Choosing a color combination is not about choosing the colors that you like, itвЂ™s about choosing the colors that evoke the emotions that you seek from your audience. This is important because the colors and hues you choose set the tone for how your customers and clients feel about your website, business cards, and/or office space. Now that weвЂ™ve had an introduction to color theory, we should take a quick peek at the psychology of color. For example: red, orange, yellow, and red-purple are warm colors, while blue, purple, green and blue-green are cool colors.

Warm Versus Cool вЂ“ вЂњWarmвЂќ colors are those that resemble or symbolize heat, while вЂњcoolвЂќ colors are attributed to ice and cooler temperatures.

Toned colors tend to be viewed as more sophisticated than pure hues. The grey that is added to make a вЂњtoneвЂќ must only consist of black and white, no other colors (many colors that are considered grey actually have a base that is a hue).

Tone вЂ“ This is very similar to вЂњtintвЂќ and вЂњshade,вЂќ only instead of being a hue with white or black added to it, it is a hue with only grey added to it.

An easy way to remember this one is to think of how the grass in the shade of a tree seems darker than the grass in the sun. It can, of course, include varying amounts of black, and the resulting color may be barely darker than the original hue, or it may be almost black.

Shade вЂ“ This is the opposite of a вЂњtint.вЂќ A вЂњshadeвЂќ is a hue with only black added to it.

A tint can range from a hue that is barely lighter than the original, to almost white with a tiny amount of color in it. Sometimes a tint can seem brighter than the original hue, but it is just a paler version. It is a hue that has only white added to it.

Tint вЂ“ A вЂњtintвЂќ is a lighter version of a given hue.

It is the base of the color we see and is always one of the six primary and secondary colors on the color wheel. While вЂњhueвЂќ refers to the origin of the color we see. In general, вЂњcolorвЂќ is used to refer to all, well, colors, including black, white and grey. For all intents and purposes, this will get you by but the words вЂњcolorвЂќ and вЂњhueвЂќ actually mean different things.

Hue вЂ“ The terms вЂњcolorвЂќ and вЂњhueвЂќ are often used interchangeably by artists and designers.

LetвЂ™s introduce you to the basic terms most used in the chromatic world. A general comprehension of color terminology will be helpful, both here and in the future of your business. Just like any area of study, the world of art, design, and color is rife with technical language. Tertiary colors highlighted on a color wheel Color Terminology Tertiary colors are found in between all of the primary colors and secondary colors. Tertiary colors are those that come from mixing one of the primary colors with one of the nearest secondary colors. Secondary colors highlighted on a color wheel Mixing equal parts of any two of the primary colors results in the creation of secondary colors. Primary colors highlighted on a color wheel

These three colors are essentially the parents of all the other colors. The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow.

How Does the Color Wheel Work?ДЄ simple color wheel consists of 12 color hues arranged around a central hub.ДЄ color wheel consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary colorsДЄll colors come from some combination of primary colors. Grasping the fundamentals of the color wheel will help significantly in your color combo choices, especially if youвЂ™re not well-versed in the universe of color theory. The history of this essential guide for artists and designers goes way back to the early 1700s. Whether it was as far back as elementary school or as recent as that last time you tried to use Photoshop, most of us have seen a version of the color wheel at some point.

LetвЂ™s start by reintroducing the visual representation of the relationships of color hues: the color wheel. Before we start picking out color combinations, itвЂ™s a good idea to have a basic understanding of colors, the terminology, how colors work together, emotional connections to them, and the role they play in creating a reaction.

Green color wheel