The 7 color schemes - which color palette is right for your brand
Learn how to choose the best color combinations for your brand
April 10, 2022
8 minute reading
The colors you choose to represent your organization are intrinsically linked to your business’s visual identity. They have the power to determine if a brand rises to the top or blends into a sea of competitors.
Colors have different meanings that convey an array of emotions and concepts and have the ability to increase brand recognition, while also influencing thethoughts, feelings, and behaviorsof your audience. With a wide range of colors to choose from, determining which colors pair perfectly with one another to successfully represent your brand can be challenging.
在这篇文章中we will walk you through the different types of color combinations and how to choose the right color palette for your brand.
Color Scheme Overview: How to Choose The Right Color Palette
1. Get to know the 7 types of color schemes
Ever wondered what separates an alluring color combination from a lackluster one? A brand’s color scheme doesn’t just come together without a thought. There’s actually a formula behind each and every color combination you’ll see in a brand’s logo, and it’s the key to creating a color palette that captures attention for all the right reasons.
The theory of color schemes, known as color harmony, provides us with specific ways to successfully relate colors to each other. It can assist us in determining how well any particular combo will perform in various scenarios. It also informs us when deciding which colors to emphasize within a collection.
With color harmony, there are seven major strategies for relating colors to one another. Each approach connects colors on the color wheel via a spatial connection.
Let’s examine each in more detail.
Complementary Colors
On a color wheel, complementary colors are those that are opposite each other. We can visualize it as drawing a straight line from one color on the wheel to another. Green and red, for example, are complementary colors because they are directly across from each other on the color wheel.
The complementary color scheme creates the most contrast in terms of color.
While this is great for capturing attention in the short term, it can be jarring for excessive or long-term use.
As a result, you should be mindful when using complementary colors in your brand's logo and color scheme. According todesign principles, it's better to utilize a primary color for the majority of your design and a second complementary color for accents.
Well-known brands that use a complementary color palette include Mountain Dew, Best Buy, and Ahrefs.
Split Complementary Colors
A split complementary scheme consists of one prominent color and the two colors adjacent to the complementary color. This results in a more diversified color palette than a complementary color scheme while maintaining the benefits of contrasting colors.
The split complementary color scheme can be hard to balance since the colors used all create contrast — similar to the complementary scheme.
Also, you should know that the split complementary color model has both positive and negative aspects. The upside is that you can use any two colors in the scheme and achieve great contrast. However, the drawback is that it might be difficult to establish the proper balance between the colors. As a result, you may need to experiment with this a little more to achieve the ideal balance of contrast.
Brands such as Fanta and Mozilla utilize split complementary colors.
Analogous Colors
Analogous colors are colors that are next to each other on a color wheel. Let's use green as an example. Blue-green is to the left of green. Yellow-green is located to the right of green. As a result, blue-green, green, and yellow-green are considered analogous colors.
No single color demands our attention. Instead, our eyes can seamlessly follow each hue as it changes to the next.
If you wish to utilize a five-color scheme instead of only three, you may add two more colors located next to the two outer colors.
This color scheme works well for generating warm (red, orange, and yellow) or cool (purple, blue, and green) brand color palettes.
Analogous color combinations can be seen in the brand colors of PayPal, Mastercard, and BP, for example.
Triadic Colors
The triadic color scheme is illustrated by a triangle rotating through the color wheel. If we start with green again as an example, we can draw a line that moves away from it at an approximately 90-degree angle. This would link green with violet. Then we'd draw a straight line from violet to the opposite side. This would link violet with orange.
Then we may draw a straight line from orange back to our starting point at green. This would result in the formation of a triangle within the color wheel.
Triad color schemes can be useful for creating high contrast between each hue in a design, but they can also appear overwhelming if all of your colors are selected on the same point in a line around the color wheel.
当考虑三者的颜色组合为your brand colors, consider choosing one dominating color and using the others sparingly, or simply downplay the other two hues by selecting softer tints of the same colors.
Burger King, Tide, and Toy Story are all examples of brands using a triadic color scheme.
Tetradic Colors (Rectangle)
A tetradic color scheme is similar to a triadic color system. The key difference is that we're forming a rectangle on the color wheel, instead of a triangle. Using the example of green again, we can draw a straight line to orange. Then, on the other side of the wheel, we'd like a line of identical length. Then we'd connect the two with shorter lines.
This would connect green and orange on one of the longer lines. The longer line on the opposite side would link red and blue. The smaller lines would alternate between blue and green, and red and orange.
The biggest difference between this color combination and previous ones is the sheer number of colors to contend with. Four color selections give your brand color palette a much wider range of hues and tints to contemplate.
