Examples of hues include green, orange, yellow, and blue. The saturation of a color is the intensity of the color, and the luminance of a color is the amount of light in a color.
7. Color Combinations.
- Complementary.
These colors are on the opposite of a color wheel. Combining these colors will create high contrast, and a high impact color combination. Together, these colors appear brighter, and more prominent. Although using these colors together makes them pop, overusing them makes them boring. An example of this is red and green.
- Monochromatic.
Monochromatic colors are three shades, tones, and tints of one base color. Monochromatic color combinations subtle, versatile, and conservative, and can easily be applied to design projects to make a harmonious look. An example of this is different shades of orange.
- Analogous:
Analogous colors are three colors that sit right next to each other. This color combinations can be overwhelming, but is versatile. You will need to choose one dominant color, and use the other colors as accents. These colors are pleasing to the eye, and can instruct a customer to where to take action. An example of this is the Tostitos website. The bright-orange navigation bar leads the eye to explore the site, and accent-colored links at the bottom direct customers to an area to buy the snack online.
- Triadic.
Triadic colors are evenly spaced from each other on the color wheel. This makes a high contrast color scheme, but less than the complementary color combination. This combination makes bold and vibrant color palettes. Burger King uses this color scheme to make each piece stand out, and to make the entire image pop.
- Tetradic.
Tetradic color schemes are like triadic color schemes, except they are four colors that are spaced evenly. This color scheme is bold, and works best if you have one bold color, and three accent colors. The more colors you use, the harder it is to find an even balance.
8. Psychological Effects of Colors.
- Red.
The color red is considered a strong color, pulls attention, and symbolizes danger, passion, energy, love, and anger. This is the reason that the color red is on stop signs, and why it is used on many flags as a sign of pride. When paired with other colors, the audience's perception can completely change. In the magazine below, the color red draws attention, while the complementary color combination of the man's outfit it stand out, and makes people want to see what is inside the magazine. - Yellow.
Yellow is associated with happiness, optimism, and creativity. This color is the most noticeable to the human eye. When used by itself, the color yellow symbolizes danger or caution. Combinations of red and yellow are mostly seen in fast food, as the color is thought to boost appetites. In the magazine below, the yellow outfit shows happiness, while the different shades of yellow show creativity while also evoking a sense of optimism. - Blue.
Blue represents serenity, loyalty, and honesty. It is frequently used in customer service, and healthcare, to assure customers that they are in the best care possible, and are in capable hands. The color blue also says premium, and good-value. The magazine below uses the color blue to make the audience feel that the magazine is premium, and that the magazine is worth looking at.
9. The Color Theory in Travel Magazines. Travel magazines use a variety of colors and color combinations to show off locations to travel to. An example of this is a color combination of a blue ocean, and a yellow color for sand to make an image stand out. Travel magazines use colors such as yellow, red, green, and blue, as they are bright colors, and evoke a feeling of gaiety.
The image above has blue for the ocean, and a lot of greenery on the side. This combination is visually pleasing, and the sand in the middle adds contrast to the vast ocean, and makes it look like there is a lot of things to do at this specific travel location.
This travel magazine cover has blue, yellow, and white as the blue gives a feeling of trust, and the yellow sends a feeling of optimism, and happiness. The white is there to stand out with the yellow, and gives the audience a feeling of creativity. All of these factors makes the audience want to read the magazine.
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