Colorbook Part-1
No, this is not the same “Colorbook” by Chance The Rapper, it's by me. Before we even start on this colorful ride, we should all ask ourselves “why do we need to know about colors?” I mean most of you must be wondering that we all have been taught about colors in kindergarten so what's more there. Well, there’s a LOT to know about colors here if you are a Designer(of any kind), Artist, Animator, Product Manager, or working in any role in product, a Front-End developer, Marketing Strategist, etc among other roles. I will at least try to scratch the surface here for you. So Let’s begin now -
Need for Colors
First of all, let's talk about why do we need colors. There are 3 main reasons -
- It helps you to stand out in the marketplace.
- It creates a customer perception to perceive your brand in a certain way.
- Helps you become more memorable as a brand all the time.
Like for example if I think of a brand that uses red color, instantly Zomato pops up in my mind, for yellow it is McDonald’s. That’s how color plays with our minds and memory.
Meanings of Color
It's important to note that colors have Meanings. Each color has an essence to it and they never change.
Types of Colors
So in Art, there are only 3 colors and they are called Primary Colors. Following are the types —
- Primary Colors — Yellow, Blue, and Red are Primary Colors, they cannot be formed by mixing any color.
- Secondary Colors — They are created by a combination of 2 Primary colors, these are green, violet, and orange.
- Tertiary Colors — They are formed by combining a Primary color with a secondary color.
Nuance in Colors
Then comes the concept of Color Nuance. This basically helps in creating various other variations of the same colors, thus helping to make millions of colors. And this is all of 3 types -
- Pure Color — Also called hues, they are any color unaffected by shades or tints, i.e. there is no brightness at it and no darkness at it.
- Tints — When White is added to an Original Pure Color, making things brighter.
- Shades — They are formed when black is added to an Original Pure Color, making things darker.
Color Palette
A color palette is simply what a painter holds in his hand while painting on the canvas. The idea is the same to have a palette with a certain set of chosen colors that are used by Designers, Product Managers, and Marketers in today's age. The entire mobile or desktop app, website, posters, social media posts, and the entire branding of the organization depends on it.
A Color Palette should have a Dominant color(s) and Accent Colors. Ideally, you should have 2 Dominant Colors and 3 Accent colors but it's not a rule written on stone.
Dominant colors are your main colors. Your first color of choice should help you be remembered, also called Primary Dominant Color. Your second color of choice should simply look good besides compliment the first, also called Secondary Dominant Color.
One Accent color out of three should be used as a highlighter, this means creating contracts and standing out when used beside both dominant colors. The other two Accent colors should be more natural and subtle allowing your two dominant colors and your one accent color as a highlighter to do most of the work.
60–30–10 rule
There is a 60–30–10 rule, it states how much each of the colors you should use. Our Primary Dominant Color should be used 60% of the time, our Secondary dominant color should be used 30% of the time and our accent color should be used only 10% of the time.
One Important Note — All the rules in design are there just to help designers in their decision process, all of the rules can be broken. a good designer will know when to break a rule in order to make a trade-off for a better product design.
To Be Continued Guys….if you liked it then follow me on Medium and signup for my newsletter here —https://bit.ly/mdfazal (so that I can keep you updated.)