It's recommended tochoose one of the four colorsto be the prominent color in your design. Balance is also required to guarantee that the emotional impact of the color selections is consistent.
Tetradic color combinations can be seen in brands such as Google, eBay, Slack, and Microsoft.
Square colors
A square color scheme is quite similar to a tetradic scheme. We simply connect colors on the color wheel using a square shape instead of a rectangle. Going back to the color green, for example, a square color scheme using this color would also involve the colors green, red, blue-violet, and yellow-orange.
It’s recommended to implement a square color scheme in the same manner as a tetradic scheme. This involves selecting one of the four colors to serve as the foundation for the remainder of the color scheme. It's also a good idea to achieve a balance in the representation of warm and cool colors. Accenting warm over cool or cool over warm allows you to tailor the emotional resonance of your brand's palette with your target audience.
内而外,Visme sprinklr只是三个穰mples of brands using a square color palette in their logos.
Monochromatic Colors
A monochromatic color scheme, unlike the other color combinations, begins and ends with a single color. Monochromatic color schemes utilize color with varied tints and shades to create a cohesive look and feel.
Despite the absence of color contrast, monochromatic color combinations typically appear clean and polished. It also lets you easily adjust the darkness and brightness of your colors.
Monochromatic color combinations can be seen in the branding of Sprout Social, Spotify, and Hello Fresh.
2. Determine which color combination is right for your brand
Now that you’ve learned the seven different formulas for a successful color palette, it’s time to decide which color combination is right for your brand.
For this next step, it’s crucial to understandcolor theory and the color meanings in business. This includes the ways certain colors evoke an emotional response, as people associate certain colors with specific thoughts and feelings.
Start by using color theory to determine the primary and secondary personality traits or messages you want to convey to your audience about your brand. For example, if you sell makeup aimed at young women, you might settle on the color light pink (representing femininity, romance, and youth) as your main brand color.
Then, simply work out additional and potential color combinations using the seven color scheme formulas. A complementary color scheme, for example, results in pink and green, whereas an analogous combination results in pink and red or pink and violet.
Don’t be afraid to take your time experimenting and visualizing colors next to one another to get this right. Tools such as Muzli Colors can help you map out each different palette so you can compare and contrast them.
You can then determine not only which one looks best, but also which one most effectively conveys who your brand is, what it is you do, and who you’re targeting—in relation to color theory.
3. Explore trending color combinations
Although a brand’s color scheme should be very relevant to who they are and what they do, color trends can still inspire a particular shade of a color and help their branding to remain modern.
When it comes to trending color combinations, brands can look to the Pantone Color of the Year to see what shades are most influential in our current era. For example, in 2022 Pantone nominated PANTONE 17-3938, orVery Peri, as Color of the Year, because the shade’s courageous presence encourages personal inventiveness and creativity.
In particular, the color ties in with “trends in gaming, the expanding popularity of the metaverse and rising artistic community in the digital space”.
If brands are looking to use the Color of the Year in their own palettes, they can do so in a number of ways.
For a complementary palette with a balance of warm and cool tones, pairVery Peri with trending Pantone colorssuch as Dried Moss, Muted Clay, and Elderberry. You can achieve a fun and whimsical analogous color scheme by pairing it with on-trend colors such as Fuschia Pink, Pink Flambe, and Iced Coffee.
Alternatively, for something elegant and classic, brands can combine the Color of the Year with timeless shades such as Anthracite, Volcanic Glass, and Cloud Dancer. In this color palette, Veri Peri serves as the dominant color, while the remaining three shades are monochromatic.
Finalize Your Brand Color Palette: The Bottom Line
Now that you've learned how to select the ideal color combinations for your brand, you're ready to finalize your palette and successfully use it in all elements of your business—beginning with your logo design.
Your logo serves as the face of your brand, as it’s often the element people will see first. When your logo sets the perfect identity for the rest of your brand, it also creates brand consistency. This is key to building a deeper connection with your target audience and boosting your success. Therefore, you want to ensure you get your logo’s design just-right.
Thankfully, designing the perfect logo that adheres to your unique brand color scheme doesn’t have to be tricky.Fiverr’s Logo Makeris a helpful tool that uses powerful artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create logo designs that best fit your brand—all within a few clicks.
Create a custom logo for your brand withFiverr商标制造商or hire afreelance logo designer expert.
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Melanie Clarke is a freelance writer based in Sydney, Australia. She has obtained university degrees in both creative arts and journalism and possesses over a decade of experience in creating educational online content. She is particularly passionate about helping small business owners learn about the intricacies of graphic design and branding.
