In Print Design: The Emotions of Color we discussed the emotional impacts of colors. As noted, when deciding on a color scheme for a printed piece, considerations include:
- Your target audience for the piece;
- your organization’s branded colors;
- the desired emotional impact of the piece.
Any printed piece should start with your brand colors: color(s) used in your logo. They create the framework. Within that framework the next considerations apply: do your brand colors convey the feelings you want to evoke from the piece from your target audience?
Many company logos employ primary colors which work well in small doses but may come across as unsophisticated or blaring across the entirety of a piece (depending on the nature of the piece). Alternatively you may simply need accent colors to bounce off the primary color to add interest to your piece.
Analogous Color Schemes
Analogous colors are those that appear next to each other on the color wheel: Red, red-orange and orange or yellow-green, green and aqua, etc.
Analogous colors flow naturally into one-another; they “go together” and people find the combinations pleasing. Generally you would select a primary and colors on either side or primary, secondary and tertiary, or secondary with tertiary on either side, etc. This naturally creates a stronger color and accent colors. Find where your strongest brand color sits on the wheel and consider the colors next to it.
If your main branded color is a tint, tone or shade of a primary you can look for analogous tints, tones or shades of your branded color. (Consult Pantone color swatches.)
Complementary Color Schemes
Complementary colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel: red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple, etc. Complements make each other pop. In careful doses that can be very effective and striking. For large or busy pieces allowing one of the complements to be major and the other to function as an accent is less strident. But the key is there is a natural compatibility between complements.
Again, if your main branded color is a tint, tone or shade, it’s complement will also be a tint, tone or shade.
Complementary color schemes convey more energy than analogous schemes – analogous schemes are more soothing.
If you have any questions about Analogous or Complementary Color Schemes, give us a call at 330-597-8560. We’re happy to help you get the most out of your printing project.
