Color Theory Part I: Seeing Spot (Color)s
By Hallee Nguyen, Matchbox Marketing Design Director
I recently enrolled in the “Color Theory in Digital Media” course at UNM Continuing Education and was so inspired (does anyone else get inspired by colors? Maybe it is just me...) that I wanted to share some fun takeaways you can use in your graphic design, branding and marketing. There is so much to learn about - I could see myself diving into a colorful rabbit hole for years and still not know it all. The class instructor, Adele Gangai, is a talented graphic designer and made color theory basics easy to digest. All links below were provided by her course syllabus. Thanks Adele!
Not all colors are created equal: digital vs. print color
The way we see color is entirely dependent upon light. There is no color without light. Light is the key difference between colors that appear digitally (additive) versus printed (subtractive). Digital colors appear brighter due to the backlight from your screen (laptop, iPhone, iPad, TV monitor, etc). This is why it’s so imperative to thoughtfully use color so your digital designs translate to print in a seamless way. You can read more about how we see color from Arizona State University.
All colors start at the wheel
The color wheel created by Sir Isaac Newton is the basic tool to combine and create colors. In subtractive (digital) colors, the primary colors are red, yellow and blue. The three secondary colors, green, orange and purple, are created by mixing two primary colors. Keep rolling around the wheel to create the next six tertiary colors by mixing primary and secondary colors. This link from Tiger color has a great basic start to the color wheel.
Even colors have families
Even though there are countless colors in the universe, we can simplify with how we classify color. All colors have three attributes: hue, saturation, and brightness. According to Pantone®, hue is identified as the color family or color name (such as red, green, purple). Hue is directly linked to the color's wavelength. Saturation, also called "chroma," is a measure of the purity of a color or how sharp or dull the color appears. Brightness, also called "luminance" or "value," is the shade (darkness) or tint (lightness) of a color. Areas of an evenly colored object in direct light have higher brightness when compared to the same object in a shadow.
Why does this matter in marketing?
Color plays a crucial role in establishing and effectively communicating your brand. According to ColorCom, color increases brand recognition up to 80 percent. As marketers, we must bring awareness to the way we use colors to communicate and how we grab the attention of our followers.
Denise and I spent months thoughtfully curating our brand and color palette. We incorporated color psychology to bring out both of our personalities and talents in our color palette. The colors we selected reflect strength, freshness, femininity and playfulness when presented together in a palette. We’re proud of our bold, female-centered palette because of the work we accomplish and the company we’ve built as a team. Do you think our colors represent us well?
Check back in two weeks for tips on how to use color for print materials! We’ll share expert tips and tricks from Matthew Cuneo, Sales Manager, with Starline Printing.
