I had a request this week to add some posts that are a little more basic for beginning designers. These articles will be housed in the Beginner’s Corner category. I’ll also be adding the ‘Beginner’s Corner" tag to them.

The first request was for a series on color basics.

Color Schemes for Beginners

Broadly defined, a color scheme is a group of colors you put together. Where it gets a little more complicated is knowing if you have a good one or not.

If you’re just starting out in design all the color options may be a little scary. How do you decide what colors to use? What makes a "good" color scheme?

Start with 1. That’s right. Read it again. Decide on 1 color to be the basis of your design. Seen a photo somewhere with a color that jumped out at you? Well, now you can put it to good use!

Once you have your base color, you have yet again several options as you decide how to build your scheme around it. Once you know the rules, you’ll no longer have to "think" through the process as much. It will begin to come naturally.

Before we can dive into color schemes you must first have a  clear understanding of the color wheel and what it represents:

A basic color wheel begins with the 3 primary colors (you probably learned these in elementary school). Red. Yellow. Blue.

Next, we add the "secondary" colors. These colors are the bold colors created when combing 2 of the primaries. Orange. Green. Violet (Purple).
 

As you can see from the wheel, combining Red + Yellow = Orange, Yellow + Blue=Green and Blue + Red=Violet.

Now, let’s take it a step further by adding the "tiertiaries" (or 3rd tier). Red-Orange. Yellow-Orange. Yellow-Green. Blue-Green. Blue-Violet. Red-Violet.
 

Now we have the basic color wheel:

What good is it? The color wheel is the basic foundation for creating  3 foundational harmonious color schemes.

Complimentary:  Complimentary colors are simply those that are found on opposite sides of the color wheel.

Examples:

Purple + Yellow (My High School Colors!)
              

Green + Red (Christmas Anyone?)

Blue + Orange
           

Split Complimentary: Split Complimentary schemes are 3 colors. The main selection grouped with the 2 colors that are found on either side of the complimentary.
 

Examples:

Purple + Yellow-Green and Yellow-Orange
               

Red + Blue-Green and Yellow-Green
               

Blue + Yellow-Orange and Red-Orange

Analogous: Analogous colors refer to the 3 colors that appear side-by-side in any portion of the color wheel.

Example:

Red + Red-Violet and Red-Orange
             

Orange + Red-Orange and Red
             

Green + Blue-Green and Yellow-Green

 
As I continue with this series, we’ll explore some other easy color schemes and terms.  I’ll be posting a new "Beginner’s Post" once a week. Please let me know if there is a topic you’d like to learn more about!
 

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