Discover color theory hue, saturation, and brightness tips for designers
Color theory is a vast and fundamental topic for all designers. I write many blogs on medium to share shortcut color theory tips. Let us discover color theory hue, saturation, and brightness.
Hue, saturation, brightness, and temperature are ways to describe a color.
What is the hue in color theory?
Hue is a pure color without any white, black, or grey mixed with it.
What is the tone in color theory?
To mix black in any hue is to add a tone to that color. When we say ‘this pink has a darker tone’ then we mean there is more black mixed with that pink.
What is the tint in color theory?
To mix white in any hue is to add a tint to that color. When we say ‘this pink has a lighter tone’ then we mean there is more white mixed with that pink.
What is value in color theory?
A color with a lower value has more white mixed to it. It means it has a higher tone.
A color with a higher value has more black mixed to it. It means it has a higher tint.
If you want to make two colors look more contrasting then follow this trick. Place a color of higher value close to a color of lower value.
What is the shade in color theory?
To mix grey in any hue is to add a shade to that color. When we say ‘this pink has a darker shade’ then we mean there is more grey mixed with that pink.
What is lightness in color theory?
When we mix a lot of white into color then it becomes lighter. When we mix a lot of black into color then it becomes less light.
If you place a color close to a lighter color then it appears darker. The lighter the color beside which you put it, the darker the color looks.
What is saturation in color theory?
A pure color has 100% saturation. A medium grey color has 0% saturation.
The more saturated a color is, the brighter and more intense it looks.
The less saturated a color is, the duller and gloomier it looks.
The other name of color saturation is the color intensity or chroma.
We can reduce the intensity of color by:
- Mixing black with the pure color.
- Mixing white with the pure color.
- Mixing grey with the pure color.
- Mixing its complementary color on the color wheel.
Notice how I have made the blue color duller by the use of all these methods.
How to make monochromatic color combinations?
We use different tones, tints, shades, and saturation of the same color to create monochromatic designs.
Notice how different values and intensities of the blue hue have helped to create the sea waves.
Tones, tints, and shades of blue have created an illusion of depth. The waves towards the front are darker while those towards the back are lighter. The same wave has different shades at different heights. The top of a wave has a lighter shade than its bottom.
What is the color temperature in color theory?
A warm color has a higher color temperature, a cool color has a lower color temperature.
To choose the best color palette, the undertones of your colors should agree.
Color and emotion on the basis of color value, intensity, and temperature
Color temperature
The warm colors excite and appear closer to the viewer. Youthful and entertainment brands can rely on these colors. You could apply warm colors to bedrooms to make them look cozy.
The cool colors calm and appear to recede from the viewer. Sophisticated and financial brands should rely on these colors. You could apply blue color to small rooms and offices to make them look large and professional.
Color value
Dark colors: Higher-value colors are darker. They represent conservatism and stability, control and boldness, curiosity and wisdom. If these things match with your brand personality then include these colors in your color palette.
Light colors: Low-value colors or light colors symbolize playfulness and creativity, sophistication, and desirability. It attracts a lot of eyeballs. If your brand personality is youthful and creative then include light color in your color palette.
Color intensity
Dull colors ( colors mixed with grey) represent disease and poverty. Avoid them in logo designs. You could use them with bright colors in your website to create contrast.
For example, if you are designing a blog image for business process automation then you could show the manual work in dull colors. Then use a similar color palette with bright colors for your business process automation website.
Conclusion
To master color theory hue, saturation, and brightness is to make every design successful. I have messed up with a lot of designs because I could not get the color theory concepts right. So, I decided to read and write a lot of tips and explain concepts about color theory. Follow me on medium for more such articles.
If you want all my colour theory blogs then click here.
Email me at subarnacreative@gmail.com.
