The color wheel can be a helpful tool
in creating your brand identity.
In any introductory art class you will most certainly be learning about the color wheel; in fact, it will be one of your first lessons. I still have the color wheel I created in college and boy, could I make something so much better now! We all know what a color wheel looks like, right, but how do we use it? Why is it important to understand how it works when creating a brand? Let's answer these questions and explore how useful the color wheel can be in graphic design, particularly in brand establishment!
The Color Wheel
To the left is a color wheel, the foundation of art knowledge and practice. I personally love to use color in my art, but sometimes I struggle to come up with strong color palettes. This is when I can revert back to the basic principles of the wheel. The first thing to understand about the wheel is primary colors. These are colors that cannot be made by mixing other colors, but can be mixed with other primaries, black, or white to create every other color in the rainbow. The three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.
Color wheel with primary and secondary colors. The Art of Education University. (2022, March 18). Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://theartofeducation.edu/2017/09/27/color-wheel-primary-secondary-colors/
All other colors will be between the primaries on the color wheel. Check out the image above; find where the primary colors are. Now pick one and skip one color to the left or right. Are you on a secondary color? You should be! Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors in an even ratio (1:1). The three secondary colors are orange, green, and violet/purple. For the sake of this article, we are going to focus on primary and secondary colors only.
Now, go back to a primary color; this primary color’s compliment will be directly across the color wheel from it. The basic complimentary color partners are blue and orange, red and green, and yellow and violet. When creating a brand, complimentary colors can be a great choice and a simple way to stand out in
the market.
Creating a Color Palette
Understanding the wheel and complimentary colors is not the only step in creating a color palette for your brand. Using the primary blue and secondary orange that are shown above isn’t the best way to go about it. Yes, you can use a set of complimentary colors, but to create a memorable palette, you must also play around with shades. You might use a deep blue with a more pastel shade of orange or a bright, fire engine red with a toned down mint green. This will also assist in distinguishing your brand from someone else’s in the same field.
For example, I am currently working on a few logo options for a power washing company. The owner showed me a couple logos he took inspiration from and mentioned he liked the color palettes that they used, which was mostly black and blue. I went to the internet and typed in “power washing logos” and guess what the color palette was for every. single. one? You guessed it: black and blue. My job as a designer is to make logos that are distinguishable from other logos; icons that are unique in both look, feel, and yes, color palette.
To deal with this dilemma, I chose to go with a three color palette; blue, dark blue, and black. Adding that third color, even as a variation of one of my other chosen colors is going to elevate the design, making it more dynamic and noticeable. Now, if I wanted to take that design to another level, I might take out that dark blue and go for a burnt orange instead, sticking with a complimentary color palette. A customers’ eye will be drawn to the particular logo before any others because of a simple color pop! I just adore how color palettes can be manipulated to create something amazing and, most importantly, marketable.
Before we put this knowledge to the test, let’s talk numbers. No, we’re not doing math, just counting! For a logo project, I like to stick with 3 colors; 2 used more extensively, and one used to elevate the others. For a full brand and even a website, I’ll create a 5 to 7 color palette; the 3 original colors used in the logo, plus two variations of the originals and one to two variations of neutrals, such as tan, grey, or white. Did you get all that!? See a full color palette example below. Which complimentary color set was used?
Summary
To summarize, the color wheel is made up of primary and secondary colors (some are made up of more). One primary and one secondary color make a complimentary pair and designers can use these pairs to create a color palette to be used for branding (and, well really, anything). To create a complimentary color palette start with two complimentary colors and expand on them, working with various shades and neutrals. It sounds simple, but trust me, it takes practice. I’ve been a graphic designer for four years now and I still struggle sometimes. You might come up with a color palette and decide two or three times that you don’t love it, so you tweak it or start over. If you have to start over, go back to the basics of the color wheel.
There are so many other ways to use the color wheel to make palettes. If you’d like to learn more about color theory, check out this article from the Interaction Design Foundation: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/color-theory.
Complimentary colors can help you create a bold design that is cohesive and eye
catching. Designers in all fields of creativity can use complimentary colors
and other combinations to make a base point for their creations. Try it for
yourself and color on!